Information search portal for architects.

The dissertation aimed to explore the various limitations in terms of available information sources to the use of architectural professionals. The research methodology unfolded with an open task analysis that formed the basis for the formulation of the requirements for the design of an Information Search portal (ISP) for architects. The specific user needs and their requirements, the task nature and environment were some of the aspects discussed. The need for an expert’s opinion survey has also been established. A survey was conducted among the architectural community from the National University of Singapore, which had the only architecture school in Singapore, in order to establish the need for an ISP for architects as well as to obtain both the general and specific requirements of the community to tailor the design of the ISP in accordance with their needs. Based on the results obtained from the survey, a preliminary design of the portal had been attempted with Human Computer Interaction principles underlying the design. The design evolution and the schematic content and presentation styles used in the portal have been elaborated. The design was then subjected to a simple Heuristic Evaluation with five evaluators to ascertain the overall usability of the ISP for architects, based on the feedback obtained from the evaluation, suitable corrective measures had been proposed in the dissertation. In summary, this dissertation is an attempt towards a bigger goal of designing and materializing a complete one-stop solution for the information needs of the architectural community.Master of Science (Information Studies