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Subject:RE: Tech Writers on GUI Design Teams From:Tracey -dot- Sebastian -at- sybase -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 15 Apr 2002 09:05:12 -0600
I too have been involved in GUI design.
We didn't have a formal GUI design team, GUI design was a part of the
software design process, with the design documents and functional specs
including the design and layout for the GUI. Good GUI design and usability
was a big thing and was always included as part of the software cycle,
including design reviews and testing.
As our GUI became advanced, I created a GUI standards guide that covered
almost everything we needed in our GUI world, then if anything was
added/removed/changed, I ususally discussed those changes with the
developer beforehand. If the developer didn't discuss the changes with me
and they were not user-friendly, I logged them as bugs.
The process took a while to catch on, the developers were not used to
having to consult with a writer on usability issues and some took more
time than others accepting it. Once they realized that I was adding value
to the process and improving our product, the developers came to me first
for input. Luckily, I had full support and buy-in from management, which
always helps.
That's all,
Tracey
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