白鸦，以用户为中心的设计

2年前我读这篇文章的时候，我正在用Flash做所开发产品的原型，读到这文章后，从此让我对Scott Berkun有了很深的敬意
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抽出一点时间很不连贯地、非常非常粗糙地翻译了其中的部分.而非全部..很多表达也并不确切，要很到位地翻译需要时间和精力…希望你最好看英文，看原文才是最好的方式，劣质的翻译会走味，而且这文章要翻译得很贴切不是非常容易。我的翻译肯定是很糟糕的，这种糟糕的翻译质量我本来是没有脸面贴出来的。。只是针对那些在理解原文时遇到困难的朋友，我的翻译或许作为一个理解上的参考，希望没有严重误导你..我实在是没有太多的热情去认真细致地翻译这篇文章，如果哪位热心者愿意完整细致地翻译，当然更好..

The Art of UI Prototyping

By Scott Berkun, November 2000

即使最聪明的人也会犯错误。这点对于很多开发团队特别真确。当项目往前推进的时候，小的假设和愿望良好但糟糕的决定不断积累，把辛勤的工作成果转化为糟糕的用户体验。聪明的团队通过使用一种叫做UI prototyping的技术在产品发布给用户之前消除他们的错误。结合易用性研究，prototypes（原型）让开发团队在正确的方向前进。

Even the brightest people make mistakes. This is especially true for teams of people. Somehow, as a project moves forward, small assumptions and well-intentioned but poor decisions accumulate, turning hours of work into a lousy user experience. The smart teams eliminate their mistakes before they ship by using a technique called UI prototyping. Combined with usability studies, prototypes keep teams headed in the right direction.

Why Prototype?为什么要做原型？

protoyping（制作原型）是一种让你在真正投入开发各种IDEAS之前可以探索这些主意的手段。有经验的工匠和工程师在他们真正创建之前会创建作品的原型：建筑师用纸或纸板或用虚拟现实工具创建模型。Aeronautic工程师使用风洞。桥梁建筑师创建压力模型。软件/WEB设计师创建用户如何与设计交互的MOCKUPS（模拟图）
Prototyping is a means of exploring ideas before you invest in them. All experienced craftspeople and engineers create prototypes of their work before they build anything: Architects create models out of paper or cardboard, or with virtual reality tools. Aeronautic engineers use wind tunnels. Bridge builders create stress models. Software and Web designers create mock-ups of how users will interact with their designs.

进行原型化设计的最佳原因是为了节约时间和资源。原型的价值是它是一个门面，就象好莱污的布景设置一样，只有建筑的前面被创建。相对于真正的产品，创建原形是容易和不昂贵的。只要最小的投资，你就可以发现易用性和设计问题，并在你投入大量的（资金和人力）于最终的设计和技术之前可以调整你的UI.

The best reason to prototype is to save time and resources. The value of the prototype is that it is a facade—like a Hollywood set, where only the front of the building is constructed. Relative to the real product, prototypes are easy and inexpensive to create. So, for a minimal investment, you can find usability and design problems and adjust your UI before you invest heavily in the final design and technologies.

在检查……………………..
On examining the needs of your particular project, you might come up with reasons for creating a prototype other than saving money. Is the goal to explore a new interface model? Make modifications to one part of the existing design? Investigate a new technology? It''''''''s important to be clear about why you''''''''re building what you''''''''re building before you start. If you begin with clear goals, you can be direct and effective in your efforts. The reasons for creating prototypes fall into three basic categories:

–Proof of concept.
验证概念 在一些团队中对于项目的未来方向会有分歧。你可以使用圆形来证明某个想法或新做法有价值。原型可以帮助勾画出一个想法是如何工作的，以视觉化和交互的方式表现它的特点，促使团队的成员以另外的视角去思考问题Among some teams there are disagreements about the future direction of a project. You can use a prototype to prove that an idea or new approach has merit or value. A prototype can help illustrate that an idea works, express its qualities in a visual and interactive way, and/or motivate team members to think about the problem from another perspective.

—Design exploration设计探索 .

如果你设计交互产品，唯一去探索产品如何被使用的方式就是创建一个模拟，并与之交互操作。………………….

If you design interactive things, the only way to explore how something will be used is to create a mock-up and interact with it. Sometimes the mock-up is tied to a usability study, where parts of the prototype can be evaluated in a structured way. Sometimes it''''''''s just a way to clearly express to a developer how something should work or look. In many cases, a designer might simply be experimenting, in an effort to get a sense for what approach might work. Anyone on the team can use prototypes to explore design issues, although designers are generally the most skilled. Design explorations should be directed at trying to solve specific problems that you''''''''ve recognized in your product.

Technical exploration.技术探索
开发人员对于调查某问题的实施方式经常是尝试不同的编码技术去看它们是否能有效工作。使用HTML。。JSCTRPT。。SQL。。DHTML。。WIN32。。或每种技术内所特别的编码方式有不同的TRADEOFFS。。有时一个原型代表着能很好支持某种UI或WEB 特点的技术的探索。
Developers investigating implementation approaches to a problem often try out different coding techniques to see if they work well. Using HTML, Jscript, SQL, DHTML, Win32, or specific coding approaches within each technology have different tradeoffs. Sometimes a prototype represents an exploration into what technology will work well to support a certain UI or web feature.

有时原型是因为综合这几种原因而创建。如果计划周全，开发团队能分配一个开发人员、一名设计师或项目经理去共同创建一个原型。在那种情况下，澄清目标和明确每个成员应负责什么非常重要。你应该让每个人都明确目标是什么，每个人所负责的是什么，潜在的结果会是什么
Sometimes prototypes are created for a combination of these reasons. If a team plans well enough, they can allot time for a developer and a designer or project manager to work together on a prototype. In such cases, it''''''''s extremely important to clearly define the goals and the contributions each team member is expected to make. You want everyone to be clear on what the goals are, what''''''''s at stake, and what the potential outcome will be.

Who Is Involved?谁参与其中？

制作原型可以被任何人随便所进行，不管他们的背景或在项目中的角色。。通过使用PHOTOSHOP…
Prototyping can be done informally by anyone, regardless of their background or role in the project. It''''''''s easy to make a simple but effective prototype by taking a bitmap from Adobe Photoshop, putting it into the Microsoft® FrontPage® Web site creation and management tool, and adding active buttons or links. These lightweight prototypes only go so far, and can become unwieldy for complex interactions.

对于较大团队更正式的原型，……
For more formal prototypes by larger teams, a developer or project manager will often collaborate with a designer and a usability engineer. Together they''''''''ll generate ideas, build a prototype that represents the best ideas, and then go into the lab to see how effective it is in solving user problems. Developers might get involved if they can spare the time, or if their technical expertise is needed. Often the designer or project manager will do most of the scripting or coding to build the prototype.

When Do You Build a Prototype?我什么时候去build一个原型

Depending on the scope of the prototype and the level of detail required, prototypes can be built at any time during the project. Most often they are created early in the project, during the planning and specification phase, before developers write any production code. That''''''''s when the need for exploration is greatest, and when the time investment needed is most viable. If developers instead of program managers or designers are prototyping, scheduling time becomes even more important because you need to make sure the work invested in the prototype is accounted for in the development schedule. Planning for any UI release should include some level of prototyping.

Late in a project, smaller prototypes can help resolve tough design and technical issues. A quick HTML mock-up of how a dialog box or Web page should behave can help answer a developer''''''''s question or give other teammates a feel for what the desired experience should be. In some cases, a strong program manager or designer can implement the behavior in Microsoft JScript® development software and approximate much of the programming logic that developers will need to think through.

The time it takes to create a prototype can vary tremendously, depending on the scope and precision of what the end result needs to look like. An informal prototype could mean a few hours of work by one person; a more organized effort can involve weeks of effort by an entire team.

分类：UCD ,05/03/04 12:36 上午 | 17,210 次浏览 |