Good morning everybody. Apparently I am starting a new series called high jacking my students in the hallway because I've just run into another student, Heidi Wong. And what I did is I noticed that she was working on some wire frames. So this is a great opportunity to again talk about some of the real world applications of the things that you're learning in this class. So good morning, Heidi. >> Good morning. >> Thank you for doing this, I really appreciate it. So you were in my class last semester, correct? >> Yes. >> And one of the things I did as an assignment was ask everybody to sketch out their website before we started designing. What did you think was the importance of that assignment when you actually did it and how much do you think your sketch really reflected what your final project looked like? >> Well I thought sketching was actually really helpful in imagining the experience I wanted viewers to have on my website. Because at that point, it was very early in the semester so I didn't really know how to do very much as far as coding went. But I could sketch it's pretty simple to think through how the front page would look, and how the elements would be organized? So it was helpful to lay that down on paper, and then ask the questions, and talk to people about how you would actually implement it in code. >> I have to say, I'm very impressed because when you say I can sketch, not a problem. Ask me to sketch something and I feel- >> [LAUGH] >> Like I want to vomit. For me I'm a coder, I can create things but that initial idea of drawing things out is paralyzing to me. So it's great to hear, I love to hear that that's what some people's strengths are. And I love that the people whose strengths compliment mine are out there doing the things that I'm not that great at. So one of the things, I just wanted to mention is I saw that you had these wire frames in front of you. And just how often do you use them in this job? >> Pretty frequently actually. So this is a new project I just got put on. It's called policy maker, and it's basically this new tool. They're designing for professor at the school of public policy, and it's supposed to allow her to facilitate. So every year the word school does is list in class in simulation exercise. And currently they use these tools to facilitate everything. And it's not really cut out for that kind of thing, it's a three day simulation where there's a lot of communication and collaboration happening. And so they want to design this new tool that allow her to facilitate that process. And also want the students to more easily communicate and collaborate with one another. And I think when they introduced me to this project, I was having a really hard time imaging everything that was happening. because I have not participate in this process before, and so they listed all of these task, they want it to accomplish. And I just not really getting it. So this is a sort of a way for me, to draw out the different task that will need to get accomplished. For me this is more putting myself in their shoes and imagining the different tasks they'd want to accomplish within the simulation exercise. And just thinking through their journey, through that experience. So then I had something on paper. And I was able to show it to my boss and does this look like the right sort of experience that you'd want this tool to accomplish? And then they can show it to the professor and then we can start the conversation. >> So you have a page there per project, do you have any certain feeling of like how many sketches do you end up with? >> Not really, I wouldn't say that I'm especially seasoned either so this was one of the first projects where I've actually started with the wire frames as a sort of thinking process. >> Okay. >> So I wouldn't have the sort of definitive answer to that. But I guess from me, I really like working through a very iterative process where I'm constantly drawing, and drawing and showing it to people, and if it's like not right then I can just drop it and go to the next one. because that's one thing I sort of learned when I started learning about how to prototype and wire frame, is that you don't want to have anything too precious. >> That's a great idea, and I assume by that you mean, I talk about it's so much better to draw it out by hand because you're willing to accept those changes well. >> Right. >> You want to be flexible. >> Right, and they're very abstract too. I draw a couple of boxes and they're all meant to be like this is exactly how it looks. It's sort of here's the overall idea. Does this look right? If it does then I can sort of move forward and we're find that further. >> So I'm curious just because it seems you're really into the graphical, the drawing part, the sketching out. Are any of the HTML tags kind of in your brain as you're doing it or are you really just looking at it as separate parts? Be honest, it's okay. >> That's a good question. >> [LAUGH] >> I think it was helpful, it's helpful to definitely know how HTML works. So I feel like it's always sort of constantly in the back of my head now, but I wouldn't say it necessarily informed how I think about the experience. >> Which is really great actually- >> Yeah. >> Because if you're thinking about users, you should be thinking about users, not about code. Well then one last question for you just because I'm curious. Actually, it's not even a question, it's a statement change to that. When you did your sketch for class- >> Yeah. >> Were you thinking about interaction or were you thinking about layout? >> I think I was thinking about layout actually. Because I think for me, at that point I wasn't sure sort of scopes of interaction that were even like doable. I think I have a much better grasp of it now. But at that point, I hadn't even seen enough to know what was possible. I didn't know if something was a jQuery thing or a JavaScript thing or whatever. So I think I was just thinking hopefully out at that point. >> I think that's a really important idea, because when you're first beginning- >> Yeah. >> When you don't know much yet. >> You do what you can and I think layout is what we focus on and I'm just really glad to hear that you've experienced this idea that why are your friends are not just about layout, it's also really about that experience. >> Right. >> Thank you again, for stopping and talking to us and sharing some of your work. Again, I just like to remind everyone that I'd really enjoy the fact when I see students and I am fine if they are not doing anything at all that I taught them. Because what I'm really proud of the fact that they're following what they enjoy and they're using tech in their own ways to interact with people. So good luck, I hope you enjoyed this interview.
