Week 4

Well. Happy month of officially job searching. My technical post this week is regarding case studies. There are lots of opinions of how case studies should be written. At my bootcamp, they wanted us to write one very long, detailed case study. Then two others that weren't as intense. They said that it needed to be in story telling form, you needed to include "ah-hah" moments and that you should include your video recording of your prototype.
Most of these things I've found to still live true but I wanted to edit or add a few suggestions I've received.  The first thing, don't write a very long intensive case study!! Most hiring managers will just do a glance through of your project. Make sure you have good images that show your work and perhaps a few key phrases that draw the eye to problems you've solved. 
Second, add a summary at the beginning. Why? Because the first people that will be reading your case studies to see if you qualify will likely be recruiters. Recruiters, though knowledgeable in their field, will probably not know all the nuances of the design process, nor do they need to see them. They're going through a lot of case studies and if yours seems too overwhelming they might just move on and not come back. In conjunction with that, it's not a bad idea to insert a line that that something to the effect of, "If you'd like to skip over my process and see my final designs, click HERE." I suggest you post that right after the summary. Then provide a link that takes them to your final mockups.
You don't need to go chronological. It's really easy to tell your process exactly how it happened. But, it's not necessary. I initially wrote my case study like that but then to draw connections I changed things around. I was often multi-task testing when I was testing our product on users, trying to find the best way for multiple features. Writing that down chronologically just led to a messy case study that was hard to follow with processes and results that weren't very convincing.
Add quotes from actual test subjects. I received this feedback from UX Designers. After all, our focus as designers should be on the user. Adding in quotes makes it all seem more real and relevant to your reader.
Let your readers explore your prototype on their own. I initially only had a video of my prototype, but as another designer pointed out, it could be very frustrating to a viewer of your case study. You put so much work into the prototype, you want your viewers to have the best experience. Viewing your work in real time and being able to poke around makes your prototype seem more real and professional to the viewer. As if it was a product that they could ship. It will go a long way to help you come across as a legitimate designer.
Thanks for tuning in!