Prototype vs. Sim: Validating Software & UX Design
How much smoke and mirrors does it take to validate interaction models during the software design process? When do you have to stop faking it and start making it? How do you handle the traps of realistic demos slipping into production or permanent beta? Simulation, spike, proof-of-concept, interactive demo, prototype, and other artifacts often come with loose definitions and inflated expectations or lose their primary purpose during collaborative software design and realization. Design technology experts from frog who regularly push and pull on the boundaries of art and science will define bounds and discuss challenges, opportunities, risks, and rewards of going too far in real code during design or not going far enough. Topics will include defining needs and socializing intent for code-driven design assets across stakeholders, balancing speed and fidelity during interaction design, and understanding where early target platform development best informs and validates design.
Presenters
Principal Technologist at frog Austin working on the coolest things that I can't tell you about; if you look close, you'll see it's me.
At other times, I play with technology to build toys to create with — a turntable that plays colors, apparel that makes music, apps that sing to photos, devices that watch and learn.
The rest of the time I spend exploring the impact of at-home 3D printing on design and innovation with my MakerBot Thing-o-Matic.
Every March in Austin TX Jared produces the frog party which is a collective social experiment for a few thousand people, with music, an open bar and always an examination of some facet of Technology in Social Situations. Through this and other events his passion for sound visualization and physical computing he has developed a number of interactive installations.
Professionally Jared is a Principal Technologist for frog design for over a decade using Flash for User Experience and Interaction Design. His love of music and performance has led him to be invited as a presenter at conferences around the world as well as to call himself an amateur party producer. He is also the Co-Director of the Austin Public Skatepark Action Committee and lived as a cowboy in 1867 for Public Television.
As Executive Technology Director leading the Design Technology practice at frog, Robert brings 15+ years of experience in innovative thinking, rapid prototyping, and hands-on problem solving to challenges and opportunities in the technology landscape. With hybrid expertise in broad solution architecture and deep design technology across a wide range of platforms, Robert provides leadership and best practices to empower the design process with technology and successfully realize user experiences.
Robert has led web, RIA, desktop, mobile, and embedded software programs for clients such as HP, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, T-Mobile, Sprint, Yahoo!, FOX Sports, and others providing both strategic guidance and practical insights across many platforms and frameworks such as .NET/C#/Silverlight/WPF/XAML, Adobe ActionScript/Flash/Flex/AIR, HTML5/CSS3/Javascript, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile/Phone, ASP.NET/IIS/WCF, C++, Java/J2EE, PHP, SQL Server, Oracle, and many others.
Prior to joining frog, Robert has held positions as Lead Software Engineer at United Devices (now Univa), a grid computing software provider for life sciences research, and as Chief Global Architect and patent holder at Dell Computer for the award-winning support.dell.com.
Monday, March 12
