Namahn 2004poster
Namahn 2004poster
Namahn 2004poster
SOLUTIONS
Current state
Future state
Write user-centered
It stands almost complete
and finished in my mind so
requirements specifications
ABSTRACTION
CONCEPTUAL
Dilbert: “Your user require- DESIGN
ments include four hundred
features. Do you realize that
no human would be able to
use a product with that level
of complexity?”
“Rules are sparse; we forget Feature Creep: “Good point.
them. Stories, being rich in I’d better add ‘easy to use’ “If you want to know what
details, are multiply index- to the list.” happens when you throw
able...Moreover, if a rule fails,
Dilbert as quoted in Paper a stone into a pond, it is infi-
it can be reassessed only
Prototyping, Carolyn Snyder nitely better to make a trial
with great difficulty because
and film it than to attempt
rules hang in the air, unat-
to theorize about it.”
tached to experience. But if “Igloo: an indigenous home
the lesson attached to a spe- René Thom, Physicist
constructed of local building
cific story fails, the events of materials. Bavarian castle:
the story can be reassessed a home constructed to impress
to figure out why the lesson
failed and what other lesson
MOCK-UP the neighbours. Space station:
a mobile home with a view.”
might have been drawn.”
SCENARIOS Donald C. Gause & Gerald M. Weinberg,
Tell Me a Story, Roger C. Schank
USER OF USE Exploring Requirements: Quality Before
Design
REQUIREMENTS FUTURE STATE
Design by Jean-Marc Klinkert and Sander Vermeulen - Photo credits: Geert Allegaert, Joannes Vandermeulen and Karolien Taverniers - Thanks to Alain Schiffeleers and Andreea Chelaru
TIME
COMMUNICATION PLAN CONCEPTUAL MODEL DETAILED SPECIFICATION FIELD STUDIES INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE PERSONAS STYLE GUIDE USABILITY TEST USE CASES
A document describing the scope and the The concepts that the design must communicate A detailed specification describes the compo- Observing users in the environment in which Document describing the information architec- Personas are lively descriptions of typical users. A document describing the formal conventions A method by which users of a product are asked A use case defines a set of use-case instances
planning of the communication project: what in order for the user to understand and operate nents and behaviour of the user experience they will work with the digital product that is ture of a digital product. In some cases, the They are based on patterns and findings to be followed within a family of digital prod- to perform tasks in an effort to measure the in which each instance is a sequence of actions
is to be communicated, for whom and how; the product. The conceptual model in sufficient detail for the developer, and may being designed. information architecture specification offers gathered during field studies. Using personas ucts. Conventions can be lexical (what are the product’s ease-of-use, task time, and the user’s a system performs that yields an observable
where the challenges and opportunities lie. differs from the technical model, which is the include the design rationale. two perspectives: prevents designers from drifting towards an codes, both visual and linguistic) and syntacti- perception of the product. result of value to a particular actor, often a user.
way the developer understands the product. GRAPHIC DESIGN • User’s side: what the user sees —the taxonomy idealized view of users that lacks nuance. cal (how the codes can be assembled to form
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN It also differs from the mental model, which is DOCUMENTATION The design of the look and feel of the digital and structuring of the information on the pages. practical wholes). USABILITY TEST PROTOCOL USER REQUIREMENTS
A set of sketches illustrating the main interaction the concept that an individual user develops The final deliverables of a documentation product. The graphical design usually consists • Authoring/Storage side: describing the author- RESEARCH REPORT The protocol describes scope, goals, settings, User requirements are a formal expression
concept of a digital product. The conceptual in order to understand the product. project. Usually the writing process of docu- of a specification of standard colours, icons, the ing and storage of the information, workflows, A document that expresses the findings of a TAXONOMY AND METADATA instructions and tasks to be performed by of the desired functions and qualities of the
design starts with paper and pencil. mentation takes three iterations: draft version, location of graphical elements and typography. metadata, topics and information types. research project. Creative and rational at the Design of the information structure, the labelling a test participant. future digital product. Not only product features,
CONTENT INVENTORY pre-final version, and final version. same time, it provides insight into murky territory. and the terminology that will be applied to the but also non-functional requirements, such
A structured list of all content (documents, digital MOCK-UP content of a digital product. The information as reliability and usability, are included.
assets, information chunks, etc.) that must be EXPERT REVIEW A more or less realistic simulation of the user SCENARIOS OF USE structure is usually a tree or a matrix (faceted
considered for publication in a digital product. During expert reviews, a number of experts interface that combines the scenarios of use [current state/future state] classification).
review a product, first individually, then in with the conceptual design into real-life stories An engaging, richly textured story of one or
a group, noting issues and recommending of use. A mock-up can be created in such more users who use tools to achieve goals. TEST REPORT
remedial action. Experts readily use rules of
thumb (heuristics) but challenge each other’s
a way that it can be used in usability tests. Current-state scenarios cover how users
accomplish those goals now, before introducing
The report summarizes the results of the usabili-
ty tests, identifies the design issues that need to
NAMAHN
accepted wisdom. the new product. Future-state scenarios explore be re-considered, and offers recommendations Minding the user throughout.
how the envisaged product would affect the for improvement. Grensstraat/rue de la Limite 21
storyline. B-1210 Brussels T +32 2 209 08 85
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