[thelist] process question: hi-end multimedia sites

[A. Erickson]

> >1. Discovery -- proposal, statement of work, understanding of
> the project,
> >quid quo pro with client
>
> I know I was asking for information, but I have to get all opinionated
> now.  I do not understand this custom (at my current job we do it
> this way)
> of the client setting out the project and soliciting proposals from web
> builders
>
> 99% of the time the client tries to describe what he/she wants without
> having really thought thru the basics (audience, goals, blah
> blah).  Or the
> person who tries to describe the project  is not someone who has a good
> understanding of web needs.  So a web shop gives a proposal based on what
> the client THINKS he/she needs, not what he/she really needs, basically
> saying what they think the client wants to hear.  IMO this is likely to
> doom the project from the start.

Hmm... so how would you solve this?

Actually, I find that if a company/team is skilled then this discovery phase
is really very valuable. Everything gets outlined and documented. I
unfortunately rushed through this a bit (see Marlene's very nicely thought
out list) so I may not have put everything very coherently.

It is our job to work through the client goals and objectives and work
through the process with them. Everything goes into a design document and
if, in the end, the client is unhappy with what they asked for and signed
off on then... well, that's a whole separate issue. We can only try our
hardest, not be mind readers or superheroes.

And, no, this is not the part of the phase where we tell them all that they
want to hear -- not if you want the project to go sucessfully. Honesty and
forthrightness is key.

> >2. Sketches -- for anything with a multimedia or user interface, sketches
> >are a good place to start. Storyboarding ideas for multimedia or
> just loose
> >sketches of interface design
>
> how on earth can you design an interface before you establish content?

This was sloppy of me. I was mostly thinking in my head of redesign projects
since that's what I'm working on now. For a ground up project there would be
more stuff at the front end -- possibly more research in the discovery phase
and at the very least an outline of all content that will be developed
concurrently with the interface.

> do they do usability testing?

Depends. Some large companies can afford to do focus groups. This is pretty
expensive. I think you rely on expertise here for the most part. Depends on
the product as well. What are we building here?

> I don't mean to be difficult, because I am curious about how these things
> actually work.  But I really see a lot of flaws with the
> "proposal" method
> of web building, and with the idea that an interface can be successfully
> designed before structure, content, functionality, & navigation
> are firmly
> understood, and none of these can be understood until there is a firm
> agreement on audience and purpose.

I didn't go through the design process here, just the overarching major
milestones. Sorry, maybe you should disregard my message altogether.

- amanda