Agent641A gentle visual critique of Blueman, from a UX design perspective
I’ve only worked once with a UX person and all they did was order other people to produce design documents before any software was written. Like, he didn’t design anything himself and didn’t even critique others’ designs. He made over $300K and eventually left for a job on the west coast making twice as much. He stopped talking to me entirely after the client had me write a prototype TV guide-type app for Blackberry. I created it entirely myself and the client loved it and wanted it released to the public exactly as it was. UX guy insisted (client didn’t care at all) that all software needed a design document before any coding could take place, so he was forced to order somebody else to produce a design document for my app which already existed. He wouldn’t even look at me when we passed in the hall after this.
I assume that this is not actually what a UX person is supposed to be doing, but I have no idea what their real job is.
Heh.
Design documents are only useful if those deciding the design are making it and are ready before the coding starts.
And then there is this confusion of which “Design Document” one is talking about. It could be a UI/UX document or it could be the software design document, which would comprise multiple flow-diagrams, helping anyone pick up a project for maintenance and extension.
Design documents are only useful if those deciding the design are making it and are ready before the coding starts.
And then there is this confusion of which “Design Document” one is talking about. It could be a UI/UX document or it could be the software design document, which would comprise multiple flow-diagrams, helping anyone pick up a project for maintenance and extension.
if those deciding the design are making it
This kinda depends. User stories document the typical goals and workflow of the users with the app, and thus should come from the target users or at least the client like a manager. The designer is not qualified to make the user stories since they don’t know the business domain, as it’s called. But they know how to organize the UI for any particular goals.
Yes, but it is also important to understand that not having a Design Document does not equate to not having a Design.
There was 1 project where the users of the UI I was making were not nearby (in most cases my direct senior was also the user) and most of the UI/UX expectation were passed on verbally. I then made a basic model and then iterated over it with repeated feedback from the target users.
So the point is that anyone putting a design document on a pedestal (like an interviewer at one of my past applications) is most probably spewing garbage.