sibyl_project2

=**Undercover Stocks Website**= Sibyl Chan

__**Rationale:**__ Stocks and the economic/business industry plays a monumental role in the flow of money within our society. Trading, buying, and selling between large companies can be a complicated process. This website helps individuals, with an interest in the stock world to come together and share ideas, thoughts, opinions, whatever they feel neccessary to pass onto other users.

This website is an insider community for investments and stocks, offering internal tips and tricks on when to sell, buy, and discard. It is an online virtual world where people of different experiences and levels in the business economy can interact, giving advice on specific topics they are familiar with. Because stocks are so broad, the website is broken down into 2 main sections: 1st - the basic structure of how stocks work, 2nd - the interaction and exchange of information from user to user. The first part of the website educates the user so they are able to understand the basics. It starts off with the key factors or the general terms needed to understand. Then, it moves onto what is most important in the stock world: when to buy, and when to sell. Once that is done, they are able to make their own predictions, answer questions, rate users, etc. Predictions are most often posted by more experienced users who have worked in the industry for quite a period of time. Users are also allowed to disagree and post rebuttals as to why they think differently. The site allows for the people to gain insight, share helpful information, tips, and advice, or even challenge others.

__**Research Indicates...**__ Starting this project, I didn't have much information on stocks specifically. I knew that they were a big part of the money flow within the economic industry, but did not know the basic types, or how trading, buying, and selling were decided upon. These websites were helpful in showing how it all worked: http://www.stock-market-investors.com/stock-market-advices-and-tips/stock-market-trends-and-signs.html http://books.google.com/books?id=xXyx5k-EwM8C&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=when+to+invest+in+stocks&source=web&ots=KiS3G2qCGf&sig=9C9oc9qwBWloB3YeyAdmvnckJMo#PPP1,M1 http://finance.yahoo.com/ http://finance.yahoo.com/education/stocks/article/101017/How_Stock_Markets_Work http://www.atozinvestments.com/stockmarketbasics.html After reading, I realized that my website could be broken into 2 different areas: a basic understandings page that included information that was not taught within the learning institutions, and the main focus of the page, areas where users could talk specifically with each other and exchange information.

__**Personas & Scenarios:**__

__**Scenarios:**__ //Primary Persona:// Peter is interested in stocks and about learning the underground world of trading and business in terms of advice and tips. He is very familiar with technology, and in many ways is considered an expert in navigating the web. He logs on and begins browsing, luckily stumbling upon a page that offers insider advice on tips and advice in trading and buying stocks; primarily how to become skilled in high stakes business. The first step is understanding the basics, on the website, Peter finds a section entitled “Key Factors”, which includes a brief breakdown on the different types of stocks he needs to familiarize himself with: common stock, preferred stock, and the different classes of stocks, both Class A and Class B. After gaining insight on the advantages of certain stocks and deciding on a the stock a, he then wonders the history of that particular stock’s failures and successes. Linking to a page named “Crashing”, he then gains insight into crashings of stock a, and also finds information on the same page giving information on which stocks will crash in the coming few days, from which company, and which stocks are not worth investing in. There is also a linking page providing critical information on the upcoming rising stocks, which ones are worth investing in, and which ones that should be kept a close eye on. After reading this information, Peter realizes the stock a he has recently purchased will soar 200% in the coming week. He is then led to a page that gives predictions in the coming months of which stocks will rise/fall. It is based on the success/failure of recent stocks backgrounds and based on major company satiability. This predictions page is great for Peter because it offers him underground information on major companies that sell off stocks with their histories and reliance on trades pulling through. Peter reads that most advertising firms in the downtown region of Toronto are trying to sell off their stocks because they have been bought out; he knows to steer clear from here. He then reads that computer hardware companies have recently been soaring and have been making highly profitable trades from other big time companies From here, Peter is immersed in an online and supportive community that gives him fair warning of what to watch out for and what situations to take advantage of. However, he must also be careful of scammers who will try putting false information on the boards. The final page he logs into after reading all the predictions and preparing for what stocks to buy in the coming months are the reputations of the users online. Peter has struck gold with this discovery because he know has a clear picture of which user to is most reliable and which is most untrustworthy. Peter has know learned of the different types of stocks needed within a particular situation, which kind of company to invest in, advice from insiders, and gaining access to a select few users who have extensive experience in business, thus, the ones who will ‘dish out the goods’ on profiting.

//Secondary Persona:// Glen is a retired CEO of a Company X, who has years of experience in the way business transactions took place years before technology intervened. He does not know much about the internet but has great advice to give. Glen wants to invest his remainder of shares in a new small company that has not had much luck in its past, but has great potential. He hears from an old friend that a particular website has great information on up and coming companies, with thorough background insight and solid predictions on great future outcomes. After a while, Glen finally finds the website and logs in. He is immediately greated with facts that he once learned in business school, with of course a newer and faster way of doing things, it is after all the 21st century. After reading through and refreshing his mind momentarily, Glen finds stumbles onto a page that is dedicated to the background of companies, small and big. He reads the whole page thoroughly and comes to the decision that Company Z is up and coming, small, but full of potential in the big business world. He also learned that it is predicted by other highly reputated users that Company Z has many fans, and many users investing in it. This seals the deal. He puts the remaining stock he has left into that company, and before leaving the page finds a member named Peter that wants to learn a little about how to predict the failures/successes of stock trading. Glen offers much great insight on how to read the warning signs and instructs Peter on always paying close attention to not only the big trades, but also the smaller details of the companies: positions of employees, positive consumer remarks, etc. After giving as much information as he can muster from his 50 years of the business world, Glen logs off, but not after making some new friends and giving a helping hand to a young, up and coming entrepreneur.

//Affected/Tertiary Persona:// Jenny is middle-aged women who works a typical 9-5 job in an office. She makes a decent salary and lives comfortably to say the least. However, recently she has heard from her friend that stock trading and investing in companies is an easy way to earn some quick cash. Jenny has never been big on business, she is very unfamiliar with how business transactions take place. Her friend asks her time to time to go online and check to see which companies are doing well because she does not have access to internet. Jenny does not have a strong interest at all, but does so for her friend's sake. She will occasionally hop online to the Undercover Stocks website to wind of key investors for her friend, but does bother in her spare time.

__**Areas of Concentration:**__ I then further broke down areas within my website that I wanted to concentrate on. Because stocks could be an extremely broad subject, I chose to stick with the basics and then branch out and arrive at the insider trading. So once the user refreshes their mind/learns a little bit of information they hadn't previously been aware of, they are are then taken into the primary area of the website where all the tips are given.



__**Site Map Development:**__ After creating areas and gaining a better idea of what my website would be focused on, I had to decide on which pages would be linking with each other. In other words, the hierarchy of the website, where to go first, which pages are relevant with each other, etc. __//Top://__ Above, starting from the left to right are the refinement of the sitemap. It was just a matter of tweaking and putting the correct information on the corresponding pages. I found that developing particular areas to concentrate on helped greatly because I was able to know exactly where the primary persona would be surfing/what content to create to suit their needs. Also, the sitemap laid out the skeleton for how I would be planning my wire frames and visual mock ups of the website.

__**Wireframes:**__ Above are the basic wireframe ideas for my site. I decided to follow the 24 grid structure, as it greatly helped in organizing my information and made everything more clear. Because part of my website was based on the distribution of information of stocks, I wanted it to be as simple to find and understand so the users would not be bored or get lost trying to look for a particular subject. I decided on a larger header on the top of the page to easily distinguish where the user was. Green bars were placed as simple dividers, and I also took into consideration headers, as they're a good choice for clarifying where to read first, as well as distinguishing hierarchy.

Above are the first rough ideas for a visuals following the structure of the wireframes. As seen above, the larger titles helped greatly in telling the user where they were. Under each title i decided to add a little blurb as to what the section was about, telling the user briefly what they would be expecting in accordance to the page. However, I realized that too much text was used, and that people normally don't read more than 2 sentences on a page, so the next step was to break up the information in a concise way that would still retain the visual quality created.
 * Visual Mockups #1:**

__**Visual Mockups #2:**__ Above: were the more finalized versions of what I wanted my site to resemble. It still follows the 24-grid structure, but I broke down the information into shorter points with simple titles. I was also playing around with the area of where the navigation would be. I decided on the top simply because it went with the flow of my page. As mentioned earlier, the 3 pages (key factors, soaring, crashing) were the more informational ones. The 'Forecasting' page is where the interaction takes place, it is where users can post what they believe which stocks will go up/down, when to buy/sell. The three informational pages simply lead the user into the core area of the website. And with the information learned there, they are then able to better create predictions or rebuttals.

__**Visual Mockups Finalized:**__



__//First Row://__ The first concept for my homepage didn't actaully feel like it conveyed the correct template for how a homepage should look like. Thus, I moved around some elements and created a 'logo' to add to the feel of a landing page. I also moved the links lower so it would be easier to find. I thought that adding a 'Mission Statement', a type of declaration as to what the page would be about, so the user knew exactly where they were and what to expect.
 * Above:**

__//Second Row://__ Shows the interactive process (Forecasting, and Reputations). In both pages the user is able to post a prediction regarding the state of stocks, as well as challenge other users and voice their opinions if they feel they are not giving correct information. All rebuttals and predictions are backed up with evidence so it is not simply a thought that has jumped into someones mind. The Reputations page is connected to the Forecasting page, in that users are able to look at who ranks the highest. Within the website there are numerous users, thus, many opinions and thoughts flying around. This page is able to give viewers a clear view of who can truly be trusted, who is reliable, and who they can take their word for. They are also given the choice to vote for who they deem most helpful, thus, adding to the interactive manner of the website. There is also a Q&A page where users are free to ask any questions they want as well as an area for response. Thus, there is a high level of exchangeable information - they are able to interact with others, and have the freedom to vote, give predictions, voice opinions, or speak up if they disagree with someones thoughts.

//__Third Row:__// These mocks are simply to show where the user would be posting their responses. It is simply laid out with minimal distraction so they are able to give their input and return to the previous page.

__**Conclusion...**__
Developing a primary persona that this page was suited for was very helpful in establishing the kinds of interaction that would be taking place. By catering mostly to a specific individual, I was able to narrow down a lot of ideas and focus on what I deemed most important in terms of the medium i was working with.

This website was created to give my primary persona (a young entrepreneur insider tips that he did not know before, and allow him to interact with other more experienced users that can offer advice for his future career). It succeeds in this task, firstly by offering my persona a brief area to refresh his mind on stocks, information that he may have not learned previously. The Crashing and Soaring offer exclusive advice, a cumulative amount of information from users who have been in that position before, and thus know what correct information to dish out. Then, the Predictions page allows everyone, of any experience or skill value, to voice their opinions and thoughts. Users are able check their credentials on the Reputations page to see if the information given out is worth keeping in mind. It serves as a filtering page, letting people know which users are most helpful, and which ones to ignore (potential scammers). It then ends off with a Q&A page, allowing anyone to ask questions - any afterthoughts they may have or just any questions that were not posted anywhere else on the site. Undercover Stocks is an online community where information is offered from an insiders point of view. People are able to help others, voice their personal opinions, and share their experiences with others.

__**Final:**__