You are individually to write a paper (Word document) discussing the user interface of a videoconferencing software application such as Zoom, Skype, Discord, etc . Specifically you are to describe (a) three tasks that have a good interface and (b) three tasks that have a bad interface all of which (that is both good and bad) you have performed with that application. (Do NOT summarize what others have written about interfaces in product reviews, but rather describe what YOU have observed as a user of the application.)
As background, you will need to consider the following questions.
What are videoconferencing tasks? A task is what the user sees and does. A user does not “see” anything behind the screen such as communication aspects and software code, nor any hardware (except for display, keyboard, and mouse). Some tasks relate to (a) add/drop a participant/user/moderator, (b) promote/demote a participant/user/moderator to a different status, (c) switch view between camera & desktop, (d) mute/un-mute individual/selected group/all participant(s)/user(s)/moderator(s) audio and/or video, (e) start/stop/pause record function, and (f) creating/removing a breakout session. (The list is not exclusive as there are more tasks depending on the specific application you use.)
How do you differentiate a good from a bad interface implementing a task? That’s the application of what you learned, but in summary, “A bad user interface is like a bad joke. It’s not very good if you have to explain it.” If you or another person in the video conference has to explore options, ask for help, or appears confused, then you have a bad interface. Alternately, if you or someone else can do a task quickly without help, or in a way that is natural (“that’s just the way I’d do it”) then you have a good interface.
The paper you are to write will state the application you are discussing, and will describe the three instances of good interface design, and three instances of bad interface design as well as why the instances are good or bad. The paper should be 5 pages in length using 1½ line spacing in Times Roman 12 point font. To improve organization as well as readability start each good and bad instance in a separate paragraph.