Straight From the Horse's Mouth: You Only See the Tip

Bill Wetherell talks with Tom Wailes about how one team at Yahoo! turned the normal design process on its head. Their thoughtful approach was successful, Wails posits, because they worked small and crafty while being inclusive in most useful ways.

Wodtke, Christina and Bill Wetherell. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Design>Web Design>Project Management

Strategies for Sizing UCD Projects

When discussing strategies for sizing UCD projects with consultants, it quickly becomes evident that there seem to be as many strategies as there are consultants. This document will define and describe commonly used strategies, identify each strategy’s scope (i.e., whether it applies to design, research, or evaluation), suggest situations in which each strategy would be best suited, and identify pros, cons, and caveats to its use.

Usability Body of Knowledge. Articles>User Centered Design>Project Management

Success with User-Centered Design Management

With the proliferation of digital products, including computers, desktop and Web-based applications, and mobile and embedded devices, the quality of the user experience (UX) has become one of the key determinants in the success of competing products. Productivity, entertainment, and business-application programs for non-technical users in particular must have 'intuitive' interfaces.

Ashley, Jeremy and Kristin Desmond. uiGarden (2005). Design>User Centered Design>Project Management>User Experience

Ten Tips for Managing a Successful Web Redesign

Processes evolve. Over time and several redesigns, a few points screamed to be kept in mind: communicate with the client, be scalable, plan to plan, test your assumptions, analyze your current site, and so on. We ran these mini-philosophies by industry leaders and newbies alike. The result? Our collection of things to think about evolved into—drum roll, please—10 EXPERT TIPS TO A SUCCESSFUL REDESIGN. Redesign is happening. Address the need. And stay on track while you do it.

Goto, Kelly and Emily Cotler. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Design>Web Design>Redesign>Project Management

Ten Ways to Kill Design

The best designs and the best intentions won't always lead you to success, because the problem goes beyond your product and beyond your design or development process. Building better, more innovative, and more profitable products requires organizational change on a deep and difficult level.

Goodwin, Kim. Cooper Interaction Design (2005). Design>Project Management

Ten Ways to Speed Up Website Building

As a freelance web developer, time is money. I use many different tricks to increase my productivity and these are my top selections for saving time.

ReEncoded. Design>Web Design>Project Management

Think-Then-Do

The single most difficult and important skill for a web designer is: Remembering what you're doing. It is incredibly easy to get bogged down on the surface level of design, pushing boxes and buttons this way and that around the page until it appears to have perfect visual balance. This is: A Complete Waste of Time. Before looking at how to design on screen, let's consider how to think like a successful designer. To be most successful, you've got to know what you're trying to achieve, and take the most direct path to achieve it.

Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2006). Design>Web Design>Project Management

Three Traps

We continue to see companies falling into the same product development traps, to the detriment of their products, their customers, and their business.

Greenwood, Wayne. Cooper Interaction Design (2001). Design>Project Management

Transitioning from User Experience to Product Management: Part 1

Is there a smart and graceful way to transition into a product manager role? Chris Baum and Jeff Lash talk about the differences between product management and design and increasing your influence.

Lash, Jeff and Chris Baum. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Design>User Experience>Project Management

Transitioning from User Experience to Product Management: Part 2

What will you need to leave behind to enter the wine-and-roses world of Product Management? In Part 2 of this series, Jeff Lash and Chris Baum give us a preview of what's in store for your new role and give us tips on how to prepare.

Lash, Jeff and Chris Baum. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Design>User Experience>Project Management

Turning Requirements into Product Definition

How do you get from understanding your users to a vision for an innovative product which will appeal to them?

Korman, Jonathan. Cooper Interaction Design (2002). Design>Project Management>User Centered Design

Use Cases Part II: Taming Scope

The use-case model can be a powerful tool for controlling scope throughout a project's life cycle. Because a simplified use-case model can be understood by all project participants, it can also serve as a framework for ongoing collaboration and a visual map of all agreed-upon functionality. Use it to plan, to negotiate, and to prevent scope creep.

Carr, Norm and Tim Meehan. List Apart, A (2005). Articles>Web Design>Project Management

Value-Driven Intranet Design

Within most corporations, taking ownership of an intranet is an unglamorous, exhausting, and thankless job for a new intranet manager. But if approached with the same rigor, discipline, and focus as any other business initiative, the task can quickly become much simpler.

Singh, Shiv. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Design>Web Design>Intranets>Project Management

A Visual Vocabulary for Describing Information Architecture and Interaction Design

Diagrams are an essential tool for communicating information architecture and interaction design in Web development teams. This document discusses the considerations in development of such diagrams, outlines a basic symbology for diagramming information architecture and interaction design concepts, and provides guidelines for the use of these elements.

Garrett, Jesse James. JJG.net (2002). Design>Web Design>Project Management>Technical Illustration

Walking Through Your Product Design With Stakeholders

You are the lead designer--or perhaps even the sole designer on a product team. You have just completed your product design, and it's time to walk through your design approach with the project stakeholders, including management, developers, and users. What do you need to do to prepare for your presentation? This article provides some basic tips to help you better prepare to walk through your product designs with stakeholders.

Szuc, Daniel. UXmatters (2007). Design>Project Management>User Experience>Collaboration

Wanna Be a Project Manager?

Whether you're managing an entire army or an army of one, Pam's project management tips will help you get that site built.

Statz, Pam. Webmonkey (2003). Design>Project Management>Web Design

What's the Problem?

One of the biggest problems in creating and delivering a site is how to decide, specify, and communicate exactly what we’re building and why. Use cases can help answer these questions by providing a simple, fast means to decide and describe the purpose of your project. In this quick-reading article, Messieurs Carr and Meehan introduce use cases and their, uh, uses.

Carr, Norm and Tim Meehan. List Apart, A (2005). Articles>Web Design>Project Management

When ROI Isn't Enough: Making Persuasive Cases for User-Centered Design

Making the case for user-centered design (UCD) is a topic of recurring discussion for UX professionals. Much of the discussion has centered on strictly objective approaches such as cost-benefit or return-on-investment (ROI) analysis. However, recent commentary suggests proving ROI is not always enough.

Jones, Colleen. UXmatters (2007). Articles>User Centered Design>Project Management>Workplace

Where Do Product Managers Fit?

People often ask how interaction designers should fit into their companies. If the company cannot take good advantage of it, the most brilliant interaction design in the world won't help as much as simple, workmanlike interaction design will benefit a company that uses that design well.

Korman, Jonathan. Internet Corner (2004). Design>Project Management>Interaction Design

Work Smart, Not Clever

As a general rule, designers and developers should avoid trying to be clever, and should concentrate on working smart.

Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2006). Design>Web Design>Project Management

Look at it Another Way

Seeing the same thing from different perspectives is much praised but little practiced. We don’t often realize what we can gain by seeing another scene in the picture.

Young, Indi. List Apart, A (2008). Articles>Project Management>Collaboration>Information Design

The Business Analyst in Model-Driven Architecture

From a software development viewpoint, model-driven architecture (MDA) encourages efficient use of system models. It also encourages reusing best practices as families of systems are produced. One of the main aims of MDA is to separate design from architecture, which places the business analyst in a unique and potentially powerful position within the organization. Learn how you as a business analyst can take an active role in this type of architecture.

Slack, S.E. IBM (2008). Articles>Information Design>Programming>Project Management

Where Design Really Fits

As a designer, do you know where your work really fits in the process of design? If Web design is your business, then you must make certain you are in the right mindset and you use the right process when it comes to your work. You don't want your designs to fail, but, unfortunately, there is a strong chance that they will do exactly that. Lets take a step back for a minute and define what a failing design is, and why it fails.

Rodriguez, David. Web Page Design for Designers (2008). Design>Web Design>Project Management>Workflow

An Eight-Step Implementation Model

The inaccessibility of web content can have a significant impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities. Many people without disabilities are ignorant of the importance of the issue to those who are directly affected. They are also often ignorant of the tremendous benefit that accessible web content can be. Accessible web sites offer independence to individuals with disabilities that would otherwise not have it.

WebAIM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Project Management