UX WITHOUT DOCUMENTATION
Presented at FLUPA UX Day, Paris, France, September 19, 2014
By Sophie Henry, Director of User Experience, Comrade

INTRODUCTION
WHO AM I?
Sophie Henry, a French-American living in San
Francisco for the past 18 years.
WHAT DO I DO?
Director of User Experience at Comrade, a
digital design and strategy agency with
expertise in Financial Services, Healthcare,
Technology, and transactional design.
WHERE AM I GOING?
This is the question from which this
presentation was born. Why and how has my
process evolved?
UX Without Documentation

DEVELOPMENT METHODS
Waterfall Agile
FORMATS
PC Mobile, Tablet
INFORMATION ACCESS
Local Distributed
BEHAVIOR
Gen Y Millennials
TOOLS
Graphical, HTML Frameworks, CMS
THE SITUATION
A blurred and constantly changing landscape has created new expectations for our profession.
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EXPECTATIONS HAVE CHANGED
Traditional UX documentation (such as
requirements, site maps, heavily annotated
wireframes and specifications) is now often
considered too time-consuming to produce and
unnecessary.
When we do not have direct control over project
deliverables, three challenges present
themselves.
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UX Without Documentation

1
Maintain the quality
of our thinking while
providing faster input
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6
2
Maintain consistency
and standards
without suppressing
creativity

3
Maintain our
influence and
provide value
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UX Without Documentation

HOW DO WE ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES?
There isn’t one simple answer to each challenge.
Instead, it takes a multi-faceted approach.
o Revise the tools we use to communicate
o Adapt the content of our communications
o Change our work methods and processes
o Develop new skills
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PRINCIPLE 1:
SHOW, DON’T TELL
SKETCHING
• Does not require any special material or
advanced skill.
• The unfinished aspect of the deliverable forces
conversations about content, features and
flows rather than design.
TIP
Have printed sheets with tablet and phone frames
available. Print the frames close to full scale so that
sketches are true to size.
PROTOTYPING
• Remains the best way to explain a flow.
• Has become the tool of choice to collect
requirements.
TIP
Maintain a matrix of prototyping tools and the type
of projects they are most adequate for. Spread the
knowledge about different tools among your team.

PRINCIPLE 2: PROVIDE
STEPS, NOT DETAILS
STYLE GUIDES AND PATTERN LIBRARIES
• Provide as annotated graphics (red lines) or
preferably directly created in HTML.
• Should not only include the “how” but the
“when.” Expose the reasoning behind your
design choices.
• Give developers the means to evolve the UI
while maintaining its consistency.
TIPS
• Build the style guide or pattern library
throughout the project to detect exceptions
and conflicts earlier.
• Learn to write the CSS files yourself.
• Adopt the agile principle of designing only
when it is necessary at any given time.

PRINCIPLE 3:
CONVERT, DON’T TEACH
YOUR TEAM
• Use co-design methods (such as Pair Design).
• Spread the responsibility of the design equally
across disciplines throughout the project. The
transfer of knowledge will take place naturally.
• The collective thinking of the creative team is
represented in the final design.
YOUR CLIENTS
• Expose your rationale, explain the process.
• Make them participate (give them choices).
YOUR USERS
• Test frequently, without formality (Lean UX).
• Consider participatory design methods.
TIP
Use innovation games and other participatory
methods (e.g. www.gamestorming.com,
www.innovationgames.com).

PRINCIPLE 4:
GO HIGHER OR WIDER
ACT EARLIER
• Demonstrate the importance of UX design in
the strategy phase.
• Adapt your output to the target audience.
Just as we tailor our interface design to the
users, we can tailor our communications to
different audiences.
DIVERSIFY YOUR SKILLS
• Gives you more ways to think about a
problem. Promotes “brain flexibility.”
• By learning the skills of team members your
documents were meant for, you understand
better what they need, and can eliminate
documentation where not necessary.

CONCLUSION
We’re responsible for adapting our work
methods to avoid becoming obsolete like our
traditional deliverables.
This takes a shift in how we think about,
communicate and perform our work.
It means tight collaboration.
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FLICKR PHOTO ATTRIBUTIONS
o Rodin statue at the Palace of Legion of Honor by outdoorPDK
o Big Wheel Race by David Oliver
o Painted Ladies by Anirudh Rao
o Dual Bay Bridges by John Trapp
o East Peak, Mt. Tamalpias by Esteban
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UX Without Documentation

THANK YOU
SOPHIE HENRY
Director of User Experience
sophie@comradeagency.com
510.277.3400 x 707
www.comradeagency.com