Prioritizing Solutions — a Method to Handle Being the Middle-Person
My recent work has shown me how important usability testing is in the design process. It identifies problems that need addressing. Prioritizing these solutions is valuable as it helps organize these solutions. Taking the time to work through this process ensures that we are meeting the user’s needs throughout the design process. There is no point in conducting usability tests if the designer is not going to incorporate the feedback into the design. Brainstorming and prioritizing solutions allows the designer to make the usability testing worthwhile.
For example, in one of my tests, a category icon I had chosen confused users. They thought it looked like a clipboard and did not convey the correct meaning. This led to at least 3 more problems during the usability testing. This category icon and page then became the main focus of one of my 3 brainstorming sessions. The tests identify a problem, and the brainstorming reveals solutions.
However, halting at brainstorming is not enough for an app to develop successfully. We must keep in mind that the cost of implementing solutions is a major concern for stakeholders. How many hours of work is a solution going to require? Will that solution be worthwhile in the end? What would the return on this investment be? This is where prioritization comes in.
Designers must begin by analyzing each solution their brainstorming sessions address. To do so, problems are connected with their corresponding solutions. Sometimes several problems are addressed by one solution. In this case, the severity scores of both are added together. This determines the effectiveness value of the solution. However, effectiveness is not the only factor that must be considered. Remember, stakeholders care about what the return on the investment of this solution will be. This can be classified as an ROI — return on investment. To calculate this value, complexity of the solution must be taken into account. We can use a five point scale. 1 is “not complex” (not requiring much time or resources) and 5 is “very complex” (involving lots of hours of work and resources). Dividing the effectiveness by complexity provides us with the return of the investment.
Complexity is very important to consider. This is because even though a solution might solve a lot of problems, it may not be worthwhile. The resources may be better directed elsewhere if the complexity is too high.
ROI is a conceptual value that is used only for prioritization. The ROI becomes important as designers begin sorting out which problems to address first or not at all. Stakeholders’ opinions also sway this portion of the process. The designer must organize the list in order of highest to lowest ROI, and the stakeholders can weed out unnecessary solutions from there.
This process is fascinating because it balances the needs of the user with the needs of the company. That is essentially what a UX designer is doing throughout their entire working experience. While they must take a user-centered approach in their work, funding and time limitations will always apply. By adhering to a process similar to this one, the UX middle-person is much better equipped to develop successful and efficient designs.
