The Communication Studio LLC
Guidelines for Success

Infrastructure   =   Process + Documentation

Documents allow you to formulate your concepts effectively. Shared libraries provide a common ground of knowledge sharing among your team. Templates give you consistency and stability. Here are some document guidelines & examples that I've found usefu:

UxP Task List What's the scale & scope of the engagement? Here are some of "The Usual Suspects".

Site Evaluation

Do you know what you want? Let's figure out what needs to be done and how to go about doing it.

Content Inventory

What Do We Have to Work With? This inventory gives us a starting point for understanding client needs - and moving on to appropriate redesign.

Business Requirements

Define the "WHAT" - The goals and functional baseline for the site/software you're creating.

Design Specifications

Define the "HOW". Development calls this "tech specs". The Business sometimes calls it Functional Specifications. Screenshots & Workflows.

Best Practices

It's really important to define "The Rules of the Road": All of those assumptions about how things are supposed to work.

Sitemap

This high-level view of The Vision Thing is often the first step towards a sign-off on the proposed solution path.

Wireframes

Early on in the process everybody wants to see examples of What it will look like and How it will work.

Demo Site Model

Your project team members and stakeholders need quick, easy access to the site model.

User Assistance

Real "user-friendliness" is determined by effective customer self-service, online help and user guides.

Personas

Understanding the customer, users and stakeholders is essential to successful design.

Information Architecture

Organize the content so that it can be managed. Here's a technique for handling shared info across the application.

Stylesheet Themes

The Brand & Style "coat of paint" is often a critical attribute of providing the client with a successful Look & Feel.

CSS Style Guide

The CSS Tags are common design elements that are shared across multiple applications within the site. 

Design Workshop

Once you get into actual design, it's always useful to have a reality check with clients and stakeholders.

Project Team Roles

It's useful to have a shared understanding of who does what on the design team: Expectations / Limits / Responsibilities.

The Design Resource Center

A shared library of standards provides valuable infrastructure that supports the design process. If you build it, they will come.

Private Label

Many enterprise IT shops are now repackaging their software applications so that clients can both self-market and self-service.