Challenge Summary
Aphaea provides agricultural energy audits to farmers across the country in order to identify for them the energy and money savings they could have if they invested in energy efficient equipment. This is done by the way of collecting data of the current standards and equipment which is then analyzed and fed into a comparative report which provides the possible savings information.
The client currently generates those audits using Excel spreadsheets for the calculations and then puts the results from the calculations into a MS Word narrative document.
Such a process is quite cumbersome, slow, and error prone. It is also repetitive but doesn't take advantage of possible computer based automation or more efficient data gathering techniques through a distributed interface provided through the web.
There are two goals to the proposed application:
1. Turn this manual process of generating energy audits into a web-based system
2. Provide a system, which is flexible enough to accommodate changes to existing templates or event new templates and new report types without the need to delve into low level programming details.
The purpose of this contest is to create a set of wireframes to illustrate all aspects of the business process laid out by the Business Requirements documents.
This contest will be run in the Studio Tournament format. Please read the contest specification carefully and watch the forums for any questions or feedback concerning this contest. It is important that you monitor any updates provided by the client or Studio Admins in the forums. Please post any questions you might have for the client in the forums.
Studio Tournament Format This competition will be run as a two-round tournament with a total prize purse of $1500. Round One (1) At the end of Round One, Aphaea will choose up to three (3) review winners; each will win $100 and a Wireframe Review. These winners and any member who had a passing submission in Round One will be eligible to compete in Round 2 for the additional $1200 in prizes. Round Two (2) Round 2 will start with the announcement of up to three (3) $100 Round 1 winners and the posting of their design reviews in the contest forum.
We are now in Round 2 Congratulations Round 1 Winners on your $100 Prizes: 20815 - picachui 20816 - LokSav 20819 - foxyhu Important Round 2 Project Feedback/Updates 1) We are supplying two documents two help you all better visualize the process of generating an energy audit report. The first of these (TopCoder AutoAudit Input Sheet Examples.xls) is an example of the Data Input Forms that we currently use. In general, when we start an energy audit for a farmer we will call the farmer and begin filling these sheets out (e.g. lighting information, motor information, etc). These forms can then be printed out and taken into the field (i.e. the farm) and completed in more detail by a data collector who can count the number of lighting fixtures, collect motor nameplate data, etc. The data collector will then return to their computer and complete the digital forms in Excel. These forms are then used to provide information for the calculator, which in turn provides energy savings information for the energy audit report. In this online application, when a Client Auditor starts an audit report, they will go to the "Start New Audit Report" page (or something similar), enter the basic initial information (e.g. farm name, farmer contact info, state, grant application type if applicable, fuel types that the farm uses, technologies that the audit report will assess, etc), and this information will be used to A) Populate the Data Collection Forms (e.g. putting the farm and farmer name on each form), and B) Determine which forms the Client Auditor will need to fill out before the audit report can be generated. This is further discussed in Section 4.1 of the Conceptualization document under Client Auditor, where I have added more detail. Please note that the Client MUST be able to save partially completed forms during any point of their data entry, and return later to complete the data before submitting them (similar to doing your taxes online) We would like to see more attention to the audit report generation flow in the wireframe. By this, we mean that we need to see the process from "Start new audit report" to when the Client Auditor presses the "Submit" button (once ALL of the Data Input Forms have been completed) in order to generate an audit report. Please read through the new detail added to the conceptualization document. The second document we are providing is an example of what an audit report will look like after the Client Auditor submits the completed Data Input Forms. They will then be able to edit the report in an editing module similar to MS Word. I have included a few notes highlighted in green in this document. 2) We are also including an updated version of the Conceptualization Document which has some modifications highlighted in yellow and green. We have changed some titles and language that mentions "analysis benchmark" since this was unclear in the first document. Please read over our updates and feel free to ask for further clarification if needed. 3) The basic process from start to finish of completing an energy audit report with this application is as follows: Start New Audit >> Enter Basic Info >> Fill in Energy Usage History Form 1 (Electric usage) >> Fill in Energy Usage History Form 2 (Propane usage) >> Fill in Data Input Form 1 (Lighting) >> Fill in Data Input Form 2 (Motors) >> Fill in Data Input Form 3 (Heating) >> Submit information to generate audit report (input data is analyzed by calculator, and results are used to fill in information in audit report, along with the boilerplate language) In this example, the Client Auditor indicated that the farm is using Electricity and Propane, and that they have Lights, Motors, and Heating that should be analyzed. Fuel types and technology types need to be CHECKBOXES (or something similar), so that the Auditor can select multiple fuel types and technology types since this information will determine which data input forms they will be required to fill in. 4) Section 4.4.20 and 4.4.28 are basically the same thing (see the updated Conceptualization paper for more detail). 5) There are really 3 user types, not 2: Admins, Client Managers, and Client Auditors. See section 4.1 of the Conceptualization paper for more info.
Tasks The following task requirements in the attached Business Requirements Document must be created: Client Tasks 4.4.1 Log In 4.4.2 Log Out 4.4.3 Signup 4.4.4 Close Account 4.4.5 Manage Profile 4.4.6 Manage Reports 4.4.7 Customize Report 4.4.8 View All Reports 4.4.9 Search Reports 4.4.10 Edit Completed Report 4.4.11 Download Completed Report 4.4.12 Start New Audit 4.4.13 Upload Report Data 4.4.14 Print Data Input Forms 4.4.15 Enter / Edit Report Data 4.4.16 Generate Report 4.4.17 Report Bug 4.4.18 View help Admin Tasks 4.4.19 Get Client Reports 4.4.20 Get Audit Reports 4.4.21 Download raw input data from client data collections 4.4.22 Get Financial reports 4.4.23 Suspend / Unsuspend Client Account 4.4.24 Manage Client Accounts 4.4.25 Manage Analysis Benchmarks 4.4.26 Manage Report Templates 4.4.27 Manage Report Red Flags Wireframe Resources Wireframes on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_site_wireframe Wireframe software option: www.axure.com Example Wireframe: http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/web-site-wireframe.php Wireframe Requirements Wireframes can should be built in HTML, Axure (listed above), MS Visio or OmniGraffle. The resulting files are not critical in this contest. The most important point is that all the content is listed and the pages are linked together to show page flow. Pages must be linked together as a clickable resource. Judging Criteria Your submission will be judged on the following criteria: - How well your wireframes provide a consistent user flow - How well you implement the required data and any suggestions, interactions and user flow you recommend (provide any notes or comments for the client)
Studio Tournament Format This competition will be run as a two-round tournament with a total prize purse of $1500. Round One (1) At the end of Round One, Aphaea will choose up to three (3) review winners; each will win $100 and a Wireframe Review. These winners and any member who had a passing submission in Round One will be eligible to compete in Round 2 for the additional $1200 in prizes. Round Two (2) Round 2 will start with the announcement of up to three (3) $100 Round 1 winners and the posting of their design reviews in the contest forum.
We are now in Round 2 Congratulations Round 1 Winners on your $100 Prizes: 20815 - picachui 20816 - LokSav 20819 - foxyhu Important Round 2 Project Feedback/Updates 1) We are supplying two documents two help you all better visualize the process of generating an energy audit report. The first of these (TopCoder AutoAudit Input Sheet Examples.xls) is an example of the Data Input Forms that we currently use. In general, when we start an energy audit for a farmer we will call the farmer and begin filling these sheets out (e.g. lighting information, motor information, etc). These forms can then be printed out and taken into the field (i.e. the farm) and completed in more detail by a data collector who can count the number of lighting fixtures, collect motor nameplate data, etc. The data collector will then return to their computer and complete the digital forms in Excel. These forms are then used to provide information for the calculator, which in turn provides energy savings information for the energy audit report. In this online application, when a Client Auditor starts an audit report, they will go to the "Start New Audit Report" page (or something similar), enter the basic initial information (e.g. farm name, farmer contact info, state, grant application type if applicable, fuel types that the farm uses, technologies that the audit report will assess, etc), and this information will be used to A) Populate the Data Collection Forms (e.g. putting the farm and farmer name on each form), and B) Determine which forms the Client Auditor will need to fill out before the audit report can be generated. This is further discussed in Section 4.1 of the Conceptualization document under Client Auditor, where I have added more detail. Please note that the Client MUST be able to save partially completed forms during any point of their data entry, and return later to complete the data before submitting them (similar to doing your taxes online) We would like to see more attention to the audit report generation flow in the wireframe. By this, we mean that we need to see the process from "Start new audit report" to when the Client Auditor presses the "Submit" button (once ALL of the Data Input Forms have been completed) in order to generate an audit report. Please read through the new detail added to the conceptualization document. The second document we are providing is an example of what an audit report will look like after the Client Auditor submits the completed Data Input Forms. They will then be able to edit the report in an editing module similar to MS Word. I have included a few notes highlighted in green in this document. 2) We are also including an updated version of the Conceptualization Document which has some modifications highlighted in yellow and green. We have changed some titles and language that mentions "analysis benchmark" since this was unclear in the first document. Please read over our updates and feel free to ask for further clarification if needed. 3) The basic process from start to finish of completing an energy audit report with this application is as follows: Start New Audit >> Enter Basic Info >> Fill in Energy Usage History Form 1 (Electric usage) >> Fill in Energy Usage History Form 2 (Propane usage) >> Fill in Data Input Form 1 (Lighting) >> Fill in Data Input Form 2 (Motors) >> Fill in Data Input Form 3 (Heating) >> Submit information to generate audit report (input data is analyzed by calculator, and results are used to fill in information in audit report, along with the boilerplate language) In this example, the Client Auditor indicated that the farm is using Electricity and Propane, and that they have Lights, Motors, and Heating that should be analyzed. Fuel types and technology types need to be CHECKBOXES (or something similar), so that the Auditor can select multiple fuel types and technology types since this information will determine which data input forms they will be required to fill in. 4) Section 4.4.20 and 4.4.28 are basically the same thing (see the updated Conceptualization paper for more detail). 5) There are really 3 user types, not 2: Admins, Client Managers, and Client Auditors. See section 4.1 of the Conceptualization paper for more info.
Tasks The following task requirements in the attached Business Requirements Document must be created: Client Tasks 4.4.1 Log In 4.4.2 Log Out 4.4.3 Signup 4.4.4 Close Account 4.4.5 Manage Profile 4.4.6 Manage Reports 4.4.7 Customize Report 4.4.8 View All Reports 4.4.9 Search Reports 4.4.10 Edit Completed Report 4.4.11 Download Completed Report 4.4.12 Start New Audit 4.4.13 Upload Report Data 4.4.14 Print Data Input Forms 4.4.15 Enter / Edit Report Data 4.4.16 Generate Report 4.4.17 Report Bug 4.4.18 View help Admin Tasks 4.4.19 Get Client Reports 4.4.20 Get Audit Reports 4.4.21 Download raw input data from client data collections 4.4.22 Get Financial reports 4.4.23 Suspend / Unsuspend Client Account 4.4.24 Manage Client Accounts 4.4.25 Manage Analysis Benchmarks 4.4.26 Manage Report Templates 4.4.27 Manage Report Red Flags Wireframe Resources Wireframes on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_site_wireframe Wireframe software option: www.axure.com Example Wireframe: http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/web-site-wireframe.php Wireframe Requirements Wireframes can should be built in HTML, Axure (listed above), MS Visio or OmniGraffle. The resulting files are not critical in this contest. The most important point is that all the content is listed and the pages are linked together to show page flow. Pages must be linked together as a clickable resource. Judging Criteria Your submission will be judged on the following criteria: - How well your wireframes provide a consistent user flow - How well you implement the required data and any suggestions, interactions and user flow you recommend (provide any notes or comments for the client)
Please read the challenge specification carefully and watch the forums for any questions or feedback concerning this challenge. It is important that you monitor any updates provided by the client or Studio Admins in the forums. Please post any questions you might have for the client in the forums.