A project guide to UX design: for user experience designers in the field or in the making

Cover......Page 1
CONTENTS......Page 10
INTRODUCTION......Page 16
CHAPTER 1: The Tao of UXD......Page 22
  The Broad Definition......Page 24
  Don’t Forget the Tangible......Page 25
  Our Focus......Page 26
 About UX Designers......Page 27
 Where UX Designers Live......Page 28
 Let’s Get Started!......Page 29
CHAPTER 2: The Project Ecosystem......Page 30
 Identify the Type of Site......Page 31
  Brand Presence......Page 32
  Marketing Campaign......Page 35
  Content Source......Page 37
  Task-Based Applications......Page 39
  E-Commerce Sites......Page 40
  Social Networking Applications......Page 41
 Choose Your Hats......Page 42
  Information Architect......Page 43
  User Researcher......Page 44
  Other Roles You May Play or May Need......Page 47
  Building a Network of User Advocacy......Page 53
 Understand the Company Culture......Page 54
  History......Page 55
  Hierarchy......Page 57
  Logistics......Page 58
 Pulling It Together......Page 59
CHAPTER 3: Proposals for Consultants and Freelancers......Page 60
 Proposals......Page 61
 Creating the Proposal......Page 62
  Title Page......Page 63
  Project Overview......Page 65
  Project Approach......Page 66
  Assumptions......Page 68
  Deliverables......Page 69
  Ownership and Rights......Page 70
  Additional Costs and Fees......Page 71
  Project Pricing......Page 72
  Payment Schedule......Page 73
  Acknowledgment and Sign-Off......Page 74
 Statements of Work......Page 75
CHAPTER 4: Project Objectives and Approach......Page 77
 Solidify Project Objectives......Page 78
  How Can a UX Designer Help?......Page 81
 Understand the Project Approach......Page 83
  Agile Approaches......Page 84
  Modified Approaches......Page 85
  How Does the Approach Affect Me?......Page 87
CHAPTER 5: Business Requirements......Page 88
  Heuristic Analysis......Page 91
 Gather Ideas from Stakeholders......Page 95
  Outline Responsibilities......Page 96
  Gather the Right Stakeholders......Page 97
  Sales: Requirements-Gathering Meeting......Page 99
  Run the Meetings Effectively......Page 101
  Coalescing Requirements......Page 103
CHAPTER 6: User Research......Page 106
 Define Your User Groups......Page 107
  Create a List of Attributes......Page 108
  Prioritize and Define......Page 110
 Choosing Research Techniques......Page 112
  How Many Research Activities Can I Include?......Page 114
  User Interviews......Page 116
  Contextual Inquiry......Page 119
  Surveys......Page 122
  Focus Groups......Page 125
  Card Sorting......Page 128
  Usability Testing......Page 131
 After the Research......Page 132
CHAPTER 7: Personas......Page 133
 Why Would I Create Personas?......Page 134
 Creating Personas......Page 135
  Minimum Content Requirements......Page 138
  Optional Content......Page 140
 Advanced Personas......Page 143
 Final Thoughts on Personas......Page 146
CHAPTER 8: User Experience Design and Search Engine Optimization......Page 147
  Why Is SEO Important?......Page 148
 Site Technology, Design, and Infrastructure......Page 150
  Flash, Ajax, JavaScript, and Other Scripted Content......Page 151
  Content Management Systems......Page 154
  Domains, Directory, and URL Structure All Matter......Page 155
 Content: The Once (and Current) and Future King......Page 156
  Metadata, Headers, and Keywords......Page 157
  Split the Hairs......Page 158
  Other Content Issues......Page 159
  Typical Link Popularity Distribution......Page 160
  Footer Links......Page 161
  White Hat Versus Black Hat......Page 162
  Cloning and Doorway Pages......Page 163
 Some Final Thoughts......Page 164
CHAPTER 9: Transition: From Defining to Designing......Page 165
 Ideate and Visualize Features......Page 167
  The Basic Process of Storyboarding......Page 168
 Facilitate the Prioritization Process......Page 171
 Maintain a Good Tension......Page 175
  The Development Advocate......Page 177
  Managing Conflict During Prioritization......Page 179
 Plan Your Activities and Documentation......Page 183
CHAPTER 10: Site Maps and Task Flows......Page 186
 What Is a Task Flow?......Page 187
 Tools of the Trade......Page 188
  Page......Page 189
  Decision Point......Page 190
  Conditions......Page 191
  Sloppy Connections......Page 192
  Poorly Placed Text......Page 193
  Lack of Page Numbering......Page 194
  The Simple Site Map......Page 195
 Advanced Site Maps......Page 196
 Breaking the Site Map Mold......Page 198
 Task Flows......Page 199
  Process Flow......Page 202
  Swimlanes......Page 203
CHAPTER 11: Wireframes and Annotations......Page 206
 What Is a Wireframe?......Page 207
 What Are Annotations?......Page 208
 Who Uses Wireframes?......Page 209
  Tools of the Trade......Page 210
 Start Simply: Design a Basic Wireframe......Page 212
  Getting Started......Page 213
  The Wireframes and Annotations......Page 214
  Requirements......Page 216
  The Results: Design a Home Page Wireframe......Page 218
  Visual Design: When Wireframes Grow Up and Find Their Own Way in the World......Page 221
  Design Exercise Follow-up: Which Design Is Right?......Page 222
 A Final Note on Presenting Wireframes......Page 223
CHAPTER 12: Prototyping......Page 225
 How Much Prototype Do I Need?......Page 226
 Paper Prototyping......Page 227
  Wireframe vs. Realistic Prototypes......Page 228
  HTML vs. WYSIWYG Editors......Page 230
  Additional Tools for Prototyping......Page 235
 Prototype Examples......Page 238
 What Happens After Prototyping?......Page 240
CHAPTER 13: Design Testing with Users......Page 241
 Concept Exploration......Page 242
  Tips on Exploring Visual Design Mock-Ups......Page 245
 Usability Testing......Page 246
  Choosing an Approach......Page 248
  Planning the Research......Page 250
  Recruiting and Logistics......Page 254
  Writing Discussion Guides......Page 260
  Facilitating......Page 263
  Analyzing and Presenting Results......Page 264
  Creating Recommendations......Page 266
CHAPTER 14: Transition: From Design to Development and Beyond......Page 268
 Visual Design, Development, and Quality Assurance......Page 269
 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 … Launch!......Page 272
  Support......Page 273
 Postlaunch Activities......Page 274
  Postlaunch Analytics......Page 275
 Just Like Starting Over…......Page 276
 B......Page 278
 C......Page 279
 F......Page 280
 L......Page 281
 P......Page 282
 R......Page 284
 S......Page 285
 U......Page 286
 W......Page 287
 Y......Page 288