User-Centered Design

Travis Lowdermilk has been developing custom software experiences for over 15 years in industries ranging from architecture, business, and health care. Currently, he works for a community hospital in central California. At the hospital, he creates line of business applications for clinical, financial, and performance improvement. Predominantly using Microsoft frameworks, Travis creates solutions that employ a wide range of technologies such as: web, mobile, touch, and voice. Travis is a certified ASP.NET developer and has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration – emphasizing in Information Systems. He’s currently enrolled in the Master’s program at DePaul University’s College of Digital Media. The focus of his study is Human-Computer Interaction and User-Centered Design. Travis is the co-host of The Windows Developer Show – a weekly Internet broadcast for Microsoft developers, designers, and enthusiasts (www.windowsdevelopershow.com). To find out more about Travis, please visit: www.travislowdermilk.com or follow him on Twitter (@tlowdermilk).

Chapter 1 Our World Has Changed
Chapter 2 What Is User-Centered Design?
UCD Is Not Usability
UCD Is Not Subjective
UCD Is Not Just Design
UCD Is Not a Waste of Time or Money
UCD Is Not a Bug Report
UCD Is Not a Distraction
Chapter 3 Working with Users
What If I Don’t Have Access to Users?
Dealing with Different Types of Users
Dealing with Negativity
Chapter 4 Having a Plan
How Do I Know Which Plan Is Right for Me?
Creating a Team Mission Statement
Defining Your Project
Collecting User Requirements
Creating Functional Requirements
Documenting Data and Workflow Models
Documenting Prototypes
Reviewing Your Documentation
Chapter 5 Creating a Personal Manifesto
Exercising Restraint
Building a Narrative
Creating Personas
Creating Scenarios
Chapter 6 Creativity and User Experience
Having User-Experience Goals
Creativity Requires Courage and Hard Work
Creativity Requires Questioning
Chapter 7 Design Principles
Principle of Proximity (Gestalt Principle)
Visibility, Visual Feedback, and Visual Prominence
Hierarchy
Mental Models and Metaphors
Chapter 8 Gathering Feedback
How Many Users Will I Need?
Surveys
Conducting Interviews
Task Analysis
Heuristic Evaluation
Storyboarding
Using Prototypes
A/B Testing
Chapter 9 Usability Studies
What Are Usability Studies?
Creating a Testing Plan
What You’ll Need
Conducting the Study
Don’t Hesitate to Practice
Compiling Your Findings
Chapter 10 You’re Never Finished
It’s Impossible to Get It Right the First Time
Be Prepared to Reboot
Final Thoughts
Chapter 11 Other Resources
Twitter
Tools for Prototyping
Websites

Appendix Sample Project Template
Template
Project Title
Example Persona
Sample Script for a Usability Study
Appendix References
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