Surviving the Software Development Process. Collin ColeSenior Vice President, frog design

1. Collin Cole
Senior Vice President, frog design
Austin TX
collin.cole@frogdesign.com
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 1

2. frog is a strategic-creative consulting firm.
We bring a unique combination of strategic and creative talent to
help companies evolve, expand, and envision their business.
Our rigorous yet unorthodox approach yields breakthrough innovation
and a sustainable competitive edge.
Palo Alto San Jose San Francisco Seattle Austin New York Stuttgart Milan Shanghai
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 2

3. Surviving the Software Development Process
How to deliver a great brand experience
through better software design
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 3

4. Two parts:
1. Why good software design is difficult
2. Five ways to survive the process and deliver a great design
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 4

5. A couple of quick definitions
“Software” = web, embedded, mobile, desktop applications
“Designers” = agencies, contractors, internal corporate groups
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 5

6. Software is a vital element of your brand identity.
Software is your customer’s daily interaction
with your brand.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 6

7. Think of the care that goes into the
consistent delivery of your brand.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 7

8. Why isn’t it the same with
your company’s software?
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 8

9. The software landscape is overwhelming.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 9

10. Software is complex.
Applications
entertainment, information, productivity
Device Connectivity
policies, permissions, protocols
Devices
home, mobile, business, entertainment
Services, Servers & Data
content, contacts, media, commerce
Networks
fixed, wireless, satellite
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 10

11. The process is hard.
Tools are difficult (they’re getting better)
Traditional roles inhibit collaboration
The traditional, sequential process has gaps.
Crossing each gap requires translation and interpretation
MARCOM/STRATEGY ? DESIGN ? DEVELOPMENT
0100110100
01001
1101010001
0010111011
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 11

12. But mostly, it’s because your design is left in
the hands of others with very different priorities.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 12

13. How we’ve adapted at frog design.
Focused our tech efforts on UI/UX
Increased the designer:developer ratio to about 4:1
Created a “design technologist” position : a design-minded,
UI-focused developer, and added other complementary roles
Invested in new design & development tools
Updated our process to be more collaborative and iterative
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 13

14. Case Study:
How we’ve adapted at frog
BEST IN SHOW AWARD
Best Business/Productivity Application,
People’s Choice Award
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 14

15. Collaborative and concurrent design and development
How we’ve adapted at frog
January December
Strategy & Design Development
PROJ 1 PROJECT 2 PROJECT 3
Discovery Proof of concept Full product design and
prototype (on handset) development, testing, launch
First idea to final product (tested, on the market)
in less than 12 months
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 15

16. SURVIVING THE SOFTWARE
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
five ways to keep your brand in one piece
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 16

17. 1. Own the user experience.
Ensuring a quality implementation is YOUR responsibility.
Expand your skills; stretch and grow.
If you don’t have developers, hire them.
Deliver what you can; simulations, key templates, reference
implementations.
Old-style design specifications just don’t work.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 17

18. Major League Baseball
Microsoft Silverlight
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 18

19. Lawson M3 Smart Client
4 month Design-UI Development cycle
Microsoft .NET3/WPF
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 19

20. Designers are designing while developers have already started.
DESIGN PHASE DEVELOPMENT
design research, information architecture, wireframes,
workflows, interaction design, visual design, flash demos,
usability testing, internal presentations, design
Design
documentation… Specification
* Rate of increase is proportional
Project to the number of executives involved
Brief
TIME…
Development
Reality
functional requirements and feature lists, team assignments
and scheduling, systems architecture, platform development,
proof‐of‐concept prototyping… (they’ve already started!)
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 20

21. 2. Start building something.
Drastically shorten the first design step.
Rough out a wireframe and start prototyping. Get out of
Photoshop/Illustrator/Visio.
Prototype as a process.
What you build serves to communicate between all groups and
continually resets expectations.
Prototype as a specification.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a prototype is worth a
thousand pages of pretty documentation.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 21

22. Yahoo! Messenger
Microsoft .NET3/WPF
2 designers, 2 developers
6 months
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 22

23. 3. Everyone is a designer.
Build a team of technically-minded designers and
design-aware developers.
Encourage a collaborative and concurrent design-develop process.
Get the design and development teams talking and working together,
from the beginning.
Take advantage of the uniquely different perspectives on the team.
Good ideas can come from anywhere. Developers are often in the best
position to recognize improvements in interaction design.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 23

24. Fox Sports
Microsoft Media Center application
Silverlight/MCML
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 24

25. 4. You’re not finished until it ships.
Stay involved during implementation to provide design oversight for
the inevitable surprises, compromises, and on-the-spot fixes.
Remember, the quality of the final product is YOUR responsibility.
No finger pointing allowed when it’s done.
Schedule time for Design QA or “fit & finish” polishing.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 25

26. Disney Software Suite
“old school” C programming
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 26

27. 5. Build a system, not just screens.
Create a software DNA for your brand
(personality, voice, visual components, interactions)
Think modularly. Design for reuse and built-in consistency,
even across different media, platforms, and devices.
Make doing the right thing the easiest choice. Deliver your design
documentation in a format that is easily accessed and used by
engineers.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 27

28. Online design specifications
with design rules, copy &
paste code snippets, and
interactive, functional
examples
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 28

29. HP’s elegant Photosmart identity spans platforms and devices.
Collin Cole, SVP © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary. 2/17/2008 29

30. © 2008 frog design. Confidential & Proprietary.