All designers and all companies have their own different design processes. I break mine down into 6 key stages – Strategy, Research, Analytics, Design, Testing and Production.
The Design Process
Each stage has to be flexible and there will be constant iterations. Also, when new ideas or issues arise then UX methods from previous stages may need to be worked on.
Insight into the problem – This covers the start of the project. I discuss with the client their needs and agree the elements of discovery from the list below:
- Business requirements
- Business goals
- Key performance indicators (KPIs)
- User goals
- Constraints: technology, schedule, budget, team
The area to focus on – Here I try to make sense of all the possibilities identified in the previous stage. What matters most? What should we act on first? What is feasible? The goal here is to develop a clear creative strategy in which user needs are identified.
- Brainstorming
- Personas
- Sitemaps
- User Flows
- Analytics
Potential solutions – This is a period of development where solutions or concepts are created, prototyped, tested and iterated. This process of trial and error helps to improve and refine ideas.
- Wireframing
- Prototyping
- Sketches
- High Fidelity Mockups
- UI Specifications
Solutions that work – This is where the project is finalised, produced and launched.
- Maintain and support
- Style Guide or Pattern Library
- Business metrics
- User feedback
- Bug reports
- Improvement plan