Chapter 9 - Communicating Your Design in Excel

Abstract

This chapter helps the user learn how to communicate their design, including design specifications, how to add a ScreenTip (tooltip) to a content hyperlink, and how to insert comments and add annotation areas. After completing a prototype version it is important that before it is passed on to others, the user should establish clear, logical design communications based on design objectives and rationale, requirements on which the user based his or her design and applied to their prototype, design guidelines and specifications, task and navigation flow mappings, priority screens, design decisions, and issues in the form of annotations. These communications help reflect which objectives one has or has not addressed in his/her prototype. They can also be used to set audience expectations regarding a prototype. Creating clear communications and setting expectations, in turn, help to avoid many of the inevitable opinion battles that often arise when presenting and rationalizing a design. Likewise, documenting personal design rationale helps users remember why somebody made certain design decisions and helps to communicate that rationale to others.