Week 7 To-Do’s
Readings
Each student must individually select at least one starred item and at least one other item from this week’s reading list to read/watch. More details are available on the Information page under Deliverable 1c.
Create draft user flows
Pick 4-5 features/ideas for your app. You can use the ones you developed as design arguments and then expanded into storyboards, but you can also refine or change them based on what you’ve learned so far. For each feature/idea, identify the user goal and draw a user flow diagram. Remember to make them user focused, just imagine what a user would do (actions), what pages/screens/panels they would see (steps), and any key decisions that arise. Each team member can do their own user flow, but as a team you should coordinate so you’re using the same visual style for all user flow diagrams (see examples of user flow diagram styles in lecture). When done, you will have a set of “draft” user flows to use in the wireframing step You will most certainly refine and improve these initial user flows as you wireframe, so consider creating you user flows in a format that’s easy to change (erasable pencil, iPad note taking app, figma, miro, powerpoint, etc.).
Create wireframes and refine user flows
For each user flow, create interface wireframes for each step. When sketching the layout and structure of each page, make sure you annotate the content and controls, but don’t be overly detailed (see lecture notes for what a wireframe should and should not include). As you’re designing, think about signifier, affordance, constraints, feedback, discoverability, mapping, and consistency of the interface with the conceptual models of the user. As you create your wireframes, you will likely need (or want) to refine and revise your user flows as you ideate more on specific aspects of the user interface.
Update the design notebook with the following for each user flow diagram:
- The final refined user flow diagram.
- The set of wireframes that match each step of the user flow.
Make sure you provide a clear title or id for each wireframe that matches the step in your user flow: this is important for your readers to understand how the two are connected. If your flows use the same wireframe (like a common main screen), you can include that same wireframe in multiple flows, or simply include it once for the first user flow and then reference it in other user flows that also include it.
Team meeting and design document
Conduct this week’s team meeting or discussion in and/or out of class. Update your design document with the meeting minutes and the outcomes of this week’s activities. More details are available on the Information page under Deliverable 2a.
Provide a design critique to your assigned team’s mid-term report
Read your assigned team’s mid-term report and provide at least five actionable recommendations to that team. For more details and how to submit see the grading page under Deliverable 2c.
Due next week
- Week 7 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #6 (2a)
- Design critique (2c)