Summary

Topics Covered
Sitemap
Blueprint
Research and testing
User center design

Working in a big picture is a lot easier especially when we are dealing with a lot of complex data and group projects. A sitemap or similar flowchart outlining can help us a lot when dealing with this kind of project. There are a lot of ways to create a sitemap. We can draw it using illustration, lines, or just a simple index / listing. Just remember to be clear and precise in the sitemap. Since it is often the first thing that the clients would likely to see after the creative brief.

Just like sitemap, blueprint is also a document that often found in interactive design which basically covers all the planing of the project. It is a wireframes flesh out of a project. We do not need a lot of details like typography, shape, and color in a blueprint. Without blueprint, designers can ind themselves working so hard in a detailed part of the project just to find out that they need to change some part of the project.

Most of the time, the blueprint/wireframes will look a lot different compare to the final design. It is because blueprint does not to be ugly or beautiful, as long as people can understand the information that they contain. It is a good wireframe.

"Test early and often. Iterative testing means you don't wait to test until you've spent weeks or monnths on the project"

After we've done everything we can from the scenario, blueprint, persona, and many others, in the end we arrive at the final step which is to actually test our design to real users before launching it.

2 links:
Sitemap tutorial
A detailed tutorial of how to make a good sitemap for a website

User center design
a very nice website that taught us methods to approach a user centered design. They really cover everything from how to use the design to why using them. The six methods are:
1. Focus Group
2. Usability testing
3. Card sorting
4. Participatory design
5. Questionnaires
6. Interviews