tell the developers the story!
TRANSCRIPT
Tell the Developers the Story!
Presented To Nonprofit Technology Network Conference 2016 San Jose, CA — March 24, 2016
#16NTCdevstory
@constr_ctive
Designing a New Way Forward
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
Why?
• Missing • User flows • Interaction details • Failure modes
Not Enough Detail
• Another day at the keys • Why am I building this? • Designers don’t understand! • Engineers don’t understand!
Not Enough Empathy
What Impact?
• Rounds and rounds of questions • Project drag • Over budget (Death by Salesman) • Experiential disconnect • Unhappy client • Unhappy user
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
It All Starts with Communication
Hoy! Sasa ke to do that milowda gonya use another API, kennst?DEVELOPER
Um, yeah. Really? Will that take long?DESIGNER
Na. Is nichts. Mali time for mi.DEVELOPER
Oh. Okay, thanks.DESIGNER
INT. SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
It All Starts with Communication
Learn a bit about what other disciplines do and how they do it.
Can you explain without jargon? (Or a minimal amount)
Do you have a common understanding of what terms mean?
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
RFP, Proposals, and Pitches
Include developers early, asking questions, learning the brand & mission
Get them on a call with the potential client to understand need, expose gotchas
If you can, get a second developer’s opinion on the effort
Is what they need really an expanded discovery?
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
Strategy & Design
Involve technology in the decision making process
Understand technical context and constraints
Design in code, iterate, prototype!
Great time to set quantitative an qualitative baselines
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
Build!
Check intent and interactions with the design often - problem solve in context
Get real content in the system as soon as possible
Admins are users too!
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
What happens after?
Measure Debrief Iterate
{Developers look at designers and see artists, while designers look at developers and see mathematicians or scientists. While this may be true at the surface, it does both professions a disservice … creativity is an undercurrent of both disciplines, and the sooner we appreciate this, the better.
Ivana Mcconnell - MyPlanet / Offscreen Magazine
}
{You can’t wish away Design Process. It has been in existence since the dawn of civilization. And the latest clever development tools, no matter how clever, cannot replace the best practices and real-life collaboration that built cathedrals, railroads, and feature-length films.
Jeffrey Ventrella
}
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
Free Webinar!
http://cnstrc.tv/1S4vcbC
The Choice is Yours: Drupal vs. Wordpress
(: Shameless Plug :)
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
The Designer’s Guide to Collaborating with Developers http://cnstrc.tv/1LmKNnJ
Resources
16NTC Session Collaborative Notes http://po.st/devstory-16NTC
16NTC Session Survey http://po.st/dyNz4d
IT Services: Innovation and Growth Through Design http://cnstrc.tv/1lOWIhR
Designers and Developers: No Longer A House Divided http://cnstrc.tv/1UbN1ZC
Tech and the RFP Dance http://cnstrc.tv/1QumxM7
Interactive Project Management: Pixels, People, and Process http://cnstrc.tv/1V7aNFE
Broke-Down Process: Web Projects’ Fatal Flaw http://cnstrc.tv/1ULhkW7
Design in Tech Report 2016 http://cnstrc.tv/1U9XfdM
Tell the Developers the Story! / 16NTC - March 24, 2016 - San Jose, CA
Thank You!
Colleen Campbell [email protected]
https://constructive.co @constr_ctive
Ian Mariano [email protected] @ianmariano
Matt Schwartz [email protected]
http://www.fireflypartners.com @FireflyPartners