Effective Ui

Effective UI Effective UI Jonathan Anderson, John McRee, Robb Wilson, and the EffectiveUI Team Beijing  ·  Cambridge  ·  Farnham  ·  Köln  ·  Sebastopol  ·  Taipei  ·  Tokyo Effective UI by Jonathan Anderson, John McRee, Robb Wilson, and the EffectiveUI Team Copyright © 2010 EffectiveUI. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada. Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. O’Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available for most titles (http://my.safaribooksonline.com). For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: (800) 998-9938 or [email protected] Editor: Steve Weiss Development Editor: Jeff Riley Production Editor: Rachel Monaghan Copyeditor: Genevieve d’Entremont Proofreader: Nancy Kotary Indexer: Julie Hawks Cover Designer: Karen Montgomery Illustration and Interior Design: The EffectiveUI Team Printing History: February 2010: First Edition. The O’Reilly logo is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. Effective UI, the image of a rainbow lorikeet, and related trade dress are trademarks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O’Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. ISBN: 978-0-596-15478-3 [F] Contents Preface.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix 1 Building an Effective UI.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Understanding UX What Good UX Accomplishes 4 6 3 Effective Planning and Requirements.. . 75 Uncertainty and the Unknown 77 The Humility of Unknowing 78 The Weakness of Foresight and Planning 79 Why Engagement and Good UX Matter 10 Friction in a Complex and Peculiar System 81 The Elements of Engaging UX 11 Subjectivity and Change 87 Redefining Two Fundamental Terms 32 Design 32 Development 34 2 Building the Case for Better UX.. . . . . . . . 37 Why Now Is the Moment for UX 40 Lessons from Uncertainty and the Unknown 89 The Further You Are in the Project, the Wiser You Are 89 Start Development As Soon As Possible 90 90 Motive 40 Written Functional Requirements and Specifications Are Inherently Flawed Means 48 Commitments to Scope Are Untenable 92 Opportunity 50 Relish and Respect the Unexpected 92 Winning Support for Better UX 53 Stakeholders 53 Education 57 Quantifying the Business Value 67 Materializing and Proving the Concept 67 Other Strategies for Building Support 73 Intolerance of Uncertainty Is Intolerable 93 Effective Requirements 94 How Framework Requirements Are Built 97 Reexamining the Three-Legged Stool 99 Commitments You Can Live Up To Effective Process Development Methodology 101 102 103 4 Bringing Together a Team.. . . . . .