MEMO
To: Miss Enger
From: Brent Plante BP
Date: October 28, 2010
Subject: Unit 3 Project Proposal
The project that I am proposing is a website that will provide information, locations, and pricing
on a new bike rental program on the campus of North Dakota State University. NDSU currently
provides transportation by bus, but does not have any other forms of transportation. The bus
program is useful, but the times the buses will arrive and depart can be uncertain. It can also
pose a problem if someone is running late and has to wait for the next bus. Another problem
associated with the NDSU campus is the lack of parking at Barry Hall and the other downtown
buildings. Most of the parking spots are along the street, and a majority of them are ninety
minute parking. A lot of the time, the parking is all taken up and you must park several blocks
away and walk to class. This can be a hassle and can cause problems when finding a parking
spot or when a student is going to be downtown for more than ninety minutes. In the
remainder of the proposal I will discuss the situation in more detail, the actual project, the
objectives, the methods that will be used, a timeline of steps that will be done to complete the
project, and a grading rubric that will be used to evaluate the project.
SITUATION
As stated above, some students are currently faced with a problem regarding transportation to
and from class. Adding a bike rental program at various locations on campus would be a
beneficial solution to this problem. The rental program would be cheap, and would allow an
efficient way to get to and from class. There would 10-15 bikes at each station at specific
locations on campus. There will be a pay station at each location that will allow someone to pay
with a debit/credit card to rent a bike. Once someone pays they will be given a 5 digit code to
unlock the bike at the individual biking docks and can be on their way. Memberships will also be
available, and will give members a key to unlock a bike at the stations. Members will not have
to use the pay stations when they go to a bike station. Instead, they will insert their key and will
be given instant access to the bike. The stations would be placed at major buildings on campus
and would require no walking to class. Unlike the bus system, the bike rental program would
require no waiting.
PROJECT SUMMARY
The purpose of this project is to provide a website that is user friendly and describes all aspects
of the bike rental program in detail. It will provide information on how the program is run,
pricing, locations, and a membership application page. It will also include a page that discusses
how this program will work well with the current transportation options and information on the
other options. It will include another link that talks about the benefits of the program. The
setup will include a homepage that will have links to each of the other aspects listed above.
Specifically, the web page will include a home page with 4-5 other subpages. These subpages
could also provide 1-2 links to different pages.
WRITING COMPONENT
The writing component of this project will be the general writing that you would see on a
typical web page. The writing portion of the project will contain the following components:
Captions that will describe aspects of the program briefly, links to other pages, and the major
writing component will be the page content on the specific information that was stated above
in the project summary. The writing will be very concise and straight to the point. It will include
all necessary information needed to educate the users appropriately. It will be essential to
include headings to the writing in order for users to navigate throughout the web site with
ease. In order for the site to be effective, it must also include appropriate formatting and style
throughout the web pages. Since there is less writing on a website, it will be important to use
the writing sections to their fullest potential and make sure it supplements the visual aspects of
the document. It is critical that the writing flows well with the design of the web page.
VISUAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL COMPONENT
The most important part of this project is the visual and technological component. A website’s
main emphasis is on its visual appeal and user friendliness. Unlike a paper document, a website
fits the technological component in itself. Therefore, I will focus on the visual aspect of this
topic. The main concern will be on the graphics that will be included in the web page. They
must be visually appealing and appropriate for the topic. It will also include the layout of the
web page. It must have a format and layout that works well with the writing component of the
project. The placement of links, graphics, videos, background images, and all other design items
must be applied in an effective manner that allows the viewer to navigate easily throughout the
document. The graphics, along with the writing and captions that go with them, must make
sense to all users. Overall, the visual appeal of the website will be the most important section of
this project.
OBJECTIVES
I chose this topic because it deals with improving the University that I attend. Being a College of
Business student at NDSU, I face the problem of transportation between the downtown campus
and the main campus. This topic allows me the opportunity to implement an idea at NDSU that
would benefit my fellow students as well as me. I will do this by creating a website that
students and others can use efficiently and easily to gain an understanding of the topic at hand.
I will use extensive research of the topic and look at different websites to better understand
how to make a website that will be appropriate for this project. The following are the goals that
I have for this assignment:
Provide the user with visually appealing and useful information
Provide the user with a visually appealing website
Gain a better understanding of creating an appealing website
Gain a better understanding of researching a topic and putting that knowledge to use
Practice skills that will be used in a future career
All these goals are essential when looking at being an employee as well as a student. In order to
achieve these goals, I must put in the time and effort to make a website that is very useful.
These goals directly correlate to me as a student and in my future career. I will need to be able
to research ideas and then persuade others by using a visually appealing solution to problems
at the workplace. It is important to use information efficiently, effectively, and make it easy to
process. This makes it easier for others to critique the work and give you feedback. Overall, this
project gives me the opportunity to practice all these skills and better myself as a student as
well as a future employee in the accounting field.
METHODS
In this project, I hope to make a visually appealing website that is user friendly and works well
with the writing portion of the web page. This goal can be accomplished by following a number
of steps before and during the website production:
The first step in the process will be to conduct extensive research about the topic. This
will include research on the bike rental program and on an effective website. It will also
include research on various ways to create a website. One of the main things I will need
to research will be different bike rental organizations that already exist.
The second step in the process will be to brainstorm ideas that will be put into the
website. It will include the topics that will be included in the website, the layout of the
website, the information about the certain topics, a list of pictures and graphics that will
be used, and the different formats that the website could take. I will write these ideas
onto paper in outline format. This will make a good starting point for putting ideas into
the website.
I will then start making the rough draft of the website. This will include picking out the
layout and format of the website. I will start with three layouts and enter in basic
information and then narrow it down to a final layout. I will then take all of the
information that I have in my outline and enter it into the website.
The next step will be to use fellow classmates and others to critique the website. I will
need them to give feedback on what works good with the website and what needs to be
changed. I will then use this information to make changes and prepare for the final
draft.
Once I have feedback from peers, I will move on to the final step. This step is the making
of the final copy and will be the NDSU Bike Rental program hypothetical website. After
this step, the website will be complete and ready for use.
TIMELINE
WEEK
TASKS
1 2 3 4 5
10/29-11/6 11/7-11/13 11/14-11/20 11/21-11/27 11/28-12/3
1.Research topic and website design
2.Brainstorm ideas and form outline on paper
3.Rough draft of website (3 different layouts)
4.Get feedback from peers
5.Project progress report due (11/24)
6.Make changes and work on final draft
7.More feedback from peers
8.Final changes made and complete final draft
9.Final project due (12/3)
The following is a timeline of the necessary steps needed to complete the project efficiently:
EVALUATION
The following grading rubric set forth below can be used to determine the effectiveness of the
project. It provides the most appropriate criteria for grading this project. The grading rubric is
as follows:
GRADING RUBRIC
Individual Project ____/100 pts
Organization ____/25 pts
___(20) Web page is very user friendly and the information is clear and concise. Information
contains clearly defined headings and is easy to locate.
___(15) Web page is user friendly and most of the information is clear and concise. Information
contains defined headings and is pretty easy to locate.
___(10) Web page is somewhat user friendly and some information is clear and concise.
Information contains some headings and takes a little bit to locate.
___(5) Web page is not user friendly and the information is not very clear. Information does not
provide headings and is hard to locate.
Visual Components ____/25 pts
___(20) Website is very visually appealing and includes appropriate photos, graphs, charts, etc.
The visual aspect flows great with the writing aspect of the document and is not distracting.
___(15) Website is visually appealing and includes appropriate photos, graphs, charts, etc. The
visual aspect flows with the writing aspect of the document and is not very distracting.
___(10) Website needs to be a little more appealing and include more appropriate photos,
graphs, charts, etc. The visual aspect could flow better with the writing aspect of the document.
___(5) Website is not appealing and does not include appropriate photos, graphs, charts, etc.
The visual aspect does not flow with the writing aspect of the document and is distracting.
Writing Components ____/25 pts
___(20) Website contains writing that is very concise and contains information that is relevant
to the topic. It uses a great layout and flows very well with the visual aspect of the document.
___(15) Website contains writing that is concise and contains information that is mostly
relevant to the reader. It uses a pretty good layout and flows with the visual aspect.
___(10) Website contains writing that needs to be more concise and information could be more
relevant to the topic. Layout could be improved and could flow better with the visual aspect.
___(5) Website contains writing that is not concise and information is not relevant to the topic.
It needs to have a better layout and does not flow well with the visual aspect of the document.
Grammar & Proofreading ____/25 pts
___(20) Document does not contain any grammatical or punctuation errors.
___(15) Document contains very few grammatical and/or punctuation errors.
___(10) Document contains several grammatical and/or punctuation errors.
___(5) Document is full of grammatical and/or punctuation errors.
Works Cited
Baran, Madeleine. “Organizers Say Bike Rental Program for Low-Income Adults a Success.” MPR
News. Minnesota Public Radio, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
Friedman, Vitaly. “10 Principles of Effective Web Design.” Smashing Magazine. Smashing Media
GmbH, 31 Jan 2008. Web. 24 Oct 2010.
Midgley, Peter. “The Role of Smart Bike-sharing Systems in Urban Mobility.” Journeys 3.2 (2009):
23-31. Web. 24 Oct. 2010
Nice Ride Minnesota. Nice Ride Minnesota, 23 Oct. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
Ross, Susannah. 10 Tips for Building a Better Web Site. MarketingProfs LLC, 20 Oct. 2010. Web.
24 Oct. 2010.
