Sample Design Artifacts
There are numerous artifacts that are developed throughout the user experience design process: Use Cases, Workflow diagrams, Site Maps, Wireframes, Prototypes of varying fidelity, and more.
User Stories and Use Cases
Use cases detail the business and functional requirements. User stories do so in an abbreviated way - a component of the Agile process. Below is a mash-up of the two created by Bobby Foster. It contains a user story, but also a narrative, and a main flow with any alternative or exception flows. Note that it outlines the user and system interactions and is devoid of any interface elements. This aides in reutilizing the same stories for multiple devices and systems and doesn't limit the design in any way.
Use Case and User Story Sample (PDF 175K)
Wireframes
Wireframes - visual representtions of an interface in a skeletal form - act as a functional specification or an interface blueprint. They communicate the layout of content, navigation, and other interface elements and their intended interaction. Traditional wireframes are devoid of graphic design elements, i.e. type faces, colors, or other graphics. Wireframes can range in fidelity from low-fidelity drawings or sketches to higher fidelity mock-ups created in a graphic design application. The wireframes presented here are produced in Microsoft's Visio.
- iPad Basic App Design (PDF 680K)
Heuristic and Expert Reviews
A heuristic — or expert — review is a thorough analysis of an existing web site or product that results in a prioritized list of design or usability issues with accompanying recommendations for remediation.
Brief Sample Heuristic Review. (PDF 159K)
User Testing Reports
Once user testing is completed, a thourough record of the testing activity and the outcomes is created. This report is often the basis for discussions around future feature development and proposed remediation of design issues discovered in the current test candidate.
White Papers & Other Documentation
Often times, internet technologies can be confusing. Buzz words come and go, and often these become the topic of discussion, even when the parties involved don't have a real grasp on the concept. White Papers are a great medium with which to summarize and educate individuals on certain topics at an executive level.
Read a White Paper about White Listing and Safe Listing Emails. (140K)
UX Tips
I've begin publishing quick tips through Twitter. The full list of tips — so far — are available here. To stay abreast of my tips as they are published, follow me on twitter.
Section 508
Here's a brief overview of Section 508 and the actual Subpart B, Subsection 1194.22.