Four strategies for promoting common UI guidelines within Adobe

Abstract

When a single company develops multiple software applications, it can be very challengingóor downright impossibleóto create a consistent cross-product user experience: a designer may forget to follow an existing implementation, an engineer might not have an eye for layout, and a quality assurance person may have no clue what to test.To minimize these risks and increase compliance with the cross-product Common UI Guidelines, the Adobe User Interface Design Team uses a variety of techniques when documenting design decisions and promoting companywide awareness. This paper highlights our creation process and details the final results for four of our most recent innovations: a Version 1.0 Document, a Quick Reference, Report Cards, and UI Trivia contests.

Tools to Increase the Strategic Value of User Experience Design

“…From the software development engineer's perspective, adhering to the standards required additional work-they had to read the specifications, interpret them, and spend time implementing hundreds of details [6]. While Cisco application development teams realized the value of consistent branding and design patterns, accessibility, and globalization, application features often received higher priority due to the high cost of compliance and time to market considerations [1].…”