Susan Dorey Designs Software & Websites
Susan J. Dorey, CDP
San Rafael, California
Problem solving with computers!
Services and roles
An analyst, designer, and writer with an appreciation for the visual.
- Information architect
- Information architecture is the organization and arrangement of information so that the visual presentation contributes
substantially to the reader's access to and understanding of the material.
The development process involves (1) analyzing user needs for information and the content of that information
and (2) designing a user interface to provide access to the information, a classification scheme, and the structure of the
information repository.
- User interface designer
- A user interface (UI) is the software application's interface with the user.
A graphical user interface (GUI) employs text and images and involves direct manipulation of the individual graphical elements by the user.
A UI is composed of organization (of concepts, objects, tasks, and windows or pages), controls (mechanisms for interaction),
labels, navigation, you-are-here, identity, and search.
- A successful UI is one that
• meets the needs of the user
• in a way that is easy to understand and operate
• and is attractive.
- UI designs are based on a deep understanding of the objects, the context in which they exist, and the functional
needs of the anticipated users. Designs reflect the user's conceptual model and accommodate changes in that model
based on the user's experience with the interface. Documentation explains the designs thoroughly and accurately to others.
- Designs reflect the principles embodied in
Common User Access (CUA), which was developed by IBM, adopted by
Microsoft in the 1995 version of Windows, and became the de facto standard for PC user interfaces.
- Website designer
- A website is a tool accessible via the internet that can sell, explain, describe, and/or advise.
It can also be used a software application client (that lets the user interact with data and processes on a remote computer).
A website is composed of content of text and images arranged in a visual design that has a style and expresses an attitude.
The designer begins by establishing requirements founded on the nature of the business that addresses goals, audience, and
topics and messages. The actual design incorporates a graphic identity, site architecture, messages and/or stories grouped
onto pages, and layout, navigation, and typography.
- A website is a graphical user interface.
- Business systems analyst
- The business systems analyst (BSA) combines an ability to uncover business details that are relevant to a computer-based application and to place them in the context of a information system.
- Business details can be simple or complex. They may involve rules, processes, responsibilities, data, and organizations. They can touch on operations and management, finance and accounting, marketing and sales. They are organized by relationships and importance.
- Existing computer applications having data and/or processes that connect with the business details are inventoried and analyzed. New application(s) and/or interfaces to existing applications are planned to best implement the desired business processes.
- Application architect
- Application architecture is the abstraction used to deal with the complexity of information systems. It is a system design that decomposes the application into manageable parts, defines those parts, and orchestrates their integration in a rationalized manner governed by design rules and principles. Application architecture becomes increasingly important as the complexity of the application grows.
- Information library designer
- Uncover and analyze business needs for an information library;
typically this includes a catalog based on an information classification scheme composed of taxonomy and metadata,
an information repository, an index and/or site map, and
free text search. Size the library.
Research capabilities of existing software to meet the needs of the library.
Research third-party software for suitability. Recommend software based on research.
Design library around new and/or existing software. Write user and administrative procedures.
- Document manager
- Plan document families: content, audience, organization, navigation, interaction. Define taxonomies and metadata.
Assess existing documents: content, organization, interaction design, and usability; plan for remediation of deficiencies.
Establish and implement plan for development of new documents; include standards and guidelines and method by which Project Managers identify planned documents. Provide for version control.
Collaborate with work groups to improve their production and use of documents.
Establish and maintain document library.
Support and assist in the writing of documents. Consult on documents in their writing phase with authors. Edit documents as needed.
Establish resource library of books, journals, and samples for writers.
- Writer
- Compose text and diagrams that present the subject to its intended audience with clarity and impact. Emphasis on content and presentation. Edit documents written by others. Publish for easy access. Develop methodology for document maintenance.
- Document audiences include senior management, software developers, and end users. Document types include proposals, plans, specifications, references, procedures, and training guides.
- Software documenter
- Describe software design in its entirety and details in text and diagrams for internal use by software developers.
Skill in identifying topics, organizing information, and choosing diagram types based on extensive experience as software developer.
This work typically is a form of reverse engineering, the process of discovering the technological principles of a device/object
or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation.
Reverse engineering often involves taking something (e.g., a software program) apart and analyzing its workings in detail.
It is often done because the documentation of a particular device/system has been lost (or was never written),
and the person who built the thing is no longer working at the company.
Value added
- Strategic
- Keeping my eye on the long-term goal while handling the day-to-day stuff.
- Pragmatic
- Search for practical solutions when circumstances work against intellectual and artistic goals. Advocate appropriate technology: the lowest level technology that can accommodate the application.
- Detail-oriented
- Able to work to the lowest level of detail necessary in order to ensure successful implementation.
- Effective
- Able to design solutions that meet the subject's needs and constraints. It is an art to make the complex appear simple.
- Design informed by what is possible
- The strength of my designs derives from my knowledge of the tools with which they are to be developed: programming languages, database management systems, operating systems.
Resume
- Resume in Word document format: Analyst, Designer, Writer
- CDP: Certificate in Data Processing
- This certificate was the first offered by the Institute for Certification of Computer Professionals (ICCP). It was granted after passing a comprehensive examination in the five areas of data processing:
- data processing equipment
- programming and software
- principles of management
- quantitative methods
- systems analysis and design
Certificate holders subscribe to codes of ethics, conduct, and good practice adopted by the ICCP.
These documents are offered in good faith;
no warranties are made for their accuracy.
I rely on these in my work and am pleased to share them with you.
- About Technical Writing
- Itemizes the types of documents, discusses how scope of work is determined, itemizes needed writing and technical skills, details the key tasks at the beginning of a writing project, and provides guidelines for organization and presentation. 3 pages.
- Typography in Internal Business Documents
- Typography is the style, arrangement, and appearance of typeset matter—"the visual aspects of written language."
Describes the elements of typography, typefaces, typographical design, and the use of Microsoft Word. 4 pages.
- About Developing Software
- For the uninitiated. The importance of a plan and a discussion of what constitutes a successful implementation. 1 page.
- One Document Library: A Case Study
- The needs of a work group for a document library and description of the solution. 2 pages.
- Workgroup Knowledge Sharing, Some Ideas
- [In development.]
- DOS Tools
- Sometimes DOS tools are the simplest way to accomplish something worthwhile. 8 pages.
- Windows Techniques
- A description of techniques I find invaluable in setting up a new computer, especially formatting the
Start Menu and Windows Explorer. 8 pages.
- Useful Microsoft Word Techniques
- How to organize documents; use templates; publish documents as PDF; insert chapter numbers and
titles into page headers and footers; customize Word with macros, toolbars, menu, and shortcut keys;
use styles effectively; use and style tables of content; field codes; shapes; and watermarks. 47 pages.
- Normal.dot
- This is my can't-live-without-it global template with my custom menus, toolbars, shortcut keys, and macros.
Wherever you save this file, link to it with the Tools and Add Ins dialog box.
- Word VBA Techniques
- A reference to Visual Basic (VBA) code that I have found valuable in working with Word documents: organizing macros;
using MsgBox to interact with the user; portrait and landscape; document properties; page numbering;
page headers and footers; watermarks; and assembling a single document from several files. 37 pages.
- About Microsoft SharePoint
- Discussion of architecture, scope, security, and the various components of websites built with Microsoft SharePoint
Services and Portal Server. 58 pages (6-27-2007).
- Using Microsoft SharePoint
- Directions for using Microsoft SharePoint Services and Portal Server. 15 pages.
- Using Microsoft Access
- Directions for using the standard record navigation tools, editing data in a multi-user environment, undoing data changes, saving data, deleting records, reports, etc. Meant for end users. 3 pages.
- Microsoft Access Techniques
- Many details for using Access to develop and document applications with an emphasis on SQL and Visual Basic (VBA). Forms, reports, SQL queries, and VBA code. Lots of code snippets. My bible. 100+ pages.
- Creating a Website
- For the uninitiated. What is a website? Why does design matter? What are the elements of website design? What guidelines can help direct the design? What physical objects are most similar to a website—and can serve as design models? How do I get started? What about do-it-yourself websites? 5 pages.
- An HTML Primer
- A thorough discussion of HTML for the beginner and my essential reference. HTML is the lingua franca of the internet's World Wide Web. HTML, an acronym for HyperText Markup Language, provides text, images, sounds, and hypertext links within a formatted context to the web browser program on your desktop computer. 26 pages.
- CSS Primer
- Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is the mechanism by which content and appearance are separated: HTML handles content, CSS handles appearance. A thorough discussion of CSS, both levels 1 and 2, with an emphasis on the features that have been implemented in most browsers. I am still learning new layout techniques. 20 pages.
- JavaScript Reference & Cookbook
- JavaScript is a full weight programming language that can be combined with HTML to add dynamic interaction to a web page. This monograph is my daily reference. All the techniques I have learned are documented here. 37 pages.
- HTML Forms
- A reference for using HTML elements to create a form which users fill in and submit. Form controls are described, scripts are introduced in terms of what they can do, and submission is described. In addition there is sample code for the form, editing logic, and the form processing page. 11 pages.
Portfolio
Available upon request.