Effective Prototyping with Excel (eBook)

Front Cover 1
Effective Prototypingwith Excel 4
Copyright Page 5
Contents 6
Dedications Page 14
Acknowledgments 16
About the Authors 18
Part 1: Turning Excel into a Prototyping Tool 21
Chapter 1: A Developer's Dilemma 23
A Case Study 24
Introduction 25
Excel Prototyping 26
Prototyping Flexibility 26
Efficient and Easy 32
Professional Results 32
No Special Skills Required 33
Readily Available 33
Still Not Convinced? 34
Who Should Consider Using Excel? 34
Prototyping Productivity 34
Our Goal 35
Chapter 2: Getting Started: Your First Excel Prototype 37
Examples of Excel Prototypes 38
How to Create Your First Excel Prototype 38
To Adapt the Template: 41
To Add a Header: 42
To Add a Search Text Entry Box and Accompanying Search Button: 44
To Add Page Navigation: 45
To Build the Hotel Finder Area: 46
To Create a Grouping Box Around the Hotel Finder Area: 48
To Create the Placeholder, the Images, and Descriptive Text for the Featured Hotels Area: 49
To Create the Placeholder Descriptive Text: 50
To Create the Placeholder Promotional Information Area: 50
Summary 53
About This Book 54
How to Use This Book 54
How to Use the Associated Files 55
Chapter 3: Basics: The Excel Prototyping Canvas 57
Creating a Prototyping Canvas 58
To Prepare a Canvas: 58
To Hide the Grid: 59
To Change the Row and Column Dimensions: 61
Conclusion 68
Chapter 4: Creating an Excel Prototyping Template 69
Templates 70
The Image Library 70
What Graphics Should be Included in Your Image Library Worksheet? 71
Finding the Images You Need 72
When to Use Graphics Instead of Widgets Built in Excel 72
To Add Graphics to the Template: 73
The Boxes epsivet Buttons Worksheet 75
Creating the Boxes epsivet Buttons Worksheet 76
The Tabs Worksheet 82
Color Management 89
The Color Key and Palette 96
The Tips and Tricks Worksheet 96
The Table Template Worksheet 98
Creating the Table Template 99
Modifying the Table 103
The Starter Worksheet 105
Conclusion 106
Part 2: Prototyping with Excel 107
Chapter 5: Excel Prototyping: Storyboards 109
About Storyboards 110
How to Create an Excel Storyboard Prototype 114
Creating the Berger Books Storyboard in Excel 116
To Build a Storyboard: 116
To Create the Header: 117
To Place a Wireframe Image on the Worksheet: 119
To Create a Text Box: 121
Options for Presenting Your Storyboard 123
To Add Navigation Links to a Storyboard: 124
Conclusion 126
References 126
Chapter 6: Wireframes 127
Introduction to Wireframes 128
Task Flow or Site Map Diagram 129
To Create Site Map Wireframe Boxes: 130
To Add Connectors Between Boxes: 131
The Hyperlinked Site Map 133
To Create an Interactive Site Map: 133
From Skeletal to Detailed Wireframes 134
The Excel Methodology 136
Conclusion 138
References 138
Chapter 7: Digital Interactive Prototypes 139
About Digital Interactive Prototypes 140
How Does an Interactive Prototype Work? 141
Creating Interactive Prototypes with Excel 141
Gathering and Verifying Requirements for the Prototype 142
Creating a Screen Flow Diagram 143
To Import Scanned Drawings or Graphics Created in Another Application: 144
To Create the Thumbnails in Excel: 144
To Group Shapes: 152
Creating an Interactive Prototype 154
To Create the Interactive Digital Prototype: 156
Creating a Drop-Down Menu in Excel 158
To Create a Drop-Down Menu: 158
Conclusion 166
References 166
Part 3: Putting Your Excel Prototype to Work 167
Chapter 8: Iterating Prototypes With Excel 169
Preparing for a Design Iteration 170
Creating Iterations of Your Excel Prototype 171
Iteration 1: Simple Wireframe 172
Iteration 2: Wireframe with Some Details 173
Iteration 3: Wireframe Updated with Design Team Feedback 176
Iteration 4: Final Wireframe 183
Conclusion 184
References 184
Chapter 9: Communicating Your Design in Excel 185
Introduction 186
Adding a Tooltip to Excel Hyperlinks 188
To Create a ScreenTip Annotation: 188
Inserting Comments 191
To Insert a Comment: 193
Creating Annotation Areas 196
To Create Annotation Areas: 197
Conclusion 204
References 204
Chapter 10: Sharing Your Excel Prototype 205
Introduction 206
Using Your Prototype for Collaboration 206
Mitigating the Risks of Implementing a Finished Prototype 208
Engineering Can't (or Doesn't Want to) Implement Your Design 209
Competing Prototypes 209
Outdated Prototypes 209
Misunderstanding and Misinterpretation 210
Tips for Avoiding the Risks in Sharing Your Prototypes 211
Using a Summary Worksheet 211
Setting the Appropriate Fidelity Level 211
Setting the Appropriate Visual Emphasis 212
To Create a Translucent Overlay: 212
Denoting Your Prototype's Interaction Methods 215
Creating a Simple Click-Through Interaction: 215
To Name a Tab: 215
To Color a Tab: 216
Identifying Which Links Work and Which Are Just Mocked Up 217
Improving the Appearance and Presentation of Your Excel Prototypes 218
Conclusion 222
References 222
Appendix A: Useful Techniques with Excel 223
Introduction 224
Creating the Canvas 224
To Turn Off the Display of Gridlines to Create a Blank Canvas: 224
Setting Page Attributes for Prototyping 225
To Select the Entire Worksheet: 225
To Ensure That Cell Contents Will Be Read as Text Only and to Prevent Accidental Reformatting: 225
To Select a Default Color as a Background Color: 225
To Select a Default Font Style: 225
To Specify a Background Texture: 225
To Apply a Special Background: 226
Another Way to Use a Background: 226
To Change the Table Cell Orientation for Prototyping Rather than Making Spreadsheets: 228
Formatting Table Cells 228
To Specify How a Cell or Group of Cells Appears: 228
Using the Drawing Menu 229
To Insert Shapes: 229
To Fill Shapes with Text: 230
To Fill a Shape with a Pattern: 230
To Group Shapes: 230
To Order Shapes: 230
Managing Worksheet Tabs 231
Hyperlinking 231
Saving a Workbook as HTML 231
Insert and Delete Cells Shortcuts 232
Drag-and-Drop Shortcuts 235
To Align Elements on a Page: 236
Drag-Fill Shortcuts 238
To Apply Drag-Fill: 238
Drag-Fill Patterns: 240
Copy and Paste: Building Prototype Screens Quickly 241
Working with Graphics in Excel 242
Selecting Object Mode: 242
Draw Menu 243
Formatting Toolbar 243
Appendix B: Nevin Discovers Excel as a Rapid Prototyping Tool 245
First Exposure 246
My First Attempts with Excel 247
A Test Case 247
Appendix C: Glossary 249
References 252
Index 254