designer

404 Chapter 12 Understanding Usability and Accessibility
Establishing User and Compatibility Requirements
The first stage in the user-centered design life cycle is researching, conceptualizing, and
planning. In essence, this means establishing the requirements for your Web site and all
its prospective users. User requirements is a broad term, and it should initially include
research to determine any accessibility requirements and the platforms, browsers, and
devices that you want your Web site to be compatible with.
User requirements should then be established in line with business requirements so that
you can conceptualize and plan your Web site and determine the scope of its usage and
the functionality required. User-requirement documents generally involve the use of
personas, usage scenarios, or use cases.
To take one example, personas can be as detailed as you like, but generally, when creating
a persona, you should look to include the following information about a user:
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Name, age, and role within a company (if applicable); for example, team leader
Level of IT competence; for example, ten years of experience with IT/Web sites
IT requirements; for example, uses a PC with the Internet Explorer 8 browser
Specific requirements; for example, visually impaired and uses browser zoom
functionality
Usage scenario(s) for the system; for example, a team site contributor who produces
content on a weekly basis
Tip A number of useful resources about creating personas are available on the Internet. Two
good articles can be found at www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/automobiles/19design.html?_r=2
and www.themonitor.eu/content/?p=33.
The step of producing a persona can be carried out on paper or in relevant modeling
tools, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Visio, or Microsoft PowerPoint. You can create
one or numerous personas. An example is shown in the following illustration.