# 1 Introduction
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## 1.1 Purpose
This document specifies the requirements for Revision 2 of the http://getreal.ous.edu website. The purpose of the website is to attract and encourage Oregon high school students to take coursework leading toward a baccalaureate degree in computer science (CS) at one of the seven Oregon University System campuses. The goal is to provide a teen-friendly set of web pages that are easy to navigate and provide sufficient depth and information about careers in computer science, with the ultimate aim of increasing the number of computer science graduates from Oregon universities.

## 1.2 Scope
The software product to be produced is the second revision of the http://getreal.ous.edu website.

The website will provide a high school teen-friendly set of web pages that are easy to navigate while providing sufficient depth and information about careers in computer science. The application of the software is to attract and encourage Oregon high school students to take coursework leading toward a baccalaureate degree in computer science (CS) at one of the seven Oregon University System campuses.

The goal of the Get Real website is to encourage more Oregon students to choose computer science and related majors, eventually increasing the number of computer science graduates from Oregon universities.

Benefits for students using the site will include:
*   Personal and career information from a broad spectrum of CS professionals.
*   CS course and other information from OUS campuses.
*   Timely and up-to-date information that encourages readers to return to the site.
*   A call to action and plans for students to follow to prepare for a CS career.

## 1.3 Product overview
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### 1.3.1 Product perspective
This product is the second version of the Get Real website, an update to the existing version 1. The website operates as an extension of the Oregon University System (OUS) site and is hosted on Oregon State University (OSU) servers.

#### System interfaces
The website interfaces with the larger OUS website ecosystem. It must adhere to the same copyright and security measures as the main OUS site. The system will require an interface to a service that can track and evaluate website "hits" and the time users spend on the site.

#### User interfaces
The website must be compatible with and tested against Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Netscape browsers. Web design conventions, including CSS and other style conventions, must be consistent with the standards used on the OUS site and those established in version 1 of the Get Real website.

#### Hardware interfaces
[N/A]

#### Software interfaces
The website will interface with external software products for specific features:
*   Google tools will be used to provide internal and external search functionality.
*   An RSS feed from the Chancellor’s office daily communications distribution will be used to provide current CS information.

#### Communications interfaces
[N/A]

#### Memory constraints
The website is constrained by the available server space.

#### Operations
Normal operations consist of users browsing the website. Special operations include:
*   Tracking and evaluating website usage statistics to inform content, design, and navigation changes.
*   A weekly task is required to edit and maintain the URLs for the RSS feed.

#### Site adaptation requirements
[N/A]

#### Interfaces with services
[N/A]

### 1.3.2 Product functions
The Get Real website will provide a set of web pages to attract and encourage Oregon high school students to pursue a degree in computer science. The major functions are organized into the following pages and sections:

*   **Exploring College:** Provides a listing of computer science offerings from Oregon University System campuses and other Oregon colleges.
*   **Jobs & Money:** Offers information on career contributions and potential earnings with a computer science degree.
*   **Real People:** Profiles recent CS graduates and experienced professionals in diverse fields, potentially using video or audio.
*   **Women in Computing:** Profiles women computer scientists and engineers to showcase their work and lives.
*   **Resources:** Lists pre-college technology programs and courses for high school students.
*   **I’m Looking For...:** A focused question-and-answer section with links to information within the site.
*   **Articles:** Provides links to external articles related to careers in computer science.
*   **High School Courses:** Recommends high school curricula for students interested in computer science.
*   **Search:** Provides search capabilities for both the internal Get Real site and external CS-related sites.
*   **Professional Organizations:** Lists and links to student sections of national and international CS organizations like ACM and IEEE.
*   **RSS Feeds:** Delivers current CS information to subscribers.
*   **Ask a Grad or Prof – FAQ:** Allows students to ask questions and view answers in an FAQ format.
*   **Consider a CS Minor:** Provides information on the value of a CS minor for students in other professions.

### 1.3.3 User characteristics
The intended users are Oregon high school students in grades 9 to 12. Their characteristics, particularly their tolerance for content and attention span, influence the site's usability requirements. The users can be divided into the following groups:

*   **Students Interested in Computer Science (CS):** This group is actively seeking detailed information about CS careers and college programs. They are more tolerant of the site's content but are particularly attracted to visual elements like pictures and structured information such as comparison charts and personal stories.

*   **General College-Bound Students:** This group is not necessarily interested in CS and has a shorter attention span. They are deterred by large blocks of text ("walls of text") and require a visually attractive and easily navigable design with more white space, pictures, color, and charts to hold their attention. They respond positively to interactive elements.

*   **Students Interested in Other Professions:** This group includes students interested in fields like medicine, law, or business who might be persuaded to consider a CS minor if its value is clearly presented.

The educational level for all users is high school. Technical expertise varies from students with an existing interest in CS to those with none.

Information regarding user disabilities is [N/A].

### 1.3.4 Limitations
The website must operate within the Oregon University System (OUS) and Oregon State University (OSU) infrastructure. It runs as an extension of the OUS domain on OSU servers.

The project is subject to the following constraints:
*   Hardware limitations, including available server space and bandwidth for video streaming.
*   Limited availability of Chancellor’s Office resources for website maintenance.
*   The website must adhere to the policies, standards, and conventions of the main OUS site, including those for security and web design.
*   The system must include audit functions to track and evaluate user traffic, such as the number of "hits" and the time spent on pages.

## 1.4 Definitions
[N/A]

# 2 References
The following documents and resources are referenced in this document.

## Compliance
*   CSS and other style conventions established in Get Real version 1.
*   Web design standards and conventions used on the Oregon University System (OUS) site.
*   Copyright and other security measures for the OUS site.

## Guidance
*   EngineerGirl website, as an example of a youth-oriented site. Source: www.engineergirl.org
*   University of Washington Computer Science, "Video Downloads Available," as examples for "real people" profiles. Source: http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/ugrad/prospective/download.html
*   Women in Computer Science (WICS) at the University of Oregon. Source: www.cs.uoregon.edu/groups/wics/
*   University of Pennsylvania, Women in Computer Architecture resource list. Source: www.cis.upenn.edu/acg/wicarch.html
*   ACM recommended curricula for High School Computer Science students.
*   Dreamweaver local site files. Source: `~cn-capctr/share/Get_Real_website/~

# 3 Requirements
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## 3.1 Functions
The system shall provide a set of web pages with the following functions:

*   **Exploring College:** The system shall display a listing of the computer science offerings from Oregon University System campuses and other Oregon colleges.
*   **Jobs & Money:** The system shall provide information answering questions about societal contributions and potential salary with a computer science degree.
*   **Real People Profiles:** The system shall display profiles of recent CS graduates and experienced professionals in CS and related careers. These profiles may include video or audio content to convey personal messages.
*   **Women in Computer Science:** The system shall display profiles of women computer scientists and engineers. It may also provide a list of contacts for girls interested in contacting women CS professionals.
*   **Resources:** The system shall display a list of pre-college technology programs and courses for high school students.
*   **Focused Q&A:** The system shall provide a list of focused questions and answers with links to relevant content within the website, covering topics such as money, people, and colleges.
*   **External Articles:** The system shall provide a list of links to articles on external websites.
*   **High School Courses:** The system shall display recommended curricula for high school students interested in CS and related careers, with links to recommendations from university sources.
*   **Search:** The system shall provide search functionality for both internal and external content.
    *   The system shall allow users to search the content of the Get Real website.
    *   The system shall allow users to perform an external search of CS-related outside sites.
*   **Professional Organizations:** The system shall provide a listing of and links to professional organizations, with pointers to their student sections.
*   **RSS Feeds:** The system shall provide RSS feeds of current, selected articles related to computer science.
*   **Ask a Grad or Prof:** The system shall provide a question and answer feature. Answers to submitted questions shall be posted in a publicly viewable FAQ section. This may also be implemented as a blog.
*   **CS Minor Information:** The system shall provide information on the value of a computer science minor for students in other professions.
*   **Usage Tracking:** The system shall track and allow for the evaluation of "hits" and time spent on the website to inform future content, design, and navigation changes.

The following functional areas are not defined in the source document:

*   Validity checks on the inputs
*   Exact sequence of operations
*   Responses to abnormal situations, including error handling and recovery
*   Effect of parameters
*   Relationship of outputs to inputs, including formulas for input to output conversion

## 3.2 Performance requirements
The website's response time shall be comparable to the main OUS website (www.ous.edu).

The system shall provide sufficient bandwidth for video streaming.

Static numerical requirements, such as the number of simultaneous users to be supported, are not specified.

Dynamic numerical requirements, such as the number of transactions to be processed within certain time periods, are not specified.

## 3.3 Usability requirements
The website must be designed to be "teen friendly" to attract and hold the attention of the target audience of Oregon high school students. The site must be easy to navigate and guide the viewer to information that will lead to a decision to pursue a career in computer science.

Based on feedback from the target user group, the following usability requirements shall be met:
*   The overall graphic design must be updated to be visually attractive.
*   The design shall incorporate more white space, pictures, color, photos, diagrams, and charts to break up text.
*   Content must be broken into readable chunks to avoid large "walls of text".
*   Paragraphs shall be short, and bulleted lists and charts should be used where possible to support faster page reading and shorter attention spans.
*   The site shall use interactive elements to engage users.

The website shall be functional and tested for compatibility with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Netscape browsers.

A mechanism must be in place to track and evaluate user hits and the time spent on the website. This data shall be used to make future content, design, and navigation changes as needed.

## 3.5 Logical database requirements
[N/A]

## 3.6 Design constraints
The system design is subject to the following constraints:
*   The website is constrained by server space and bandwidth for video streaming.
*   The project is constrained by the limited availability of Chancellor’s Office resources.
*   The website must run on OSU servers as an extension of the OUS site.
*   The website must be compatible with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Netscape browsers.
*   The design must adhere to the CSS and other style conventions established in Get Real version 1.
*   Web design conventions must be consistent with the standards and conventions used on the main OUS site.
*   Copyright and other security measures must be the same as those for the main OUS site.

## 3.7 Software system attributes
### a) Reliability
[N/A]

### b) Availability
[N/A]

### c) Security
Copyright and other security measures for the Get Real website shall be the same as those for the main OUS site.

### d) Maintainability
*   Web design conventions shall be consistent with the standards and conventions used on the OUS site.
*   Developers must adhere to the CSS and other style conventions established in Get Real version 1.

### e) Portability
The Get Real website shall be compatible with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Netscape web browsers.

## 3.8 Supporting information
The goal of the Get Real website is to encourage more Oregon students to choose computer science and related majors, eventually increasing the number of computer science graduates from Oregon universities. The website is intended to be a teen-friendly, easy-to-navigate resource that provides sufficient depth and information about careers in computer science.

Feedback on version 1 of the website was gathered from interviews with Oregon high school students. Common themes that emerged from this user survey include:
*   Students not generally interested in computer science suggested graphic design changes, more white space, pictures, and easier-to-navigate pages. They frequently used the term “walls of text” and wanted a more visually attractive site with color, photos, diagrams, and charts.
*   Students already interested in computer science suggested changes in the Real People, Resources, and Colleges sections. They responded positively to the pictures, the personal stories, and the college comparison chart.
*   A strong suggestion from both groups was to break information into more readable chunks to accommodate faster page reading and shorter reader attention spans.

The following resources were referenced as examples for content and design:
*   The University of Washington's website provides video profiles of computer science students and young professionals: http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/ugrad/prospective/download.html
*   The website www.engineergirl.org is an example of a youth-oriented site that effectively uses white space and profiles women in exciting engineering careers.
*   The University of Pennsylvania's website provides a resource list for contacting women in computer architecture, which could serve as a model: www.cis.upenn.edu/acg/wicarch.html

A prototype index page with examples of various search engines is available at ~getreal.ous.edu/protoindex.html.

Special packaging instructions for the code and media are not required.

# 4 Verification
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## 4.1 Functions
[N/A]

## 4.2 Performance requirements
[N/A]

## 4.3 Usability requirements
The usability of the Get Real website will be verified through the following methods:

*   Proposed new pages and sections will be prototyped.
*   The website will be tested by the web designers.
*   The user interface will be tested to ensure it works with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Netscape browsers.
*   Post-launch, user "hits" and the time spent on the website will be tracked and evaluated to inform necessary changes to content, design, and navigation.

## 4.5 Logical database requirements
[N/A]

## 4.6 Design constraints
[N/A]

## 4.7 Software system attributes
Verification of the website's security measures will be conducted by ensuring they are consistent with the copyright and security measures of the OUS site.

The website's design conventions will be verified for consistency with the standards and conventions used on the OUS site and adherence to the CSS and style conventions established in Get Real version 1.

The website will be tested against Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Netscape to verify its cross-browser compatibility.

The effectiveness of the website will be evaluated by tracking and analyzing the number of "hits" and the time spent on the site by users.

*   Reliability: [N/A]
*   Availability: [N/A]

# 5 Appendices
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## 5.1 Assumptions and dependencies
There are no development assumptions or dependencies.

## 5.2 Acronyms and abbreviations
[N/A]
