My short bio
I, Olli Savolainen, am a fifth year Interactive Technology major in the University of Tampere. I am finishing my Bachelor’s degree during spring 2008. Since 2002, I have been working part time in several web and software development projects (see http://www.pilpi.net/design/).
I am particularly interested in usability and in the human side of computing and in web development; I made my Bachelor’s thesis about alternative user interfaces for small scale Content Management Systems (available at http://www.uta.fi/~os69549/suoravaikutteisuus_CMS_UI.html - in Finnish).
My previous occupation was software development of the Electronic Exam System of the University of Tampere–hereafter Tenttis, a Moodle based project, which began in June 2006 and got finished in autumn 2007. The project consisted of customizing Moodle, in particular the Quiz module, and integrating it with a web application for making reservations. I also usability tested the custom-made parts, in constant cooperation with the technical, administrative and teaching staff in the university. During the project, while creating new functionality for Tenttis, I learned a lot about Moodle’s libraries (UI, database abstraction etc.) and conventions so I have the skills necessary to implement the proposed user interface. This is where I also familiarized myself with the different use cases of the Quiz module.
Side note: A similar plan as this was left unimplemented in Tenttis due to the small amount of resources in that project. Though implementing the proposition may potentially benefit Tenttis in the future, the work done within the Summer code project is directed to be of general benefit of the Moodle community, independent of the needs of the University of Tampere, or Tenttis.
