Public Lab Wiki documentation



Tool Development

4 | 18 | | #11344

This conversation is also happening in a github issue, see: https://github.com/publiclab/plots2/issues/260


This wiki page offers an overview of the development timeline for many Public Lab tools and techniques. Not all Public Lab tools follow this exact sequence, but this reflects some common steps in the development of a new environmental monitoring technique.


We may mark tools like the spectrometer or WheeStat with notices like:

This tool is a prototype; it is still under development by people like you
This tool has been thoroughly tested in the field.

some suggested major or minor milestones:

Problem Definition

Define the problem as the impacted community sees it.

Data Standard/Literature Review

Define the data needed for community defined outcomes around the problem.

State of the Art/Literature Review

Figure out how that data is usually collected.

Design thinking/Prototyping

Brainstorm/prototype cheaper ways to collect that data that are usable by the community that needs the data.

Field Assessment

Evaluate the usability of the design for the community, and compare data from prototypes to data from the usual methods.

Outcomes Assessment of Solutions

Did the methods use assist the community in achieving their defined outcomes?


Initial post-it brainstorm of the history tag:

tool-dev-ladder.jpg

Screen_Shot_2014-10-29_at_11.03.07_AM.png

https://flic.kr/p/bD3Gi7


Mockups

Thinking about Github Pulse: https://github.com/Leaflet/Leaflet/pulse

Possible mockup:

Screen_Shot_2015-02-03_at_5.05.36_PM.png

Screen_Shot_2015-02-03_at_5.17.47_PM.png

Be careful with solely relying on color. Using different hash textures or adding some iconography to augment the color will help immensely for people with color deficiencies.

Ideas for how to represent the tool development timeline in terms of research

Research history for Spectrometer

Notes Details Likes Views Responses
234 01/13/14 by warren ★★★ 244 views 1 responses
204 01/10/14 by mathew ★★ 135 views
141 12/13/13 by cfastie ★★★★★★ 124 views
25 11/04/13 by shannon 543 views 2 responses

Examples

Monograph.io screenshot:

Screen_Shot_2015-02-03_at_4.11.32_PM.png