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No.23 Efficient Web Creation (Part 2) (July 18, 2003)
Last month, we recommended writing out your specifications on paper when creating a site. This month, we'd like to explain the reasoning behind that recommendation.
 Advantages of putting specifications down on paper
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- Easy to carry around and can be tested by your users anytime
With your specifications on paper, you won't have to lug around a computer wherever you go. Instead, you can get feedback anywhere easily and with no hassle, which will make it easier to incorporate your users' opinions. This method also makes it easy to try out your ideas on friends and family.
- Easy to revise
Once you know the areas that need to be revised, if your specifications are on paper, you can fix them on the spot. Or if you're using PowerPoint and have your computer with you, you can revise them quickly. Either way, you can accurately reflect your users' needs using this method. But let's say you find you need to change the navigation across all pages. If everything is in HTML at this point, it would require a tremendous amount of work, and you'd no doubt give up on reflecting the changes.
- Without something tangible, users can't give useful feedback or demonstrate their behavior
When users give feedback based on their imagination, their feedback sometimes doesn't reflect their actual needs. For instance, there is a famous episode about a group interview on tableware, in which when presented with the question "What color of tableware do you want in the future?" most participants responded "bright red". However, when the group was leaving and each person was given a choice between red or white trial products to take home as a gift, nearly every participant chose white.
- Coordination of expectations between the design team and related departments
Since you'll be putting down concrete specifications at the early stages of creating your site, you can share common perceptions with everyone involved in the creation, including those in planning, creation, and design. This will allow you to coordinate your views from an early stage.
When people rely on their own imagination when discussing the website creation project, individual expectations will differ, and when the actual design is ready, some might say "This is not what I imagined!"S which means you have to rework your idea. This is exactly why you should coordinate your expectations based on tangible specifications at an early stage.
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Reduction in total cost
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You may feel that putting these specifications down on paper at the beginning is a waste of time, but in the end, by avoiding rework, this method often shortens the time required for site creation.
As they say, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating," so why not give this method a try?
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