Introduction
1. The Tao of UXD
What Is User Experience Design?
The Broad Definition
Don’t Forget the Tangible
Our Focus
About UX Designers
Where UX Designers Live
Let’s Get Started!
2. The Project Ecosystem
Identify the Type of Site
Brand Presence
Marketing Campaign
Content Source
Task-Based Applications
E-Commerce Sites
E-Learning Applications
Social Networking Applications
Mobile Sites and Applications
Choose Your Hats
Information Architect
Interaction Designer
User Researcher
Other Roles You May Play or May Need
Building a Network of User Advocacy
Understand the Company Culture
History
Hierarchy
Logistics
Pulling It Together
3. Proposals for Consultants and Freelancers
Proposals
Creating the Proposal
Title Page
Revision History
Project Overview
Project Approach
Scope of Work
Assumptions
Deliverables
Ownership and Rights
Additional Costs and Fees
Project Pricing
Payment Schedule
Acknowledgment and Sign-Off
Statements of Work
4. Project Objectives and Approach
Solidify Project Objectives
How Can a UX Designer Help?
Understand the Project Approach
Waterfall Approach
Agile Approaches
Modified Approaches
How Does the Approach Affect Me?
5. Business Requirements
Understand the Current State
Heuristic Analysis
Gather Ideas from Stakeholders
Outline Responsibilities
Gather the Right Stakeholders
Create a Plan for the Meetings
Sales: Requirements-Gathering Meeting
Run the Meetings Effectively
Coalescing Requirements
6. User Research
Basic Steps of User Research
Define Your User Groups
Create a List of Attributes
Prioritize and Define
Choosing Research Techniques
How Many Research Activities Can I Include?
User Interviews
Contextual Inquiry
Surveys
Focus Groups
Card Sorting
Usability Testing
After the Research
7. Personas
What Are Personas?
Why Create Personas?
Finding Information for Personas
Creating Personas
Minimum Content Requirements
Optional Content
Advanced Personas
Guerrilla Personas: The Empathy Map
Final Thoughts on Personas
8. Content Strategy
Why Do You Need Content Strategy?
When Do You Need Content Strategy?
Who Does Content Strategy?
How Long Does Content Strategy Last?
This Sounds Familiar
Tools of the Trade
The Artifacts
What is the One Artifact You Need?
Additional Resources
Things to Look Out For
9. Transition: From Defining to Designing
Ideate and Visualize Features
The Basic Process of Storyboarding
Facilitate the Prioritization Process
Maintain a Good Tension
The Development Advocate
Managing Conflict During Prioritization
Plan Your Activities and Documentation
10. Design Principles
Visual Design
Unity and Variety
Hierarchy and Dominance
Economy of Elements
Proportion and Balance
Interaction
Associations and Affordance
Economy of Motion
Response
Psychology
The Effect of Attractive Design
Flow & Game Design
Social Proof
Creating Your Own Guiding Principles
11. Site Maps and Task Flows
Tools of the Trade
Basic Elements of Site Maps and Task Flows
Page
Pagestack
Decision Point
Connectors and Arrows
Conditions
Common Mistakes
Sloppy Connections
Misaligned and Unevenly Spaced Objects
Poorly Placed Text
Lack of Page Numbering
The Simple Site Map
Advanced Site Maps
Breaking the Site Map Mold
Task Flows
Taking Task Flows to the Next Level
Swimlanes
12. Wireframes and Annotations
What Are Annotations?
Who Uses Wireframes?
Creating Wireframes
Tools of the Trade
Start Simply: Design a Basic Wireframe
Getting Started
The Wireframes and Annotations
Creating Wireframes: A Sample Process
What is This Sketching You Mention?
Into the Digital: Wireframes
Into the Digital: Visual Design
Hey, What About This Responsive Design Stuff I Hear About?
Wireframes Vs. Prototypes
Which Design Is Right?
A Final Note on Presenting Wireframes
13. Prototyping
How Much Prototype Do I Need?
Paper Prototyping
Digital Prototyping
Wireframe vs. Realistic Prototypes
HTML vs. WYSIWYG Editors
Additional Tools for Prototyping
Working with a Developer
Prototype Examples
What Happens After Prototyping?
14. Design Testing with Users
Exploring Visual Design Mock-Ups
Choosing a Design Testing Approach
Qualitative Research vs. Quantitative Research
In-Person Research vs. Remote Research
Remote Research Considerations
Moderated Techniques vs. Automated Techniques
Usability Testing
Planning the Research
Recruiting and Logistics
Writing Discussion Guides Facilitating
Analyzing and Presenting Results
Creating Recommendations
15. Transition: From Design to Development and Beyond
Almost Done
Visual Design, Development, and Quality Assurance
Design Testing with Users (Again)
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 … Launch!
Personal Advantage
Support
Network Opinion
Postlaunch Activities
Postlaunch Analytics
Postlaunch Design Testing with Users (Again, Again)
16. A Brief Guide to Meetings
The Agenda
Meeting Rules
After the Meeting
Dealing with Nonconformers
A Final Note on Meetings
All Done, Right?
Just Like Starting Over
Index
