If you are interested in designing an iPhone app, the Apple iPhone Human Interface Guidelines is a must-read doc. It’s available free and can be downloaded from the iPhone Developer Center (registration required).
I was recently talking to someone about time estimates for designing an iPhone application. I was of the view that a minimum of 30-40% the total development time should be allocated to design, whereas the other person was of the view that only 5-10% was necessary. My estimate was based on my experience as a design practitioner, keeping in mind the issues involved in creating a good user experience, whereas the other person’s estimate was based on his primary background as a software programmer.
For iPhone/iPod Touch applications, Apple recommends that you spend approximately 60% of your time on design.
Apple recommendations:
- Design 60%
- Code 15%
- Debug 15%
- Test 10%
Design is not just about making pretty icons and graphics – it’s much more than that. The design process is comprised of four primary phases:
- Familiarize
- Conceptualize
- Realize
- Finalize
In traditional approaches for software development on mobile platforms, typically 5% of the development time is spent on design.
Typical software development approaches:
- Design 5%
- Code 45%
- Debug 25%
- Test 25%
To me, Apple’s 60% recommendation for design is not at all a surprise. To create a truly amazing application with a great user experience requires considerable effort and focus. The alternative – with 5% design effort – invariable results in mediocrity and a lame product, and is typical of software engineers’ philosophy of build first and fix/design later approach.
[via iPhone User Interface Design podcast]
A good textbook for teaching Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) or Interaction Design (IxD) at the undergraduate level is Interaction Design: Beyond Human Computer Interaction, 2nd Ed. (Wiley).
The book also has a companion web site with useful teaching resources such as presentation slides, case studies and links to online resources.
The User Experience Treasure Map, by Peter Morville and Jeffery Callender, is a neat diagram that illustrates some of the deliverables that can be created during the user experience design process.
In traditional software development environments, there is an emphasis on creating specifications (SRS) and modeling (use case diagrams). While these type of documents are important, they don’t help in fully understanding and effectively capturing user needs and behaviors which are so important in creating a well-designed interactive product. Developers would do well by integrating the artifacts mentioned in the UX Treasure Map into their existing software development methodologies.
For those of you who missed the World Usability Day 2008 event in Lahore, Pakistan, you can now watch TV coverage of the event by City42 – a local news TV channel. This video features interviews (in Urdu) of some of the event speakers (interviews in order of sequence: Imran Hussain, Ian Ruskin Brown, Ahmed Shuja and Ehtisham Rao).
The World Usability Day 2008 was organized for the first time ever in Pakistan by the Interaction Design Center, in collaboration with Google, Octara, and Obscure, at the UMT campus in Lahore on November 13, 2008. The purpose was to create awareness in Pakistan about the importance of designing products and services that are both user-friendly and useful. This year’s theme was transportation.
The aim of the event was to kickstart a usability and design thinking movement throughout the country. It was an enthusiastic turnout with more than 200+ attendees from across the city of Lahore. One the highlights of the event was Google’s first ever video-conferenced based seminar in Pakistan, along with a live Internet broadcast of the entire event.
Thanks to the City42 team for providing the video clip and a very special thanks to Arif Ansari (Octara/TCS), Badar Khushnood (Google), and Adnan Ali (UMT/ClickChain) for making the event a tremendous success.
Masters program in Design in Designed Objects at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC):
Borrowing critically from product design, systems design, furniture design, and interaction design, the Master of Design in Designed Objects program envisions designers as agentive, social citizens, and maintains an expansive understanding of the object: product/system, practical/speculative, analog/digital, microscopic/monumental, hand-crafted/industrial, localized/galactic.
The Usability Body of Knowledge is an initiative of the Usability Professionals Association (UPA). Currently, the site is in draft mode and UPA is soliciting help from volunteers to build up the knowledge base.
Welcome to Experience Matters!
This is a place where you can learn about all things design, experience, and usability.
In today’s increasingly digital technology-enabled, information-oriented, service-based, complex globalized world, there is a greater need for organizations and individuals to create products and services that are simple, intuitive, and result in engaging and compelling customer experiences. On this blog, you will find examples of articles, reviews, case studies, examples of good/bad design, tips, techniques, methodologies, and resources, with a particular focus on products and services in Pakistan.
The aim is to create awareness, make knowledge accessible, and build a community of people who are dedicated to creating better customer / user experiences.
Some of the core knowledge areas that will be covered on this blog include:
I hope you will find this a useful place. And if you do, please help us in spreading the word.
- Imran Hussain