The key to realizing the true benefit of the iPad is to understand the user experience through visualization. There are four distinct stages of defining and refining iPad interaction prior to the actual iPad app development effort. In the strategy phase, it is critical to understand the key roles, processes, and technology intersection points that create opportunities for iPad integration. This conceptualization exercise generates the high-level concept model that provides business and technical context, leading to the true opportunities to fully leverage the strengths of the iPad. The concept model will be decomposed into UI sketches then refined into wire-frame digital mockups. Prior to coding, the static mockups will be transformed into an interactive prototype to ensure the user experience can be fulfilled as outlined in the concept model. Each step of the visualization process provides a checkpoint where the user experience team can cost-effectively refine the proposed iPad apps prior to committing to actual developed code
The design phase focuses on taking the conceptualized flow and the definition of the core functionality and translates it into a design specification for the iPad apps. The design phase has two tracks:
- Functional User Design: This user design consolidates the learnings, decisions, and artifacts created during the visualization process to provide a forum for approval prior to development. This design document also provides a clear baseline to reconcile any defects or issues during the development or testing phases. The detailed definitions of each field including; conditional behavior, mathematical calculations, business logic, default data values, automated workflow, and visibility features are documented to ensure minimal re-work for the technical development team. The user design also ensures that the plan conforms to the Apple iOS Human Interface Guidelines and provides the basis for creating the training, FAQ, and support documentation.
- Technical Design: The technical design focuses on defining all aspects of the technical components pertaining to the iPad application. This includes the details of the integration methods, the detailed messaging structures, data management, data privacy and caching methods, authentication, application performance, and other architecture decisions related to iPad application design. The foundational aspects and key decisions are locked down at this stage but some of the implementation details can be handled in the initial Agile sprints. A key consideration is the conformance to Apple’s standards and recommendations for iPad application design.
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