3) Personae & Scenarios (cont.):

A scenario is a walk through of a salient task that a user will commonly do with the system being developed. The quantity of scenarios is determined by how many primary tasks a user will need to do with the system.

4) Information Architecture & Wire Frames/ Lo-Fi Prototypes:

The next step is to create the information architecture and then wire frames. The most common method for creating a sites information architecture is to use a method called Card Sorting. After the card sorting exercise has been completed and an effective Information Architecture has been accepted wire frames and task flow diagrams are developed for testing.

5) User Testing:

After the wire frames have been created they are tested with several representative users in order learn how effective the design layout is. If any issues are found the design is corrected and redrawn, sometimes even on the spot depending how significant the issue is. The main point is that this process is iterative. User testing can be done as often as the budget will allow.

6) High-Fidelity Prototyping or Complete Comps:

The need for a Hi-fi prototype is dependent on the type of system being developed. It isn't necessary to create one on every project. Type of system and/or budgetary constraints generally are determining factors. For example when a client needs to know specifically how a system is planned on working a hi-fi prototype can be created. This will allow the client to see how the system will actually look and how certain features will really work.

Comps. are created to show clients how their site is going to actually look. It will include the use of the sites real colors and images, the page layout, and the architecture determined in previous steps. Once the client agrees and signs off on this design comp the site can begin to be developed.

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7)User Testing:

At this point it is usually a good idea to gather some representative users again and run them through some task scenarios to make sure the design still holds up. If any issues are discovered it is still early enough (prior to hard coding or development) in the process that most problems can be ironed out.

8)Development:

This is the step where the system, whether it be a website or an application, is given to the programmers or developers for coding. This is when all of the previous steps come together to complete the system.

9)Bug Testing:

This is the final step in the User Centered Design process. At this point the system or application is run through vigorous tests to be sure it acts the way it is supposed to. It is necessary to make sure all of the features work according to the way they were designed and that there are no bugs in the code. Once the system has been tested it's good for launch!