The project is planned to take one year. Two computer science RAs will be hired, with one focusing on the development of the back end server and the other focusing on the development of the front end interface.

The project will be divided into four phases.

– Phase 1: Implementation (June 2016 to October 2016): The platform will be designed and implemented by leveraging existing open source technologies. This phase will also include purchasing and setting up the server.

– Phase 2: Testing (November 2016 to December 2016): The platform will be tested. For the testing, Undergraduate Student

Researchers will be hired to simulate the participants. For the backend, the testing will involve running various data manipulation scenarios. For the front end, usability tests will be performed in order to ensure that the user interface

is intuitive.

– Phase 3: Deployment (January2017 to April 2017): The platform will be deployed in AR2521 for the whole of semester 2. The

platform will continue to be developed, making tweaks and modifications as required. Starting in the first week of January, training sessions will be created to familiarise staff, teaching assistants, and students on how to use the

platform. Data will also be continuously collected.

– Phase 4: Evaluation (May 2017): The platform will be evaluated in three ways: network analysis techniques will

be used to track the level of cohesion of groups of participants; in-depth interviews will be used to compare the experience of using Studionet to previous studios; and, a questionnaire will be used to gather feedback on

usability and other technical issues. The results from the evaluations will be used to create a roadmap for the future development of the platform. For more details, see the next section.

Studionet will be developed as a single-page application using a set of existing open source web technologies. It will be deployed on a server to be set up in the Department of Architecture server room, with authentication through Computer Centre, thereby allowing staff and students to use their normal usernames and passwords. The Department of Architecture is in the process of upgrading its own firewall, thereby providing a high level of security.