Volunteer Match

The purpose of this engagement is threefold: improve the homepage, improve the priority clickstream ("find a volunteer opportunity") and introduce Web 2.0 functionality.

The project plan includes 3 usability testing checkpoints.

The first, at project outset, to establish a baseline.

The second - cover sheet pictured above (click to view detail) - tested our initial design directions. I can't show you the whole report but I can talk to you about what we learned in the testing and how that influenced our decisions.

The final usability test will occur just prior to launch, where we'll get to test live data on real people!

I'll post the wireframes as soon as development is finished and the final designs are live.

Citrix and PlanetOut (for Sequence)

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.