Partnering with a UI Designer Uday Gajendar Principal Designer Citrix Systems
o
“
I asked him if he would come up with a few options, and he said, ‘No, I will solve your problem for you and you will pay me. You don’t have to use the solution. If you want options go talk to other people.’
”
o
At the Heart of it All...
Partnership Collaboration Cooperation Teamwork Empathy o
Today’s Agenda Intro Identifying the need Hiring a designer Core design skills General design process Major deliverables Related issues... Last bit of advice
o
Typical scenario: Sound familiar?
o
Typical scenario: Sound familiar?
o
Typical scenario: Sound familiar?
o
Typical scenario: Sound familiar?
o
Identifying the need You need a designer to create products that are usable & desirable, help achieve user’s tasks & goals, add polish and quality, ensuring an cohesive Oit of features to user contexts & perceptions. It’s more than skinning widgets or slicing icons. A helluva lot more!
o
Hiring a designer Who do you need? • Visual Designer crafts the pixel details: type/color/grids/icons • UI/Interaction Designer drives the taskOlow, layout, behavior • Information Architect organizes content, draws diagrams • Prototyper vividly animates digital behavior • Researcher observes users and validates usability • Writer prepares the content voice, tone, diction
o
Core design skills What to look for... • Empathy
• Sketching
• Communicates well
• Imagination
• Writing
• Debates on the merits
• Iterative
• Wires / Comps
• Values criticism
• Holistic
• Prototyping
• Adaptable to tech • Considers all sides
o
Core design skills What to look for...
provocateur • therapist • advocate • visualizer
o
Hiring a designer How do you Oind the right one? • The Portfolio vs The Resume • A Design Interview • The Design Exercise • Venues: BayCHI, IxDA, AIGA, IDSA, UPA
o
Working with a designer
o
Working with a designer
o
Hiring a designer How do you Oind the right one? • The Portfolio vs The Resume • A Design Interview • The Design Exercise • Venues: BayCHI, IxDA, AIGA, IDSA, UPA
o
Typical backgrounds • Fine and Liberal Arts • Graphic / Industrial / Interaction Design • Human-‐Computer Interaction (HCI) • Human Factors / Usability / Cog Psych • Library Science / Information Studies • Architecture / Interior Design
o
Design approaches *
Thanks to Dan Saffer Kicker Studio
User-Centered Design common design philosophy, asking users for input Activity-Centered Design for complex activities, reOining taskOlows, efOiciency overall Data-Driven Design for incremental test-‐based updates, A/B comparisons, etc. Systems Design for large-‐scale big picture, systems/models rethink “Genius” Design rapid expert situations, needs experience!
o
Design process verify DISCOVER
>
understanding
assess INTERPRET
>
modeling
evaluate CREATE visualizing
users, goals, values, tasks,
Olows, system maps, object
sketches, wires,
contexts, markets,
models, diagrams
comps, prototypes
requirements
o
Product Design Process! Discovery! Conceptual ! Design! ! !
Detailed " Design! ! !
Implementation! !
1! 2! 3! 4!
Citrix Product Design Process
Post Ship! !
5!
o
Product Design Process! Discovery! Conceptual ! Design! ! !
Detailed " Design! ! !
Implementation! !
1! 2! 3! 4!
Citrix Product Design Process
Post Ship! !
5!
o
Design!
Brief!
Citrix Product Design Process
o
Kim
Goals & Aspirations
“Customer sat is what matters most to me.”
Providing quality service in a timely manner. • Keep work and home life separate •
Frustrations • Constantly logging into computer which takes a long time • Dealing with printer issues
Workstyle • Works an 8 hour shift in the office • Usually does not travel
Citrix Product Design Process
Personal • Fairly patient when dealing with customers • Does not try to fix computer problems, quicker to have family friend resolve it • People are more important to her than machines
o
Product Design Process! Discovery! Conceptual ! Design! ! !
Detailed " Design! ! !
Implementation! !
1! 2! 3! 4!
Citrix Product Design Process
Post Ship! !
5!
o
Product Design Process! Discovery! Conceptual ! Design! ! !
Detailed " Design! ! !
Implementation! !
1! 2! 3! 4!
Citrix Product Design Process
Post Ship! !
5!
o
Product Design Process! Discovery! Conceptual ! Design! ! !
Detailed " Design! ! !
Implementation/Close Down! !
1! 2! 3! 4!
Citrix Product Design Process
Post Ship! !
5!
o
Product Design Process! Discovery! Conceptual ! Design! ! !
Detailed " Design! ! !
Implementation/Close Down! !
1! 2! 3! 4!
Citrix Product Design Process
Post Ship! !
5!
o
Key design deliverables Design Brief statement of the problem, scope, goals, criteria Personas archetype proOiles of primary users Scenarios contextual stories of usage Task Flows diagrams of tasks, branches, and paths Architecture overview map of content & actions Wireframes schematic structural drawings of UI layout Comps hi-‐Oidelity visual renderings of UI Prototypes behavioral renderings of the UI Specs detailed recipe for construction of approved design
o
Teamwork/collaboration It takes mutual respect and trust. Value each other’s expertise and professional judgment. Designers are fair to challenge the tech constraints, and Devs are fair to challenge the design rationale. Designers aren’t there to make it “pretty”. They want to create a great product.
o
Some stern but fair points • ASAP is not a schedule. It’s a freakout. • No doc’d requirements or functional specs? No design! • Need a DACI model with clear roles deOined. • Designers don’t have to react to every opinion. • PMs (and devs) are not art directors. Period. • Want user feedback? Great! Just Oit it in the schedule. • Email is not the record. Get a trackable online place. • Sketches and wires are not the spec. • Design is a full-‐body commitment. Get ready!
o
Important to remember... There is no perfect design. Everything is subject to compromise, trade-‐offs, constraints, etc. Good design takes time. Just like good code, there’s iteration and reOlection and shouldn’t be rushed.
o
Last bit of advice Tradeoffs are essential to a working relationship. All about managing expectations, assumptions, and dependencies. The designer should be your ally in delivering a great product.
o
The Core Premise
Partnership Collaboration Cooperation Teamwork Empathy o
Other big issues... • Design within Agile situations • Factoring in user feedback • Who makes the call among options? • Sources of design authority? • When is a design right (or done)? • Where is design within an organization? • Cross-‐geo design vs co-‐located • Engaging with execs
o
Contact info Uday  Gajendar email udanium@gmail.com twitter  @udanium web www.udanium.com blog www.ghostinthepixel.com linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/udanium
o