Chad Udell - Developers are from Mars, Designers are from Venus

Developers are from Mars, Designers are from Venus.

Chad Udell 360|Flex: Indianapolis - 2009

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

A little contextI’m a Designer


A little contextI’m a Developer


What’s the difference?Let’s start with some generalizations.


What’s the difference?Developers are killjoys, squashing creativity to make a deadline or taking the easy way out to build functionality in to the application.


What’s the difference?Designers are fun but reckless, they create great work but aren’t concerned with the bottom line.


What’s the difference?A little reality, please.


What’s the difference?A little reality, please.

While each may contain a grain of truth, both are way off.


We Need BothWe are on a team, right?

Work habits and communication styles need to be standardized to succeed.


Change Needed


Change NeededDesigners need to be practical and able to move on when the goals are achieved.


Change NeededDesigners need to be practical and able to move on when the goals are achieved.

You must remember the scope of the project!


Change Needed


Change NeededDevelopers need to realize that design does matter.


Change NeededDevelopers need to realize that design does matter.

Ideas need to be able to mature.


Integration Points


Integration PointsProcess, Process, Process



“4D’s”



“4D’s”

What works for you andyour company?


Integration Points


Integration PointsWorkflow?



Who is in on that first meeting?



Who is in on that first meeting?Which team is serving which on this project?


Integration Points


Integration PointsFile Organization


Integration PointsFile Organization

Directory Structure is Not a Battlefield!


Integration Points


Integration PointsNaming


Integration PointsNaming

“blue mockup 8 14 08.psd” or “mock1.psd”

what will mean more when the project is complete?

visualrinse.com/2007/06/12/deep-thoughts-on-file-naming-conventions/


http://visualrinse.com/2007/06/12/deep-thoughts-on-file-naming-conventions/


















Integration Points

SVN=OMG!


Integration PointsVersioning

SVN=OMG!


Integration PointsVersioningSVN?

SVN=OMG!



Version Cue SVN=OMG!



Version Cue

GridIron Software’s “Flow” is a move in the right direction.

SVN=OMG!


Integration Points


Integration PointsTaxonomy



Standardize the way you talk about things!http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/et650_online/

mapps/Glossary.html


http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/et650_online/mapps/Glossary.html






mapps/Glossary.html

Are they wireframes or block diagrams? Mockups or Comps?








mapps/Glossary.html

Are they wireframes or block diagrams? Mockups or Comps?

Don’t get overly jargon-y or use it as a weapon. TLA dueling and art history barbs just lead to animosity.






Moving Forward


Moving ForwardDevelopment 101



Designers, realize that pure Graphic Design will not save you!




Change the toolset to meet development specs.




Change the toolset to meet development specs.

When things are slow, opt to take on some typically “developer” tasks.


Moving Forward


Moving ForwardDesign 101



Developers, no one likes programmer art!




Use palettes from sites like Kuler or ColourLovers to avoid eyesores.





Skins and themes for your apps are out there. Check out Scalenine.com for some great Flex themes.





Skins and themes for your apps are out there. Check out Scalenine.com for some great Flex themes.

Use great stencils for your wireframes, Graffletopia, Balsamiq, etc.


Changing Process


Changing ProcessTeamwork FTW!



Parallel Design and Development Tracks




Rapid App Development (Blend, Catalyst)




Rapid App Development (Blend, Catalyst)

Proximity matters:

Down the Hall vs Over the Wall.


Changing Process


Changing ProcessTech to try



Let your designers help with XML (yes, even designing schema)




Have your Devs prep some graphics and maybe even do some skin design from time to time





Does your toolset allow for component creation? Teach your designers how they work!





Does your toolset allow for component creation? Teach your designers how they work!

Create APIs for the designers to use!


Changing Process


Changing ProcessPresentation and Pitching



Unified front!



Unified front!

Who leads? Who follows?


Growing Forward


Growing ForwardHow do you keep the afterglow?



Lunch and Learns



Lunch and Learns

Sharing “AHA”s via a team blog


Growing Forward


Growing ForwardRealizing the benefits



Measuring



Measuring

End of Project recaps



Measuring

End of Project recapsKeeping up with trends and tech


Following Upvisualrinse.com



This presentation for download




Reading list




Reading list

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