Ronda CilsickChief Information Officer| DeltekAshburn, Va, United States
I am looking for Product Development methodologies that have a focus on user interface design and usability. Where the user interface design(mockups) are done during the requirements gathering phase. Saving Changes...
This is an interesting post. Most people will tell you that you should do the data modeling first then the UI is done. At my present position we do the reverse. We get an MRD, and use cases. Then I as product manager (with 10 years UI design experience) develop the spec which details page flows, ui screen mockups and UI behaviors. This is for an 100% web-based e-commerce product. We then meet with engineering and discuss the features by going through the spec. We have two or three meetings where we refine the features by going through the UI's. Most developers here like this because they can see the "big picture" before they do the data design, and the java class design. We have delivered significant functionality in a 3 month development window. I am a strong believer in the merits of this approach provided: 1. you have good use cases, 2. you have someone who knows UI design and technical issues/limitations I have been in this business for 15 yrs and I have yet to find a good reference on "real-world" product design/development. Most are very "heavy" on just one aspect of the process. The one other thing I learned after working on many projects is that all documents and specs are a means to an end. Too often they become the focus of the product - don't be afraid of "messy" documents if they communicate. Saving Changes...
