Challenge Summary
Welcome to TC Forum integration into Cockpit Wireframes Contest
TopCoder is the client on this project. We have an application called Cockpit where clients, project managers, and copilots can create and manage projects. For this project, TopCoder has decided to integrate forum functionality into Cockpit. The goal is to allow Cockpit users to participate in forum discussions and monitor all of their forum activities directly from Cockpit. This will be done by leveraging the existing TC Forum application and its functionality.
At the end of this contest we are looking for an HTML wireframe which will show a new workflow for the Cockpit forum functionality and can be used as input for the next storyboard contest. The required Cockpit forum must be user fiendly, intuitive, and easy to use.
Round 1
Your submitted solution for client review.
- For milestone, the following functionalities must be presented in your design:
1. View Aggregated Forum Activity
2. View Project Forum Health
3. Filter Forum Activity
4. Sort Forum Activity
5. Expand Thread
6. Shrink Thread
7. Watch Forum
8. Create New Forum Post
9. View Timely Forums
10. Rearrange Forums
11. Mark Unanswered Post
12. Search Aggregated Forum Activity
13. Select Search Filters
14. Sort Search Results
15. View Forum Post
16. Reply to Post
- Any comments about your wireframe, make sure all pages have correct flow!
Round 2
Your submitted solution for client review.
- All functionalities with milestone feedback implemented.
- Any comments about your wireframe, make sure all pages have correct flow!
Contest Details:
The current TopCoder forums are contest/project related. It is difficult for PM/client/copilot to track all the posts of multiple projects in cockpit. If there are new posts of several projects, PM/clients/copilots need to open each forum and reply in the thread. The process to track all the threads of multiple projects is complex, and is prone to missing some unanswered threads in the forums.
Therefore, we are going to integrate the TC forums (Contest forums/Project forums) into Cockpit for our TC clients/PMs/copilots as the forums are being used more and more. The main goal is to allow Cockpit users to manage all their forum activities in Cockpit. The Cockpit users should be able to filter the forums/replies by forum type (project/contest), specific projects, only replies to their posts, etc. For Cockpit projects, we'll need to create views that aggregate project and/or contest forum activity within the project. We will also need some convenient ways to indicate to the user if a forum requires an answer, return the numbers of threads/messages, get the latest post attributes (time, poster, etc.).
General:
- Your wirefame solutions must be useful. So, it can save a web designer so much time and energy!. All pages/elements must linked each others. Show us the correct flow.
- The application must be very easy to use and intuitive.
- The application will be incorporated into Cockpit application.
- Your wireframe must represents all pages and flows from Conceptualization_Document.docx. You should use that as a guide, but if there is better way to display any information, feel free to reflected that on your wireframe.
- You MUST use wireframes note pane in every single page you design, to explain what all items are addressed in that page, what things you added/changed/removed, use it to make your idea clearer and help the client to give you constructive feedback.
Wireframe Requirements:
Once the users(Clients, PMs, and Copilots) login to the cockpit application, and decide to view the aggregate forums page, all these functionalities must be applied in your wireframe:
1. View Aggregated Forum Activity
- See section 4.4.3 for more details
- The aggregated forums page will be displayed with all the contest/project forums for projects the user is involved in.
- Show us some example of notifications the user will get when there are any new forum activity detected.
2. View Project Forum Health
- See section 4.4.4 for more details
- The application will display key statistics (number of threads, number of posts, and number of posts waiting for a reply) for the project forum.
3. Filter Forum Activity
- See section 4.4.5 for more details
- We like to see your ideas how to display this filter functionality in your wireframe design. Please keep it simple and easy to use.
4. Sort Forum Activity
- See section 4.4.6 for more details
5. Expand Thread
- See section 4.4.7 for more details
- The forum thread will be expanded so the details are displayed on the aggregated screen (view individual forum posts for all posts in the thread).
6. Shrink Thread
- See section 4.4.8 for more details
- The forum thread will shrink down (become minimized) so the details are no longer displayed on the aggregated screen (until they are expanded).
7. Watch Forum
- See section 4.4.9 for more details
- The forum post/thread to watch is determined by which forum / thread the user requested to watch.
8. Create New Forum Post
- See section 4.4.10 for more details
- The user will need to enter the thread title and enter their post content
The user can select to attach a file to the thread
9. View Timely Forums
- See section 4.4.11 for more details
10. Rearrange Forums
- See section 4.4.12 for more details
- The user can re-arrange forum data on the screen – by manually dragging the forums records and assigning them to the related groups.
- The user can freely change positions of chosen forums or groups of forums in the hierarchy tree of the forums in TC Cockpit.
11. Mark Unanswered Post
- See section 4.4.13 for more details
- The user will manually set the status of a post to “unanswered”
- That post will remain with a status of “unanswered” even if more posts were provided to that thread from the user.
- The user will be able to mark the post status as “answered” when they decide the post has been answered.
12. Search Aggregated Forum Activity
- See section 4.4.14 for more details
13. Select Search Filters
- See section 4.4.15 for more details
14. Sort Search Results
- See section 4.4.16 for more details
15. View Forum Post
- See section 4.4.17 for more details
- The forum post is displayed on the screen for the user to view the discussion and any attachments.
- Actions available to the user (reply, vote, etc.) are also displayed.
16. Reply to Post
- See section 4.4.18 for more details
17. Attach File
- See section 4.4.19 for more details
- The user can browse the file system of their local machine and select a file to attach
18. Download Attached File
- See section 4.4.20 for more details
- The user will click on the file they wish to download
- Please provide us an example of a forum post that have a file attachment. This file attachment must be very easy to find and prominent on the page, so the user can easily find this attachment.
19. Edit Post
- See section 4.4.21 for more details
20. Vote Positive
- See section 4.4.22 for more details
- We are welcome to any ideas you think best to show this section in the wireframe, something like a "+" button or anything else?
21. Vote Negative
- See section 4.4.23 for more details
- We are welcome to any ideas you think best to show this section in the wireframe, something like a "-" button or
anything else?
22. Add Project Forum Item
- See section 4.4.24 for more details
- The user will have the ability to add a new item (sub-forum) to the project forums
- The user will enter the sub-forum name and description
23. Edit Project Forum Item
- See section 4.4.25 for more details
- The user will have the ability to edit an existing item (sub-forum) that is part of the project forums
- The user will select the sub-forum to edit
- The user will edit the sub-forum name and description and the changes will be saved.
24. Remove Project Forum Item
- See section 4.4.26 for more details
- The user will have the ability to edit an existing item (sub-forum) that is part of the project forums
- The user will select the sub-forum to remove
- The sub-forum will be removed
- Users will not be able to remove a sub-forum that is already being used.
Target Audience:
- TopCoder Clients
- TopCoder Project Managers
- TopCoder Copilots
Judging Criteria:
- User Experience
- Completeness and accuracy of the wireframe as defined in the attached requirements.
- 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)
Submission & Source Files:
Preview Image
Please create your preview image as one (1) 1024x1024px JPG or PNG file in RGB color mode at 72dpi and place a screenshot of your submission within it.
Submission File
Wireframes should be built in HTML or Axure. 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. Keep your source files out from this submission folder.
Source Files
All original source files of the submitted ideas. If you would like to submit notes please include notes.txt file.
Final Fixes
As part of the final fixes phase you may be asked to modify content or user click paths.
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.