Web Design Ethiopia

When developing mockups for review, be sure to have comprehensive procedures in place to facilitate the process.

The following presents a set of procedures to promote communication, serve as a valuable reminder of areas for review, and promote the integration of feedback into the next stage of design.

Having a smooth-running method of review will enhance communication, reduce delays, and provide for a more thorough integration of both client and user comments.

Mockups can be created for either external review or review by the users and clients (whether they are external or within another or even the same division).

Regardless of the target audience, mockups are designed to promote communication and understanding of implementation ideas.

The following materials are developed primarily for working with external audiences; however, with minor tweaking they can easily be adapted for use within the design team.

Developing a System of Multiple Drafts
Mockups are most useful when they are used in an iterative fashion to refine design ideas based on user testing and feedback.

Developing a system of multiple drafts that progressively refine the design lays the groundwork for such use. Form 7-2 presents a sample schedule for mockup development across several drafts. (Download from http://www.mkp.com/uew.)

The initial draft consists of three mockups that are fairly diverse in style and display a wide variety of solutions.

It is good practice at this stage to provide a combination of navigation and page layout alternative as well as a wide variety of stylistic choices (e.g., various colors and fonts).

However, be sure to explain that any combination of colors can be used with any of the structural designs.

In other words, you want to avoid the instance of a client or user really preferring the structure and layout of one option, but choosing another because of a color preference.

There are a few things that should be noted regarding the mockup development schedule. The number of mockup produced at each draft stage decreases as you get further into the process.

As you reduce the number of mockups, you should begin to refine the subset you are working with. The further along in the process you are, the more focused and refined your mockups should become.

When working with clients, be sure to establish a draft system beforehand. Describe the system to the clients, and be sure they understand the consequences of making changes, requesting additional drafts, and so forth.

This helps to prevent the seemingly infinite mockup cycles that are all too common when working with clients. It also helps to solidity the design and allows the clients an opportunity to feel involved in the development and design of the web site.

Mockup Review, Approval, and Sign-Off
It can often be very difficult to achieve closure with your client. Once iterations begin, the client can continue requesting alterations for what seems like an eternity.

One of the ways to circumvent this (and also help keep the developer on track) is to have a predetermined system of mockups and approval.

This doesn’t need to be set in stone; it only needs to appear to be set in stone! Have a preset number of drafts established up front. Make a preset agreement and stick to it as best as possible.

The mockup approval form shown in Form 7-3 can be used after each draft stage. (Download from http://www.mkp.com/uew.)

This serves as a gentle reminder that the iteration process cannot go on forever. As long as this has been explained up front, there should be no problems.

Making Use of the Mockup Style Review Form
By breaking down several of the categories in the review form, it helps to focus clients on what it is they may or may not like about a given design.

This also serves as a reminder to the reviewer to examine things like color, scale, and layout, as well as naming conventions. In addition, the form provides an area for the reviewer to write comments.

While the form itself is a useful tool for recording comments, it is perhaps even more useful in that it gets the reviewer to think about the design at a deeper level.

After the client has filled out this form, you should follow up with a phone conversation or meeting.

The form then serves as a device to clarify issues and concern, and will give the designer a grasp of the most critical areas to remedy in the next draft stage.

Tips for a Successful Mockup and Approval Process
Managing the mockup and approval process can be a difficult task. However, there are several things you can do to make this a more fluid process.

Presenting high-quality and accurate representations while keeping communication channels open will help to eliminate the majority of problems.

Make Mockups of Realistic Quality
To prepare for review, make sure that you mockup conforms to appropriate technical constraints and is realistic in its form. Ensure that the mockup’s overall quality does not exceed the potential quality of the final result.

You want to avoid producing a mockup that will have a higher resolution than the final web site, exceeds screen width limitations, or has text at a higher resolution than can be realistically achieved (e.g., don’t display anti-aliased body text when it will be aliased on the final web site).

Leave Out Bad Alternatives
People inevitably choose your least favorite design alternative. If you aren’t comfortable with a particular design you’ve generated, then throw it out. Design selections should only be made from among alternatives that solve the design problem well.

Keep Communication Channels Open
Let people know as soon as possible when snags are encountered. Some snags are expected, and if stakeholders are notified early on, they usually don’t cause large problems. It is usually the last-minute updates or unexpected problems that get you into trouble.

Be Explicit
Let everyone know up front what to expect. State the number of drafts, the number of mockups for each draft, and the general area of focus that the mockups will be examining (e.g. the home page and a product page).

Discuss Costs for Additional Work
Let those involved know up front that changes are costly. Not only do additional mockups cost more money, they may offset the original target dates (if you’ve built in some slack time to your processes, you should be able to give a little here).

Get a Signature
Be sure to get a signature from the responsible contact on the client side before proceeding with the next stage of work. While nobody likes to point fingers, it will help to protect you in case clients suddenly change their minds.
 

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