I've just finished up some months of work for
Sequence in SF.
Clients included
Citrix and
PlanetOut.
The work we did was quite strategic in nature and very satisfying. I really like the way Sequence encouraged the practice of SKETCHING. They were not afraid to informally present an initial set of concepts and then explore and refine the ideas in a brainstorming session with the client.
On the other side of the coin, we experimented with a rapid prototyping tool called
Axure and I found this a bit unsettling. The rush to achieve a digital, functioning product caused us to set aside much of the important thinking that goes along with the initial explorations using stickies or whiteboards or (my personal favorite) the color-coded index cards.
If one has an ambition for usability testing with a functional product, I think it's better to allocate a few extra days and engage a developer and realize the prototype the "old fashioned way."
I also find myself continually reminding people of the tremendous value that can be realized in testing a paper prototype. This approach can set the proper direction much earlier in the project and require much less energy to achieve the test.