Ricardo Francis 1008542

Module Code: 4MM005 Integrative Practice

Assessment Part 1
Student Name: Ricardo Francis
Student Number:1008542

Fig 1: Human Computer Interface

Google images (2011)

Aim and Objectives

In this assignment the task is for me to design and produce a report from
the provided case studies, which contains the definition of the problem with
aim and objectives of the task set. An introduction to my solution to the
problem which explains clearly the background and scope of the task. A
specification of the user requirements based on the aim and objectives of
1
Ricardo Francis 1008542

the project and research conducted. A screen and menu structure showing
good use of HCI principles for the solution (low infidelity prototype of
solution) a clear project plan. A reference list relevant to the problem,
accurately using Harvard notation

Introduction and Background Info

There is a long history with software and the facts are shared with others in
the event of lost reports, figures, or other details which is given to us that
they are put on this site. The invention or software also has taken a huge
but notable stride in comparison with hardware they were not much
advancement which was similar or overlapping. In exceptional cases
evolutions were remake due to the progress or innovation was not issued or
prevented from being made public or published at the appointed time or
after (legal) debate the “other” alliance received the credit.
The history of computing (2000)

The eruption of PC uprising reflected in a need for a range of business and

exposed origin software at the same time absolutely democratising the
developer knowledge by obtaining support from programmers into the
gather. The outcome was an essential need for a paradigm which can be
used again for software advancement since establishing that historical
complex programming causing an understanding degree of excellence as
hardware and software developed due to the reality that the fundamental
unit of reusability is the role.

An initial solution to this matter will be to research other software used by

estate agents. I have researched 3 software used by estate agents across
the world today such as Vebralive, Property Max Pro and Dezrez. These
software are capable of advertising houses for sale as well as other services
available from the estate agent in order to help them compete with their
main competitors and to ultimately grow their business.

Requirements

It is believed that both business and web developers are constantly

researching their outsourcing options more widely to see what software are
available and the specification and services they offer. These are as follows:

2
Ricardo Francis 1008542

Fig 2: Property Max Pro Prototype

PropertyMax Pro (2010)

Property max is effective real estate agent software which allows users to
have a database of houses, flats and apartments for sale and rent on your
website, finished with a user friendly administration interface to add and
supervise properties directly from your web browser. This software is ideal
for independent estate agents, property rental companies and property
developers. The ability to oversee your properties online could not be easier
than with Property Max Pro. This software consists of many features which
will not only improve your website but also display your properties in a
model which improve your existing website.
PropertyMax Pro (2010)

Property Max Pro is your recommended solution for listing real estate and/or
properties on your website. The software is straightforward to install and
easy to use. Property Max Pro is rapidly becoming one of the most
advertised property scripts available.
softpedia (2001-2011)

Whether you are planning to list properties on your website or are searching
for another property solution for your business, then Property Max Pro
3
Ricardo Francis 1008542

provides all the following feature such as manage property sales and rental
listings, worldwide language and currency support, works with any country
location, areas, easy one step installation completely customisable by
templates, powerful property search engine, unlimited number of property
listings, property photograph slide show, virtual tour, and postcode map,
add thumb nailed property images to your listings, integrates seamlessly
into your existing website, more information property request form, secure
password protected administration login, full web based admin browser
management and many more features.
PropertyMax Pro (2010)

Property Max Pro is ideal for all real estate agents for their property listings.
Our software designers can help to take the hassle out of creating your Real
Estate and Property Listing websites. Property Max Pro integrated with
property solutions can be custom designed for only £599.
PropertyMax Pro (2010)

> BACK
> Refresh

Price 650
pcm
Takeon None
Fee
Let man £15.00
Fee
PriceText
Fig:3 Dezrez Prototype
Dezrez (2011)
Name/ Number

Addressline1 4
21 Wulfren Steet
Ricardo Francis 1008542

Dezrez is state of the art software notorious for monitoring your data saving
time and the trouble of doing so. This software offers the fantastic service
of sales and letting both together for the same price. This software is user
friendly due to the user interface being very initiative to use and the support
from the Dezrez team is first class with sophisticated mailout and callback
facilities provided by Dezrez. Our website has become a very useable with
instruction winning tool a new income stream with no costly hardware.
Dezrez (2011)

This software is used by many top estate agents such as find a property.com
for all their advertising of properties that’s for sale as well as rent. It allows
users to search by location, search area, budget, minimum bedrooms,
property type, specialist properties etc. It also offers a property route map,
photos request information on properties, and you can skip to next property
or go back to previously viewed.
Dezrez (2011)

Dezrez software is notorious for sales and lettings on the market with the
advantage of affordability to user. This software is now the most popular
product famous for consistently implementing and developing new
technologies.
Angels Media Ltd (2011)

Dezrez is capable of providing the standard useful requirement similar to the

functions that of other software providers promote. Dezrez on the other
hand go one step further with a “once only” data entry, joined with the most
recent technologies offering you the ideal equipment to conduct your
business appropriately.
Angels Media Ltd (2011)

Dezrez offers new leads and viewing requests directly to your desktop as a
result of our two-way lead website combined. Dezrez offer the option of site
personality and in-build a vendor login area alongside the well developed
sequence of operation performed by this software ensures that you don’t

5
Ricardo Francis 1008542

just only compete with your competitors but also stay ahead of the
competition.
Angels Media Ltd (2011)

Dezrez advanced functionality consist of a modern cutting edge suite or

reporting tools, graphical diary, integrated print solution, visual sales-
chasing utility and one-click data access permitting you to multi-task better
and rectify any queries rapidly.
Angels Media Ltd (2011)

The dezrez HIPS solution will give your agency with the most universal set of
equipments accessible ensure that modern challenges existing by HIPS
legislation are successfully tackled.
Angels Media Ltd (2011)

Our state of the art lettings equipments permits you to oversee a rental
property from valuation, marketing campaigns, finding that prospect to the
move in day with a bridge including Let MC lettings management package.

Dezrez equip you with top of the range devices to conduct you business!
After receiving feedbacks from our customer we have constructed the ideal
device to run your business on a daily basis. There is always help at hand
whenever needed with first class helpdesk and project management teams
who ensure the transfer over to Dezrez a simple encounter to suit your
business.
Angels Media Ltd (2011)

Dezrez offer a built-in remote desktop prop up software which limits time
taken for a problem to be rectified, you can demonstrate the problem, as
well as explaining it. There are trainings on offer as well as step by step
user guides and video tutorials that help you to grasp Dezrez easy. Dezrez
consist of many software features such as unrivalled sales & lettings
functionality, unique matching facility, once only data entry, complete
website integration & company branding, graphical diary, full integration
with all major portals, exceptional marketing tools, financial, company,
branch & employee level reporting suites, work flexibly anywhere, anytime

6
Ricardo Francis 1008542

with access across the internet, Share information across multiple

branches, automatically generate letters & adverts saving time and
administration costs.

Angels Media Ltd (2011)

Dezrez is available for only £1950 which is considered very cost effective
especially for new businesses where funds might be limited.
Dezrez (2011)

7
Ricardo Francis 1008542

Pp
o
r r ty
e r e
f: 3
2L
4 ma
o s S t
o lv
W r h
e mp to
a n
11
v
w n
x

irs
F
tu
rc
e
h
lik
u
fo
re
p
ls
c
i c
r
P e £ 50
3 , 0
S imin g P
w ol
in n
D i galH l
itK c
n
e
h
t h
a
B oo
r m
Be
2 oo
r
d ms

Du
o l e
b Gla
i n
z g
i v
r
D wa
e y
Us
r n
e me
a
Pa
wo
s r d Ec
le i H
tr e tin
ag
r t-fu r
a
P i e
n h
sd
Fig:4 Vebralive Prototype
CFP Solutions (2010)

Vebralive in a new estate agents software invented specifically to help you

start up and grow your business no matter what obstacles you encounter
within the market. This software offers its users access across dissimilar
platforms.

Vebralive allows flexibility for its users a major advantage from other estate
agents software. This adjustability ensures that access can be gained
whatever your location or whenever you need it – it is only a finger tip away.

This software consists of a desktop, Internet Browser and Mobile –

Gsfx brnd (2011)

8
Ricardo Francis 1008542

PDA/Smartphone ensuring that the users make best use of the capability.
Transmit data and communicate easily across large or small companies.

Gsfx brnd (2011)

Vebralive I a standalone database with live access and with all your
information on demand to offer you the best of both worlds.

Gsfx brnd (2011)

The regular and first class display of your type of software is essential to
gaining business in your local area. VebraLive ensures you organise all your
marketing tools in one place and gives template systems to convey
uniformity and management to the way you and your team display your
property business to the wider and local community. This software also
permits you to dispense and trace all your property publicized and arbitrate
profits made as a result of funds subsidized.

Gsfx brnd (2011)

HCI PRINCIPLES

According to Waller (1993, p301) there are numerous problems which

present itself at the Human computer Interface and no one should believe
that they are simple or non-existent. The difficulty affiliated with attempting
to produce non-specialist interfaces to simulation packages are similar to
those supplying non-specialist interfaces to the functional testing unit and
they will take time and cleverness to solve.

It is important that software engineers make themselves comfortable with

user interface design and user interface software as more than half of all
programming time is spent on user interface divisions over a wide range of
different applications.
Mellon (1999)

9
Ricardo Francis 1008542

It is hard for an individual to do heuristic evaluation as one person is not

capable of finding all the usability issues that an interface possesses. It is
believe that dissimilar individual established dissimilar usability issues. It is
therefore feasible to develop the capability of the system significantly by
including several assessors.

Some usability issues are so easily located and are usually established by
the majority of users but they are some faults that are revealed by a small
number of assessors. Also an individual cannot locate a good assessor and
depend on that individual’s findings all the usability problems. Initially,
there is no guarantee that the same person will be an ideal assessor.
Secondly, the most difficult to find usability problems are discovered by
assessors who frequently failed to find a majority of usability troubles. It is
therefore recommended that several assessors be included in all heuristic
evaluation.

It has been argued (Nielsen 1992) that heuristic evaluation is an ideal

method for discovering both minor and major problems within a user
interface. It is predicted that major errors are easily established as oppose
to minor errors, in conjunction to the possibility of locating a particular
major usability trouble at 42 percent on the ordinary for individual assessors
in six case studies. While on the other hand, the possibility of identifying a
certain minor trouble was placed at 32 percent.

Although major troubles are discovered easily, this is not to say that the
assessor focuses mainly on the major troubles. In the experiment with six
user interfaces (Nielsen 1992) an aggregate of 59 major usability faults were
distinguished by heuristic evaluation and 152 minor usability faults. This is
to suggest that the amount of usability issues established by heuristic
evaluation seem to be most influential by minor faults, which explains why
severity ratings structure a useful additive to the technique.

The reality is that major usability faults are by far the most significant
problems to discover and mend; minor usability faults are still applicable. A
significant amount of minor faults is believed to be easily identified by
heuristic evaluation than by using any other technique.

10
Ricardo Francis 1008542

Conclusion

Conclusions are that all 3 software mentioned earlier are capable of

impacting on any estate agency whether small or large. They can advertise
properties for sales and renting, advertise the service available giving the
user the benefit of browsing for the appropriate property, the ability
extending the business, usability friendly, unlimited support from a
designated software team in the event of a technical failure etc.

The 3 software can all be recommended to people looking to set up or

expand their business because of the usability functions which can help them
to compete with competitors and ultimately contribute to the growth of their
business.

On the other hand, there are advantages and disadvantages such as costs
which varies between software giving the circumstances of the cost for the
software, recommendation would be made for Property Max Pro to the small
estate agency based in Wolverhampton as it is the cheapest of all the others
and does almost the same thing as the others.

11
Ricardo Francis 1008542

REFERENCE LIST

Angels Media Ltd (2011) [online] [Accessed: 1/2/2011] available at

http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk

Cool, C., Fish, R. S., Kraut, R. E., and Lowery, C. M. 1992. Iterative design
of video communication systems. Proc. ACM CSCW'92 Conf. Computer-
Supported Cooperative Work (Toronto, Canada, November 1-4): 25-32.

Cfp (2010) [online] [Accessed:8/11/2010]:http:www.cfp-software.co.uk

Desurvire, H. W., Kondziela, J. M., and Atwood, M. E. 1992. What is gained

and lost when using evaluation methods other than empirical testing. In
People and Computers VII, edited by Monk, A., Diaper, D., and Harrison, M.
D., 89-102. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A shorter version of
this paper is available in the Digest of Short Talks presented at CHI'92
(Monterey, CA, May 7): 125-126.

Gsfx brnd (2011) [online] [Accessed: 5/2/2011] available at

http://www.vebra.info

Jeffries, R., Miller, J. R., Wharton, C., and Uyeda, K. M. 1991. User interface
evaluation in the real world: A comparison of four techniques. Proceedings
ACM CHI'91 Conference (New Orleans, LA, April 28-May 2): 119-124.

Karat, C., Campbell, R. L., and Fiegel, T. 1992. Comparison of empirical

testing and walkthrough methods in user interface evaluation. Proceedings
ACM CHI'92 Conference (Monterey, CA, May 3-7): 397-404.

Mellon, C. (1999) user interface software [online] Wean:[Accessed:

1/2/2011] available at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bam/uicourse/1999spring/
PropertyMax Pro (2010) [Accessed:4/2/2011] available
http://www.propertymaxpro.com/

Nielsen, J. 1990. Paper versus computer implementations as mockup

scenarios for heuristic evaluation. Proc. IFIP INTERACT'90 Third Intl. Conf.
Human-Computer Interaction (Cambridge, U.K., August 27-31): 315-320.

Nielsen, J. 1992. Finding usability problems through heuristic evaluation.

Proceedings ACM CHI'92 Conference (Monterey, CA, May 3-7): 373-380.
The history of computer [online] [Accessed:4 /2/2011] available at
http://www.thocp.net/software/

12
Ricardo Francis 1008542

Waller, A. (1993) Decision Support Systems: Theory and Practice, Orchards,

Fawley, Henley-on-Thames Oxfordshire p301

13