My Design Process
Just like learning, research and design is an iterative process. It evolves step by step, using early knowledge for later understanding. Once a user need or problem has been identified through discovery and research, ideas are generated to meet that need. Next a prototype is created for testing. Through testing and feedback of the prototype, the design can be innovated and improved upon. The objective is to bring the desired decision or result closer to discovery with each iteration.
Understand
The discovery phase, perhaps the most important part of the process, is where an understanding of the user and scope of the project is accomplished. Insights are gathered and the iterative process begins. Before designing, the problem/opportunity should be thoroughly understood. The design should be conceived considering two criteria: (1) user needs and (2) business needs. Methods used during this phase include:
- User Interviews, Contectual Inquiry
- Secondary Research (Landscape/Competitive Analysis, Business Analysis, Feature Analysis)
- Surveys
- Affinity mapping
- Personas
- Behavioral archetypes
- Card sorting
- Storyboarding
- User journeys/Process mapping
- Content/Information architecture
Explore
Here we seek the possible answers for the many questions needed to ask based on generative research and/or identified problems. It’s also essential to often ask, “Is the problem being understood properly?” Design workshops and other methods are utilized in this phase, to brainstorm ideas and solutions. Various tools are used to prioritize and organize concepts and features.
Create
From here wireframes and prototypes are created to test with users. The process comes full circle at this phase, as we once again empathize with the user through testing. We then use the feedback to iterate on the design.
My design process is iterative at the core, and I’m continuously motivated to revisit the problem and goals, and to connect designs directly to the research.
