[Sigia-l] Research then prototype OR prototype then gather userfeedback

[Lada Gorlenko]

CB> In my experience, it depends (yeah, yeah, it all depends) on how much you
CB> already know about the users, how much time you have, what type of
CB> information you are trying to gather, and what you mean by prototype.  

Also -- and I'd say it's a pretty important dependency-- on the type
of an application you are designing. If this is a business app that
supports/gets in the way of the existing workflows (think a call
centre app, for example), starting with some research becomes nearly a must.

I find building task models (sort of a border that separates user
research and design as phases, whenever you have them) helpful for two
reasons. First, task models give you a very clear idea of what the
users actually do (it gives the users a very clear idea of what they
do, too, and believe me, sometimes they are in for a big surprise).
Second, task models are great for surfacing holes and redundancies in
the workflows. Discuss them with execs, illustrate with a nice concise
example, and you may hear "Gee, I didn't know design was about process
efficiency, too!" In my experience, this is often where businesses
start 'getting it' about the big picture of design. You, on the other
hand, leave with a much better idea of the design constraints imposed
by the processes and prototype something that can hold water first time.

Lada