Effective Prototyping with Excel: A Practical Handbook for Developers and Designers (Interactive Technologies)

Prototyping is a key step in the development of successful products. Yet budgetary restrictions, deadlines, and lack of access to sophisticated tools often lead to sloppy, ineffective prototyping. Designers need efficient visualization tools that quickly communicate ideas, and help improve the realization of their ideas. Effective Prototyping for Excel offers just that by illustrating how anyone can use basic Excel skills to create prototypes.

Excel is available on virtually every desktop, and most professionals are proficient with at least its basic functionality. This book offers step-by-step guidance of how to see a prototyping project through from start to finish, in the context of collaborative teams and respective work environment. A range of software design problems and business demands are solved as practical examples complemented by full color illustrations, offering the a fast, cost-effective and reliable tool for prototyping.

*Presents the only complete, step-by-step guide to prototyping with a tool that nearly everyone knows how to use and already has on their desktop

*Allows developers to easily present their design visions through simple and effective methods that don't bust the budget

*The perfect companion to Effective Prototyping for Software Makers - featuring the same author team and full-color treatment

"Effective Prototyping with Excel" offers how-to guidance on how everyone can use basic Excel skills to create prototypes. A wide array of software design problems and business demands are solved via practical step-by-step examples and illustrations.

Although recognized as a key to the design process, prototyping often falls victim to budget cuts, deadlines, or lack of access to sophisticated tools. This can lead to sloppy and ineffective prototypes or the abandonment of them altogether. Rather than lose this important step, people are turning to Microsoft Excel® to create effective, simple, and inexpensive prototypes. Conveniently, the software is available to nearly everyone, and most are proficient in its basic functionality.

Effective Prototyping with Excel offers how-to guidance on how everyone can use basic Excel skills to create prototypes – ranging from narrative wire frames to hi-fidelity prototypes. A wide array of software design problems and business demands are solved via practical step-by-step examples and illustrations.

• Step-by-step guide to prototyping with a simple and affordable tool nearly everyone already has on their desktop.

• Quickly and easily allows web and software designers to explore usability, design alternatives, and test theories prior to starting production.

• Perfect companion to Effective Prototyping for Software Makers – with the same author team and full-color treatment, useful case studies, and hands-on exercises.

Nevin Berger is design director at Ziff Davis Media. Previously he was a senior interaction designer at Oracle Corporation and Peoplesoft, Inc., and has held creative director positions at World Savings and OFOTO, Inc.Michael Arent is the director of user interface standards at SAP, and has previously held positions at Peoplesoft, Inc, Adobe Systems, Inc, MetaDesign,Sun Microsystems, and Apple Computer, Inc. He holds a number of U.S. and international patents.Jonathan Arnowitz is a User Experience Architect at Google Inc. and is the co-editor-in-chief of Interactions Magazine. Most recently Jonathan was a User Experience Architect at SAP Labs and was a Senior User Experience Designer at Peoplesoft. He is a member of the SIGCHI extended executive committee, and was a founder of DUX, the first ever joint conference of ACM SIGCHI, ACM SIGGRAPH, AIGA Experience Design Group, and STC.

IBM Silicon Valley Lab

Chapter 1 – Preface – A Developer’s Dilemma

Chapter 2 – Getting Started – Your First Excel Prototype

Chapter 3 – Basics – The Excel Prototyping Canvas

Chapter 4 – Creating an Excel Prototyping Template

Chapter 5 – Excel Prototyping - Storyboards

Chapter 6 – Wireframes

Chapter 7 – Digital Interactive Prototypes

Chapter 8 – Iterating Prototypes with Excel

Chapter 9 – Communicating Your Design in Excel

Chapter 10 – Sharing Your Excel Prototype

Appendix A – Useful Techniques with Excel

Appendix B - Nevin Discovers Excel as a Rapid Prototyping Tool