10 Pitfalls to Avoid in Creating RIAs

Top 10 Pitfalls to Avoid inCreating RIAsAnthony FrancoPresident & Founder, EffectiveUItwitter.com/anthonyfranco | anthonyfranco.wordpress.com

R ichI nternetA pplication

R ich ( engaging )I nternet ( connected )A pplication ( software )

( engaging ) ( connected ) ( software )

should always be: software Rich Internet Applications

pitfall #1using the term “ RIA“

cure: care about creating engaging,connected software

symptom:“we want to build anandroid application”

question: do all users care about “multi channel”?

pitfall #2 Putting channelbefore user needs

cure: ask “why”(uncover user & business needs)

symptom: “the development is complete, all we needto do now is add a skin”

question: when should you think about skinning an application?

pitfall #3skinning

cure:ux ﬁrst

symptom:everything seems to be going great, until...

question why do big problems show up late in a project?

pitfall #4avoidingconﬂict

cureembrace conﬂictand imperfection

symptom: confused or disenfranchiseddevelopment team

question how do you keep the team engaged and passionate about a project?

pitfall #5developers are notinvolved in design

cure get developmentpassionate about the end user

symptom:the project is changedoften by stake holders

symptom #2: the project hasconﬂicting objectives

questionhave you been on a project where there was a lack of clarity and purpose?

pitfall #6not deﬁning successnot setting priorities

cure: before you begin,ensure consensus on the “win” and set priorites

symptom: never enough timefor good development, user testing or quality assurance

question do great plans promise great products?

you can not treat software development like a construction project

The Broken Analogy“A bridge is the sum of itsparts. The pieces of metaland welds and everythingelse all add up to a single, static bridge. A software system is the behavior created by the dynamic interaction of its parts” EffectiveUI The art of building great experiences in software

Things you would never have to deal with while constructing a bridge:

Can we move the bridge 17 feet to the left? It’s only 17 feet, so that’s not a big deal, right?

We aren’t very happy withhow the bridge looks so far.Can you propose a change in the kind of materials you’re using to make it more attractive?

Remember when you asked uswhether the bridge would ever need to support vehicle trafﬁc and not just pedestrian trafﬁc,and we weren’t sure, so we just settled on the cheaper pedestrian version? Well, wewere wrong. What can you do to make this work for our needs?

We’ve hired an offshore company to start building fromthe other side of the valley so we can cut the construction time in half. They’re making some improvements on your design, so please coordinate with them to make sure everything comes together ahead of schedule.

pitfall #7Waterfall

cure: plan for unpredictabilityand then interate

symptom:the software meets therequirements but is not adopted by users

do users careabout features?

pitfall #8Putting requirements ahead of outcomes

cureunderstanduser goals

symptom: “I know best aboutwhat our users need”

how does your organization derive features?

pitfall #9Ego

cure:the voice of the user (rigorous empathy)

symptom:platform paralysis

question HTML 5? Flash? Silverlight? HTML 4? Native To Device?

pitfall #10 Choosing thewrong platform

cure:it depends

1. Using the term RIA2. Putting channel before product3. Skinning4. Avoiding conﬂict5. Developers aren’t involved in design6. Not deﬁning success7. Waterfall8. Requirements ahead of outcomes9. Ego10. Choosing the wrong platform

thank youAnthony FrancoPresident & Founder, EffectiveUItwitter.com/anthonyfranco | anthonyfranco.wordpress.com

10 Pitfalls to Avoid in Creating RIAs

by EffectiveUI on Oct 26, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics

10 Pitfalls to Avoid in Creating RIAs — Presentation Transcript