Effective Prototyping for Software Makers is a practical, informative resource that will help anyone—whether or not one has artistic talent, access to special tools, or programming ability—to use good prototyping style, methods, and tools to build prototypes and manage for effective prototyping. This book features a prototyping process with guidelines, templates, and worksheets; overviews and step-by-step guides for nine common prototyping techniques; an introduction with step-by-step guidelines to a variety of prototyping tools that do not require advanced artistic skills; templates and other resources used in the book available on the Web for reuse; clearly-explained concepts and guidelines; and full-color illustrations and examples from a wide variety of prototyping processes, methods, and tools. This book is an ideal resource for usability professionals and interaction designers; software developers, web application designers, web designers, information architects, information and industrial designers. * A prototyping process with guidelines, templates, and worksheets;* Overviews and step-by-step guides for 9 common prototyping techniques;* An introduction with step-by-step guidelines to a variety of prototyping tools that do not require advanced artistic skills;* Templates and other resources used in the book available on the Web for reuse;* Clearly-explained concepts and guidelines;* Full-color illustrations, and examples from a wide variety of prototyping processes, methods, and tools. * www.mkp.com/prototyping

Although recognized as a key to the design process, prototyping often falls victim to budget cuts, deadlines, or lack of access to sophisticated tools. This can lead to sloppy and ineffective prototypes or the abandonment of them altogether. Rather than lose this important step, people are turning to Microsoft Excel® to create effective, simple, and inexpensive prototypes. Conveniently, the software is available to nearly everyone, and most are proficient in its basic functionality. Effective Prototyping with Excel offers how-to guidance on how everyone can use basic Excel skills to create prototypes – ranging from narrative wire frames to hi-fidelity prototypes. A wide array of software design problems and business demands are solved via practical step-by-step examples and illustrations. Step-by-step guide to prototyping with a simple and affordable tool nearly everyone already has on their desktop Quickly and easily allows web and software designers to explore usability, design alternatives, and test theories prior to starting production Perfect companion to Effective Prototyping for Software Makers – with the same author team and full-color treatment, useful case studies, and hands-on exercises

Learn the fundamentals of Design Thinking and how to apply Design Thinking techniques in defining software development and AI solutions. Design Thinking is an approach to innovation which identifies problems and generates solution ideas that can be rapidly proven through prototyping. This book provides a brief history of Design Thinking and an overview of the process. It then drills down into more detail regarding methods and tools used in a Design Thinking workshops leading to useful prototypes. Guidance is provided on: Preparing for a Design Thinking Workshop Uncovering potential business problems that might be solved Prioritizing potential solutions Identifying and characterizing stakeholders Choosing the right prototypes for development Limiting scope and best practices in prototype building The book concludes with a discussion of best practices in operationalizing successful prototypes, and describes change management techniques critical for successful adoption. You can use the knowledge gained from reading this book to incorporate Design Thinking techniques in your software development and AI projects, and assure timely and successful delivery of solutions. What You Will Learn Gain foundational knowledge of what Design Thinking is and when to apply the technique Discover preparation and facilitation techniques used in workshops Know how ideas are generated and then validated through prototyping Understand implementation best practices, including change management considerations Who This Book Is For Business decision makers and project stakeholders as well as IT project owners who seek a method leading to fast development of successful software and AI prototypes demonstrating real business value. Also for data scientists, developers, and systems integrators who are interested in facilitating or utilizing Design Thinking workshops to drive momentum behind potential software development and AI projects.

Storyboarding and prototyping are key parts of the instructional design process that should not be skipped. Starting the overall design process with a storyboard provides a high-level outline of the intended outcomes of the module, and is an effective way to gather ideas in a graphical format before moving on the physical prototype. Interface prototyping then allows instructional designers to map out the navigation of a training module and garner feedback from stakeholders and users early in the design process. Gathering this information helps designers make decisions about the layout and placement of elements, such as buttons, images, and clickable interactions within the overall arrangement of an interface. This TD at Work will help you: - Define storyboarding and prototyping. - Explain how to storyboard your e-learning solution. - Show you how to create a physical prototype for feedback. - Instruct on how to create a wireframe digital prototype. - Help you create a refined prototype for the final interface design.

"Better read this book, or your design will be featured in Bloopers II. Seriously, bloopers may be fun in Hollywood outtakes, but no movie director would include them in the final film. So why do we find so many bloopers in shipped software? Follow Jeff Johnson as he leads the blooper patrol deep into enemy territory: he takes no prisoners but reveals all the design stupidities that users have been cursing over the years." -Jakob Nielsen Usability Guru, Nielsen Norman Group "If you are a software developer, read this book, especially if you don't think you need it. Don't worry, it isn't filled with abstract and useless theory--this is a book for doers, code writers, and those in the front trenches. Buy it, read it, and take two sections daily." -Don Norman President, UNext Learning Systems hr align="CENTER" size="1" width="75%" GUI Bloopers looks at user interface design bloopers from commercial software, Web sites, and information appliances, explaining how intelligent, well-intentioned professionals made these dreadful mistakes--and how you can avoid them. While equipping you with all the theory needed to learn from these examples, GUI expert Jeff Johnson also presents the reality of interface design in an entertaining, anecdotal, and instructive way. This is an excellent, well-illustrated resource for anyone whose work touches on usability issues, including software engineers, Web site designers, managers of development processes, QA professionals, and usability professionals. Features Takes a learn-by-example approach that teaches you to avoid common errors by asking the appropriate questions of your own interface designs. Includes two complete war stories, drawn from the author's personal experience, that describe in detail the challenges faced by UI engineers. Covers bloopers in a wide range of categories: GUI components, layout and appearance, text messages, interaction strategies, Web site design, responsiveness issues, management decision-making, and even more at www.GUI-bloopers.com. Organized and formatted based on the results of its own usability testing--so you can quickly find the information you need, packaged in easily digested pieces.

Do you spend a lot of time during the design process wondering what users really need? Do you hate those endless meetings where you argue how the interface should work? Have you ever developed something that later had to be completely redesigned? Paper Prototyping can help. Written by a usability engineer with a long and successful paper prototyping history, this book is a practical, how-to guide that will prepare you to create and test paper prototypes of all kinds of user interfaces. You'll see how to simulate various kinds of interface elements and interactions. You'll learn about the practical aspects of paper prototyping, such as deciding when the technique is appropriate, scheduling the activities, and handling the skepticism of others in your organization. Numerous case studies and images throughout the book show you real world examples of paper prototyping at work. Learn how to use this powerful technique to develop products that are more useful, intuitive, efficient, and pleasing: * Save time and money - solve key problems before implementation begins * Get user feedback early - use it to focus the development process * Communicate better - involve development team members from a variety of disciplines * Be more creative - experiment with many ideas before committing to one *Enables designers to solve design problems before implementation begins *Five case studies provide real world examples of paper prototyping at work *Delves into the specifics of what types of projects paper prototyping is and isn't good for.

Product development is the magic that turns circuitry, software, and materials into a product, but moving efficiently from concept to manufactured product is a complex process with many potential pitfalls. This practical guide pulls back the curtain to reveal what happens—or should happen—when you take a product from prototype to production. For makers looking to go pro or product development team members keen to understand the process, author Alan Cohen tracks the development of an intelligent electronic device to explain the strategies and tactics necessary to transform an abstract idea into a successful product that people want to use. Learn 11 deadly sins that kill product development projects Get an overview of how electronic products are manufactured Determine whether your idea has a good chance of being profitable Narrow down the product’s functionality and associated costs Generate requirements that describe the final product’s details Select your processor, operating system, and power sources Learn how to comply with safety regulations and standards Dive into development—from rapid prototyping to manufacturing Alan Cohen, a veteran systems and software engineering manager and lifelong technophile, specializes in leading the development of medical devices and other high-reliability products. His passion is to work with engineers and other stakeholders to forge innovative technologies into successful products.