
Designing in the Open - rglover
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2928-designing-in-the-open
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wccrawford
As with most client interactions, this could go really well, or really poorly,
depending on the client.

I think it also matters what the goal is. If you're doing back-end work that
the client can't really see, I doubt it will be useful at all. If you're
designing the user interface and experience, I think this would be invaluable.

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programminggeek
This is a good point they make. However, it can backfire if you are doing
client work.

Not all people get that these are unfinished prototypes. This is why designing
with something like say balsamiq is so useful. Clients and co-workers will
talk about how something works, not choice of color/font/placement. Once you
know how something should work, then you can argue over style.

Good design is more about how something works than how it looks.

The iPod scroll wheel was about improving the way you interact with the
device. The overall design can very easily fall into place once you have the
interaction nailed.

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rglover
I think you articulated what I was trying to say much better. I agree that
this could backfire on client work. Designing in the open seems great for a
team building applications, but I could see clients being confused or
frustrated with a more open process. This doesn't necessarily apply to _all_
clients, but some clients aren't interested in the process and are more
focused on the end result.

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dreamdu5t
The problem as mentioned by others: Micromanagement.

I personally like being open about my process, but I've been in situations
where this turned into every decision being second-guessed, and the entire
direction micro-managed by someone who wasn't really experienced, but superior
in rank.

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Daniel_Newby
Is it really fear of embarrassment? I'd expect that interrupting a designer
pushes the mental reset button nearly as badly as interrupting an engineer.
Interrupting them every 15 minutes does desensitize the aversion response, but
that's rather missing the point.

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jasonfried
We do this in short bursts at key points of the design process. It's not 15
minutes every 15 minutes for months. It may be every 15 minutes for a day or
two - constantly trying to hone the details and the experience so it's just
right.

You have to be selective about this, but when you get it right it's incredibly
effective. Enjoyable too. It's like working with clay - molding, cutting, and
shaping right before your eyes.

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rglover
How do you identify when the time is right to use this approach? Is it more of
an intuitive thing or does everyone agree to a certain point in time when
something is reviewed? I like the analogy about clay, gives the concept a lot
more perspective.

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rglover
Interesting idea but I'm not 100% sure how it would apply to _all_ situations.
Coming from 37signals I'm guessing this mindset is feature-centric. Might have
to give this a try.

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kingsidharth
Feature-Centric? As in?

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rglover
Like a new feature in an application. In regard to 37signals, that may be
something like a a new view for managing your account. More of a
generalization than anything.

