July 2009 Entrepreneurs Forum: Ultra Light User Experience Topics: What is User Experience (UX)? Is UX a one-off task or an ongoing process for a startup?What are the components of UX and the related topic of User Interface (UI) design?Information Architecture (IA) / Interaction Design (ID)Objectives: To define the behavior of products and systems that a user can interact withActivities: Tools: Visio, Omnigraffle, SmartDraw, SiteXpert, Axure, iPlotzOutput: Functional specification, process flow diagram, sitemap, wireframesUser Research and TestingObjectives: Efficiency, accuracy, recall, and emotional responseActivities: Stakeholder interviews, user interviews, surveys, observations, card sorting, web analytics, prototyping, usability testing, eye-tracking studies, etcTools: UserVue, Ethnio, Silverback, video cameraOutput: Recommendations for revisions to IA and VDVisual Design (VD) / Graphic Design (GD)Objectives: Create a visual representation of ideas and messagesTools: Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver)Output: Style guide (text), graphics/images, stylesheets (CSS)Why should usability be a priority for startups? What proportion of a project's time and budget can an ultra-light entrepreneur justify spending on UX?How is the effectiveness of UX measured? How can an entrepreneur quantify the differences in a system before and after some investment in UX?What can an entrepreneur do himself and under what circumstances should he seek external help designing his site's UX?How should entrepreneurs go about finding this help? How much should we expect to spend? What should we do if we can't afford any external UX consulting?How have successful "ultra light" startups addressed UX in the past and what can we learn from them? What are examples of effective UX designs produced on a shoestring budget? What techniques were used to maximize ROI on the time and money invested? Moderator: Allen Ackerman, Founder and CEO of A-List Placement, and The Hire SyndicatePanelists (alphabetic order):Whitney Hess, Independent user experience designerAlex Kirtland, Partner at UsableMarkets LLCKaren McGrane, Senior Partner at Bond Art + ScienceDavid Sansone, Director of User Experience at TBWA \ NY
Ultra Light Startups™ is an online and in-person community for entrepreneurs, investors, brands, and professional service providers building innovative online businesses. The community is centered around monthly pitch/panel/networking events and accompanying online forums. Events cover topics related to Technology, Design, Marketing and Finance.
