Designing for Success (through User Experience)

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Spin the MooseLast week, I was at Prairie Dev Con and had the pleasure of sitting in on David Alpert’s sessions on user experience called Design for Success. I found it fascinating that such an important part of an application never really gets the attention that it deserves, and most times, overlooked entirely. This is very bad, and David explains why in his talks.

If you have a chance to see this talk live, I highly recommend it. David is a very dynamic, enthusiastic, and clearly passionate speaker, and so seeing these talks in PDF below doesn’t do it justice, but will give you insights into why User Experience is fundamental to the success of an application.

Design for Success 101 - Why User Experience matters for your app Download Slides (PDF)

Design for Success 101 – Why User Experience matters for your app

As software developers, we love to solve problems. Too often, however, we start mapping out solutions using our favourite patterns and technologies before we fully understand the goal, or we focus on functional requirements and lose sight of the big picture. In this session we’ll cover the basics of what a User Experience approach brings to the table and how it can make a difference in the success of your application.
   
Design for Success 102 - 7 ways to make your app more Learnable, Usable, & Enjoyable Download Slides (PDF)

Design for Success 102 – 7 Ways to make your app more Learnable, Usable, & Enjoyable

Why are some apps a pleasure to use while others a source of endless pain? In this follow-up to Designing for Success 101, we’ll focus on end-user interactions. Looking at several design patterns we’ll explore how to generate less frustration and more delight for our clients and their customers.

Your Thoughts

When you’re developing applications, how much attention to you pay to the user experience? How do you go about designing your application’s user experience? Share your thoughts in this Ignite Your Coding LinkedIn discussion.

About David Alpert

David Alpert is a Senior Software Developer, Front-End Engineer, Interaction Designer, experienced Business Analyst, and proven leader and mentor who wants to change the IT industry. With a BSc. Honors in Computer Science and over 15 years of development experience, David is a passionate visionary whose knowledge, skills, and communication style are focused towards identifying and removing friction in all aspects of application development and teambuilding.

David is currently living in Winnipeg, Manitoba with his superhero wife and 5 amazing kids.