Specifications/Object Transfers

Visual Spec

Information to show

Here I've taken a stab at outlining the information needed for a transfer. In truth I'd like all of this info to be available, but it seems prudent to attempt to separate info required from that which would be really nice to have, to allow us to consider all possible designs.

Needed

• Sender/Recipient name & colors (either sender or recipient, depending on perspective, not both)
• Object name
• Object icon
• Accept/Decline buttons (anything other useful actions?)
• Type of notification (eg. "transfer", to distinguish from invitations, etc.; could be told by the form (icon), but may be explicit)

Nice

• Sender/Recipient icon (I'd like to show this, but it's secondary to at least representing their color in some manner)
• Object description (it would be nice to have if kids actually use the description field)
• Object preview (this might be better than description, if descriptions aren't used to full potential)
• progress bar (not strictly needed, if progress is shown only in Journal; definitely wanted if the transfer object persists)

Interaction Spec

Example

1. Child A initiates an object transfer by one of the following means: clicking on the send-to button in the Journal toolbar; selecting the send-to option in the palette for a given object; dragging/dropping an object onto the XO icon of a buddy.
2. Child A receives a notification. The notification indicates the person who the transfer has been offered to, the object to be transferred (call it O) including type and title, and the option to cancel the transfer.
3. Child B receives a notification. The notification indicates the person who initiated the transfer (child A), the object to be transferred (object O) including type and title, and the options to accept or decline the transfer.
4. When child B accepts the transfer, a progress segment gets added to the notifications of both A and B. This segment indicates visually the percentage transferred, and offers an approximate time remaining. Additionally, both A and B receive a progress entry in their Journal which indicates the same information that the notification held.
5. When the transfer finishes, both A and B receive another notification to indicate this. The corresponding Journal entry becomes a standard entry. A's reads "Sent O to B". B's reads "Received O from A".
6. Should the transfer cancel or fail, A notification should indicate this. The corresponding Journal entry becomes a standard entry. A's reads "The transfer of O to B (was cancelled | failed)". B's reads "The transfer of O from A (was cancelled | failed)".