Planning Project Information Project Proposal Task Plan Research & Analysis Current Site Map Preliminary Evaluation User Scenarios Scenario Paths Competitive Analysis Content Audit Card Sort Content Analysis Design Revised Site Map Preliminary Wireframes Cognitive Walkthrough Wireframes Construction, Verification & Deployment Prototype Style Guide Class Presentation

User Scenarios The objective of creating user scenarios is to come up with several examples of typical users of the ATI Web Site. We will then devise tasks that these users might perform to get an idea of what pages potential users might visit on the site and what information they would be looking for. We will use this information to develop a taxonomy and ideas of what the site's content should contain, so that we can then develop new content as needed. A meeting with ATI helped us to identify and prioritize their target users: Prospective incubator company Student seeking a job Prospective investor Prospective Professional Services Provider New Company Media Prospective incubator company John and his three friends are interested in starting a company that makes a new product that he needs to patent. He's heard about ATI and wants to know if they might be able to help him. He wants to find out about how to become a member of ATI and what sort of benefits he could get from being a member (that is, how it would help his company). He also wants to know how much it will cost him (if anything) for membership, whether or not ATI can help him patent the product, and where he might expect to go should his company be successful. He's interested in where the companies that got their start through ATI are today, he wants to know who will own the patent (he's concerned that because of the affiliation with UT, the University might try to claim rights), and he wants to know how to start the process of ATI membership. Student seeking a job Tom is a student at UT and is looking for a part-time job with ATI or one of the companies ATI sponsors. He's interested in becoming an entrepreneur and he likes technology, and thinks ATI would be a good match for him. He wants to find out if there's anything available part-time, what skills are required, how much it pays, and which company it's with (or if it’s with ATI). He also wants to know who to contact to ask questions and who to send his resume to. Prospective investor Mrs. Kingsley, a wealthy widow, wants to help support UT in memory of her late husband, whose alma mater was UT. She's considering investing in ATI, but doesn't know if it's considered a non-profit or how the investment would work. Is it actually an investment, with an annual return depending on the company, or is it more like a donation? If she decides to go with ATI, who does she need to get in touch with? How much money is needed to invest (min/max)? What kind of companies does ATI support and how are they doing financially (that is, do ATI companies have a good track record, or do many of them go under?) Can she choose the companies she gets to invest in or does she simply give money to ATI and ATI then doles out the money as they see fit? Can she meet with the owners of the companies in which she wants to invest? Being tech savvy, she would like to find the answers to these questions on ATI's web site. Prospective Professional Services Provider Beverly is an entrepreneur who, in 1997, founded Austin Printing, a successful Austin start-up providing custom printing and graphic design services targeted to small and medium-sized businesses. Beverly is interested in increasing the local visibility of Austin Printing and has also recently been looking for ways to give something back to the community. Beverly hears from a friend at UT that ATI maintains agreements with local firms to provide professional services to ATI member, and Beverly decides that this is just the sort of opportunity she has been looking for. Beverly goes online to see what she can find out by visiting the ATI Website. First, Beverly wants to confirm that such a program exists. If it does, she wants to know what the conditions of participation are, how ATI members find out about the professional services firms, and how ATI members engage the professional services firms. In addition, Beverly is curious about what kind of visibility her company might get on ATI’s Website. Finally, Beverly would like to find contact information for someone who can answer some specific questions about the program and who can explain the process for getting Austin Printing added to the list of providers. New Company WalkieTalkie Tech has recently been admitted to the incubator program. They are a small company of 5 people: 2 in research and development, 1 in marketing, 1 in accounting and 1 administrative assistant. The company would like to know how to get a benefits package together. They would like to be able to determine who their competitors are and also some possible collaborators in the Austin area. If the next quarter goes well for them, they are also considering adding another staff member and would like to know if ATI has recruits available. Media Ms. Lee is from the local news station and is researching a story on local Austin technology companies. She goes to the ATI site because someone mentioned to her they were involved with technology start-ups. She would like to know what exactly ATI does, if there are any success stories she can learn about, how she can contact a successful company that got its start with ATI, and who she can contact within ATI to possibly get an interview. [ top ]