Your designers usually do not have the time to focus on the all the details of a design that can ultimately drive the product's users crazy.

I can help.

Contact me

I optimize prototypes to serve as an integral part of the User-Centered Design process.
I did 100% of the content, creative design, interactive design, and development of
dh-usability.com -- the site you're looking at now.

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User-Centered Design Prototyping

Issue addressed

"How can we test key concepts or components of our design early, with real end-users, before we've invested too much?”

My role in your design project

My role is to build, or advise your developers how to build, good interactive prototypes that represent key design concepts of your product. These prototypes are built with usability in mind, and they are built so they can be used effectively for end-user validation during crucial stages of your project. After validation, the prototypes can be used as static or interactive design specs for your project's developers.

  • I can determine which parts of a design spec actually need to be prototyped, and to what fidelity, to get the required feedback. I also know which parts do not need to be prototyped in detail.
  • I can prototype an interactive experience so that user's can actually "feel" the product. I know how to fake back-end processes so that the product can "feel" complete.
  • I can iterate my design prototypes quickly to get the design "right" when it counts for your project.

My role is not to replace your product's lead designers. There is an enormous amount of background knowledge that designers require before they can start to create a design. I can't replace that. Nor do I produce production-quality code or creative treatments of your Internet site.

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My capabilities

I have experience in low- and mid-fidelity user-interface prototyping with various technologies, including:

  • Paper
  • Microsoft Power Point
  • Microsoft Visual Basic
  • Raw html (limited CSS/DHTML)
  • Macromedia Dreamweaver
  • Visual Basic

I can prototype applications for most types of platforms, including:

  • Microsoft Windows
  • Internet
  • Mobile-browser
  • PDAs
  • Kiosk
  • Dumb-terminal applications: IBM 5250 and 3270

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Benefits to your project

My prototyping assistance can help you avoid a large percentage of those annoying usability issues that sneak into a product. This is the stage where the many unarticulated details of a high-level spec are built into the actual detailed interactive design.

Various developers need to design and build a multitude of small components of a large project: they do not have the time, knowledge, or experience to consider all the potential usability issues associated with each component, let alone their interaction with one another from an end-user's point of view. In addition, the developer may not even consider alternatives beyond the first solution that comes to mind -- That’s where I can help. Contact me.

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Last update: May 07, 2002
(c) 2002 Don Hameluck Usability Consulting Inc.

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