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Code Crew G6+ / Week 11 / Crew Quest
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Week 11 · Build Mission Log

Crew Quest

Crew Quest: Watch someone use it
// A real tool, one piece at a time
⏱ about 30 min

Saturday: Crew Quest: Watch someone use it

Rocket is sure Mission Log is easy to use. After all, he built it, so every menu choice seems obvious to him.

Raven has a different idea. "Let's watch someone else use it," she says, "without helping. Not even a little."

Rocket frowns. "Why not help?" he asks. Raven smiles. "What do you notice when you help?" she asks. "You fix the problem in your head, and the program never gets fixed."

Nova hovers silently in the corner, recording notes. "Interesting," she whispers. "Every pause and every puzzled face is a clue about the design."

Rocket sits on his hands and watches the first tester start.

  1. Decompose a big program into features, and each feature into small functions.
  2. Decide the data shape first: here, a list of dictionaries saved as JSON.
  3. A menu loop uses while True, a choice, and break to quit.
  4. Stubs keep the menu working while features are still being built.
  5. Functions that return values, like format_entry and search_entries, can be reused and tested.
◇ A SILENT USER TEST
Ask a grown-up to use Mission Log for five minutes. Give one instruction only: add two entries, then find one of them.
Do not help. Write down every moment they pause, look puzzled or type something unexpected.
Afterwards, ask: what was easy, and what was confusing?
Keep your notes. You will use them next week to make one improvement.
WEEK 11 CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A user types 2 at the menu. Which function runs?
Where are the entries kept between runs?
A tester types two at the menu, in letters. Which message does Mission Log print? Please type a number from 1 to ____
WHY THIS EXERCISEAny choice that is not one of the five strings falls through to else, which explains what to type.
MORE REVIEW: WEEK 11
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which function turns an entry into one line of text?
A user types 4 at the menu. Which function runs?
Why does Mission Log keep a list of dictionaries?

Outstanding work. Next week: tests, polish, a snapshot and your demo.

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