Use-Cases: (user journies) what will users want to do and how will they achieve it.
Card Sorting: group of web developers sit down with the users/client and guide them through a process to develop the structure of a site.
- Open card sorting is not useful.
- Maybe ok for very large projects.
- Podcast: must be first because it's what most people are looking for upon visiting the site. Also, main goal of team is to publish podcasts.
- Archive: discussion as to whether it should be first in the list. Actually contains old podcasts as well, making it slightly confusing to the user. Goal is to draw people into the older content, encouraging them to subscribe.
- Community: social networking tools and user forum. Helping people by answering specific questions and "creating passionate participants".
- Books & Talks: "not particularly important". People look at the middle of the navigation bar the least, so this is in the "dead area".
- About me: adds credability to the site by giving background information.
- Hire me: number two goal of the site is encouraging users to hire the author for various projects (after subscribing to podcast).
Note: site structure is amoung the easiest steps because it doesn't require you to be very specific.
- Can be skipped for smaller projects in favor of going straight to wireframes.
- Makes you answer some of the harder questions concerning the content of your site, many of which will not appear in wireframes.
- Really helps ensure the proposed structure is valid.
- Vital process in web design.
- Allows fast prototyping of the basic UI which helps you and the client get a glimpse of what the final product will look like.
- They can be as detailed or simple as you'd like.
- The more detailed your initial wireframes are, the more flaws can be exposed in the initial specifications.
- Should always discuss wireframes with your designer before showing it to the client.
- Two basic methods are suggested.
- Memory test used to see what information a user is able to recall after being exposed to a wireframe for five seconds (verifyapp.com).
- Ad-hoc usability testing by simply grabbing random testers and seeing how easily they understand the purpose of the page and how to use it.
- Testing in general allows you to make sure the users are responding as you expect them to. If you don't know how your users behave, you will have a hard time keeping it interesting for them.
Note: breadcrumbs and top-level navigation are by far the most used elements on a page, which is why they are so important.
- Basic idea is if a tool is slowing you down, you are using the wrong tool.
- Argue that there isn't really a tool powerful enough to prototype as quickly as we would like.
- Pen and paper is good for some, but it makes animations and other interactive elements hard to demonstrate.
- Flairbuilder and Balsamiq (very quick) are both popular tools.
Note: they say "prototype as a last resort", but this is absolutely incorrect. Instead you should always build a prototype and plan to throw it away.
- This is an absolutely essential step, without which you won't be able to have a true understanding of the site before it's already built.