ADJ Problem Set 1 1 Warm up (16 p oints) [Acuña] You have been contracted to develop an algorithm that automatical ly generates thumbnails for YouTube videos. Your employer wants to reduce the time it...

ADJ Problem Set 1
1 Warm up (16 p oints)
[Acuña] You have been contracted to develop an algorithm that automatical ly generates thumbnails for
YouTube videos. Your employer wants to reduce the time it takes to get videos onto the platform by having
software that processes a video le, and then produces a thumbnail that captures the content of the video
and encourages people to click the video. They denitely don't want just a random screen shot, they want
something with multiple elements that are composed together, like a graphic artist would produce.
Based on this scenario answer the following questions and preform the following tasks. This question
represents the initial brainstorming and analysis of a problem as you b egin to apply ADJ. This is a compli-
cated problem, and our rst step is get a sense of that complexity and how we need to start thinking with
real-world problems. These questions are op en-ended, and there are many p ossible answers. We grade on the
usefulness and soundness of your answers, rather than lo oking for something sp ecic. For some questions,
there are sp ecic techniques that are applicable and which you learn in future classes. Clearly, you don't
need to use those advanced approaches. Use your current knowledge and answer to the b est of your ability.
This is actually ideal - complex work is done incrementally, it do esn't spring into existence.
1. Give three screenshots of thumbnails of dierent videos on YouTub e with the same general topic. Feel
free pick any topic (e.g., funny cat videos, Japanese co oking), p erhaps a content area that you like
and are knowledgeable ab out. Be sure to lo ok for interesting, human designed, thumbnails! [1 p oint]
2. For each of the three thumbnails you have given in #1, answer the following: what asp ects of the
thumbnail encourages or discourages p eople from clicking it? [2 p oint]
3. This is outside of ADJ, but to make the following questions more interesting: what topic of videos will
your algorithm pro cess? It can b e the same as the videos in #1, but please describ e it. (Here we are
b eing nice and letting you pick the typ e of work you have b een contracted for... not realistic!) [1 p oint]
4. What should b e the "elements" and theme of the thumbnail that you generate? (Give at least two
elements.) [1 p oint]
5. The input to this prop osed algorithm is underdened ("video" do esn't mean much!). What might you
assume the input contains? [1 p oint]
6. For each of the two elements you identied, how would you extract those elements automatically from
the input in #5? General ideas! You don't know enough to do this in detail... yet. [2 p oint]
7. For each of the two elements you identied: what makes you certain that b oth your employer and
p otential watchers would nd them engaging? [2 p oint]
8. How realistic would it b e to actually construct a solution to this problem? Or is it imp ossible? (Try
to envision solving this problem in a couple of years when you have your degree.) [2 p oint]
9. List at least three dierent go ogle queries you would use to start learning more ab out how to solve this
problem. (Realistically, you would need many more! Just give some solid examples here.) [1 p oint]
10. What questions would you ask your employer ab out this problem b efore pro ceeding with the contract?
Give at least three. Consider parts of the problem that are ill-dened and/or op en-ended. [2 p oint]
11. Lastly: do you think having this algorithm would actually help your employer with the goal they
implicitly describ ed? (Sometimes the consumer do esn't actually know what they want!) [1 p oint]
If in answering the ab ove questions, you need to make assumptions, please indicate them. (Assumptions are
also go o d material for #10 ab ove!)
12 A First ADJ Problem
In this part, you will construct an ADJ-style solution to a simple problem. The goal is to practice your ability
to soundly solve problems in an optimal way and communicate your ideas. When completing a solution, you
will need to follow the rules b elow. They are intended to ensure clear and professional solutions.
2.1 ADJ Ruleset
2.1.1 Basic Requirements
As a base exp ectation, your submissions must demonstrate b oth attention to instructions, and professional-
ism. Sp ecically (and exhaustively), we require the following to assign a non-zero grade to a submission:
1. Answer subsections must b e clearly lab eled as analysis, design, or justication.
2. Solutions must b e in the spirit of the problem. Do not submit solutions to some clever edge case of
the problem(s).
3. Prop er sp elling and grammar. Assignments must not have more than three sp elling errors p er page,
or more than one ma jor grammar error p er page (which distracts from readability).
Failing to following any of the basic requirements will result in an automatic zero grade. If you are concerned
that your solutions do not met the ab ove requirements for grading, you may bring them to oce hours for
a pre-check to conrm that they are ready to submit.
2.1.2 Further Requirements
1. Any assumptions you make in analysis should b e b oth explicitly stated to b e assumptions, and rea-
sonable from the prompt.
2. Use paragraphs as appropriate, if you give nothing but bullet p oints then your solution
is likely a summary, not a solution, and will not b e worth much credit.
3. Do not submit anything that you do not understand, or which you do not think actually works. Your
explanation must convince the reader that you know and understand what is happ ening.
2.2 The Problem (14 p oints)
[Acuña] Consider designing a program where you need to store information about every student at ASU. You
need to be able to quickly determine which undergraduate students have a GPA of at least 3.5 so that you
can add them to the Dean's list. Would you use an array or linked list? Analyze the problem, design a
choice, and justify the choice. [15 points]
Solutions to this problem typically run one to two pages, dep ending if your do cument is single or double
spaced. And yes, those three lines are the entire problem. This do es not mean you answer will b e short,
rather it means the opp osite! Consider: this problem is very incomplete. Luckily, you are a student at ASU!
You understand the domain very well and can ll in the blanks! A lot of analysis will b e you writing down
(in a sense, formalizing) things like students, semester, GPA, and the goal of the program. All these details
need to b e explained - do not assume that your reader knows it already. And also: part of the purp ose of
a prop er analysis to b e sure that all information is clear and there are no hidden assumptions that dier
b etween readers. Minor hint: your design will literally b e the words array or linked list... there should b e
no co de! (Although: your should probably discuss how the data needs to b e generally accessed in analysis.)