[IxDA Discuss] True or False: In a perfect world we'd all create html clickable wireframes after the static ones have been don

[Dmitry Nekrasovski]

Elizabeth,

I completely agree that, in the enterprise space, business rules are
often what makes or breaks an application. That doesn't mean that
interaction design for these applications is "icing on the cake". On
the contrary, good interaction design will communicate business rules
clearly to the users, and bad interaction design will mangle the rules
or obscure them entirely.

In my experience, detailed specifications documents simply do not work
well as a means of communicating design, even in an environment of
complex business rules. They are usually too static to effectively
document the design, too heavyweight to be really understood by anyone
but the person who writes them, and too difficult to update to remain
relevant as requirements and scope change.

As you note, B2B/enterprise applications are often lacking in good
interaction design. If you want to change this in your particular
project, you will need a way to communicate your design ideas and
decisions to your development team. Personally, I have found that
interactive prototypes, combined with lightweight documentation of
business rules and usage scenarios, are an effective way of doing
this. Try it, and you just might find that your developers' resistance
is mostly due to failing to realize that there are alternatives to the
status quo.

Dmitry

On 10/2/07, Elizabeth Whitworth <elizabethwhitworth at gmail.com> wrote:
> Perhaps the best type of specifications document depends on the industry you
> work in. In my current job in the logistics industry, the only times that I
> am required to make an interactive prototype is for presentation of a design
> concept an end-customer. For the rest, the developers hands-down prefer
> simple wireframes/screenshots + a detailed specifications document including
> use cases and business rules. I think that it is because in b2b logistics,
> the make or break points of any application rests in the business rules. Any
> fancy visual/interaction design is just icing on the cake. The developers
> know this and therefore do not focus very much on the type of interaction
> design that is typically displayed in an interactive prototype (don't get me
> started on the need for better interaction design in b2b applications...:P).
> I imagine this is quite different in a different industry such as
> e-commerce, where interaction design can greatly effect usage or customer
> satisfaction and therefore becomes more important.
>
> Any comments on the industry/ies you have been working in or the types of
> applications you have been working on James?
>
>  - elizabeth
>
> On 10/1/07, Todd Zaki Warfel <lists at toddwarfel.com> wrote:
> >
> > Have you spent any time trying to figure out why? I'm curious what
> > causes this type of reaction from the engineers you're dealing with.
> >
> > On Oct 1, 2007, at 3:43 AM, James Leftwich, IDSA wrote:
> >
> > > Nowadays, I and my partners will often have portions mocked up and
> > > made interactive, mostly for show to our clients or execs while
> > > implementation is underway.  No engineers I work with would prefer to
> > > have interactive models _in lieu of_ the kinds of implementational
> > > documentation I've traditionally provided.
> >
> >
> > Cheers!
> >
> > Todd Zaki Warfel
> > President, Design Researcher
> > Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully.
> > ----------------------------------
> > Contact Info
> > Voice:  (215) 825-7423
> > Email:  todd at messagefirst.com
> > AIM:    twarfel at mac.com
> > Blog:   http://toddwarfel.com
> > ----------------------------------
> > In theory, theory and practice are the same.
> > In practice, they are not.
> >
> >
> >
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