Evaluating your solution
The final component of the Controlled Assessment requires you to evaluate your solution to the task set by CCEA. The evaluation should refer to the user requirements and show how you met them.
Your evaluation should also consider any elements that failed tests and how you attempted to solve these. Finally, you should come up with recommendations to make the software better.
Here are some words that you could use to help form your comments:
| Save | Find | Use | Generate | Develop | Organise | Share |
| Exchange | Control | Achieve | Solve | Describe | Combine | Identify |
| Select | Translate | Measure | Record | Analyse | Design | Consider |
| Apply | Reason | Understand | Collect | Interrogate | Question | Recognise |
| Add | Amend | Combine | Sense | Explore | Predict | Compare |
| Organise | Structure | Function | Assess | Refine | Enquire | Vary |
| Save |
| Find |
| Use |
| Generate |
| Develop |
| Organise |
| Share |
| Exchange |
| Control |
| Achieve |
| Solve |
| Describe |
| Combine |
| Identify |
| Select |
| Translate |
| Measure |
| Record |
| Analyse |
| Design |
| Consider |
| Apply |
| Reason |
| Understand |
| Collect |
| Interrogate |
| Question |
| Recognise |
| Add |
| Amend |
| Combine |
| Sense |
| Explore |
| Predict |
| Compare |
| Organise |
| Structure |
| Function |
| Assess |
| Refine |
| Enquire |
| Vary |
You should evaluate the success of your program and comment on how useful it might be to a real end user. Consider the following:
1. User interface: Strengths, weaknesses and improvements
Evaluate the effectiveness of your user interface.
- Is it user friendly, if so how?
- What components make it user friendly?
- Quality of graphics – are they appropriate for the end user/audience?
- Is it intuitive (will people know what to do automatically)? If so, how/why?
- Is your user interfaceThe way that a human can interact with an application. In the context of a wireframe the user interface relates to the visual layout that the user can interact with. accessible for users with special considerations (visually impaired, hearing impaired, issues with dexterity/use of hands)?
- Does the user interface provide feedback (error messages/text output on screen)?
- Is it informative (does it explain how to use the system)?
- Is it too complex?
- How does your user interface compare to a professionally produced program?
- How would you improve the layout/appearance/functionality of your user interface?
- What elements of a typical CLICommand line interface - a method of running programs and working on a computer using only text. This contrasts with a graphical interface which uses clickable icons and menus. or graphical user interfaceA computer display that uses windows, icons, menus and pointers to let a user interact with a computer. have/would you include and why?
- Is the interface cluttered or organised?
- Is the user interface intuitive – will users be familiar with the concepts of your user interface or is there a steep learning curve?
2. Programming techniques used and efficiency of your code: Strengths, weaknesses and improvements
Evaluate your programming techniques in detail.
- What techniques did you employ and why? Think: loopA method used in programming to repeat a set of instructions. (while loopsA WHILE loop code is repeated based on a certain condition and is checked at the beginning of each iteration., for loopThe count-controlled loop can be described as a FOR loop. The program repeats the action FOR a number of times.), variableA named memory location. The value of which can change during the execution of a program (localA variable that can be accessed only from within the loop or procedure in which it was created., global variableGlobal variables can be accessed by any part of the program at all times.), string manipulationBasic operations on strings, such as creation, concatenation, storage, and input/output etc., lists, functions/procedures, unique elements and libraries of your chosen language.
- Is your solution efficient?
- Is it fully functional?
- Is your code organised?
- Could it be more readable?
- Is your code clearly commented?
- Is your logic and reasoning clear or complex?
- Could you implement a simpler algorithm to solve some of the issues?
You must evaluate all major functions and scripts in your final coded solution.
3. The IDE used
Evaluate the features of the programming environment you used.
- What features did you use? For example, breakpointA pre-defined point code where execution stops so that the values of the variable can be checked./ debugThe process of finding and correcting programming errors. /auto completeWhere an application can predict the rest of the word a user is typing. Autocomplete while coding is known as code completion/ interface generatorsSome Integrated Development Environments (IDE) allow the coder to rapidly generate user interfaces without writing a lot of code or with minimal skill levels./ syntax highlightingAllows code to be displayed in different colours and fonts depending on the language. It makes it easier to read and helps in understanding the context of the code..
- What were the advantages/disadvantages of the features that you used?
- Was the IDE accessible/easy to use?
- How did you develop your skills?
- What problems did you encounter with your chosen IDE?
You will need to finish your evaluation with a final paragraph or conclusion summing up every aspect listed above.
