Good design is not created, it is discovered. As a designer, it is my responsibility to gather all the data needed to ensure the end design is solving the identified problem. But the true beginning of the process is to determine what the problem is in the first place.

The below process outlines my approach to design and the skills I used to ensure that the final design is elegant and useful.

1 Learn

Identify the Problem

Before the design can begin, first I need to understand the problems to solve for. The problem is not always easy to identify, but using personal interviews and observing the current process, it can be uncovered. This is the most important step so that all stakeholders can be in agreement of when the design process has solved the problem.

Gain Insight

Now that we have our problem identified, we need to understand the full process of everything surrounding the workflow. There is always room for improvement, so this is the time to identify any of the pain points for the users. These pain points may or may not be directly related to the main problem, but changing some could have great impact on the user's experience.
This process can be quite lengthy and should include a varying number of users and different user roles. At the end, I will have a list pain points, what works well for the users, and a wish list of improvements.

By systematically asking questions to the participants and identifying trends I am able to understand the user's needs moving forward along with any pain points they may be currently experiencing.

2 Design

Wireframe Some Ideas

Now is time to take the findings that I have gathered and incorporate them into some initial designs. These will be low fidelity designs that are focusing on the main problem specifically. The designs should be able to show how the problem will be solved. I like to create a few of these for comparison.

Test and Analyse Data

Once I have a few Wireframe designs ready, I will reach out to my users again for some testing and feedback.

I begin by writing out a script of specific questions to ask each user ensuring that I am not leading them to a specific answer. I will run through this script with each user and gather their responses to each question. Once completed, I will look for similarities in their responses to identify any trends.

Repeat as Needed

There is not always a clear trend identified, and that is when I will repeat this process. The goal is to establish a clear solution to the initial problem. Once I have a good design basis, I can move to the next step.

Prototype the Full High Resolution Design

The high resolution design allows for deeper testing into the full functionality of the solution. This is were the entire design can come to light and also when things like accessibility, usability, and clear workflows are incorporated. Utilizing prototypign tools, this process will produce a fully funcitonal design that will be interactive as if it was the fully built product.

At this point, I would also routinely talk with the development staff to ensure the design is possible and fits within the planned timeframe. I do not want to share any designs with the end users that is impossible to code within the timeframe.

Here I have an example of a fully functional interactive design using Justinmind. This type of prototype is extremely useful with Usability Testing. The user can have full control as I observed their actions and ask questions along the way.

I also created prototypes for mobile apps and interactions as well. Being able to utilize the format to make it so realistic on a mobile device really helps minimize questions from development teams on how the behavior may change between different devices.

Test, Analyse, Design, Repeat

At this time we go back to the users to test, gather feedback, and redesign as needed until the design is fully vetted and approved. In this process, I again begin with a script to go along with the design, asking each participant the same questions and looking for trends in their responses. I want to make sure that the design will correct the initial problem, but also eliminate or reduce any pain points that were initially identified as well. Plus, I want to ensure that the design does not introduce more pain points.

The video demonstrates some of the one on one conversations I have had with users to gather feedback. I use the same script to ensure that each participant is asked the same questions for feedback.

Consult Internal Teams

I keep internal teams, such as development, support, sales, and training in constant communication with any planned changes. Not only does it directly effect their duties, but they also have great insight to ideas, improvements, and user's thoughts that I may not have. Before the design is fully established, it is important to reach out to the internal teams to ensure the design will not cause any concerns from their perspective. Each team has a unique viewpoint that may not always come to light if only end users feedback is used in the design process.

Identify Gaps, Flaws, or Issues

This is also an appropriate time to evalute the entire workflow from beginning to end to ensure that nothing was missed along the way. When the user sees the new design approach using the fully functional prototype, they are able to envision the new workflow they will use to accomplish their tasks. It can be hard to think outside of what they currently do, but seeing the full workflow does help to identify if there are any gaps or issues with the process.

The analysis of the data is key to understanding the next steps to improving the design. The findings are shared with stakeholders, along with possible solutions for the identified negative trends.

This is an example of a presentation that outlines the participants in the study, the results of the study, and the next steps to bring the study to a close.

3 Implement

Release Schedule

While talking with the users and internal teams, I am able to establish an idea of what must, should, or could be delivered to consider the problem solved. In order to ensure that the development team is aligned with this I work closely with the product management team to develop an implementation timeline.

Beta Test Using Real Data

Once the development work is completed, the Beta Testing can begin. The advantage of using beta testing is that the client is able to see the solution using their own data. This helps tremendously in the understanding of the process flows as well as ensuring that the solution is working as expected.

I once again create specific scripts or workflows for each participant to follow and give feedback. This is a perfect time to identify any bugs or future enhancements.

4 Improve

Track Enhancements

Future enhancements to the design can be identified at any point during this process. Those identified at the early steps can be incorporated into the design. Those found in the later steps are typically added to a backlog for future releases. It is important to always track these enhancements and ensure that they are reviewed and incorporated into the product on a routine basis.

Never Stop Improving

A design should never be considered done in my mind. There is a place that it can be functional and complete, but there is always room for improvement. One of the most important parts of the design process is to constantly look for ways of improvement. Is there new functionality that would work better now? Is the style of the product outdated? Is there a way to make the user's job easier? I like to constantly ask these questions to ensure the product is constantly evolving with the times and the technology.

Examples of Work

Prototypes

Requirements Gathering and Documentation

I have worked in both waterfall and Agile methodologies and have formed requirements that suit both needs. These requirements were for a product that was being updated from a legacy downloadable product to a web-based product. This move was progressive and allowed us the ability to make usability improvements along the way.

The coders that I have worked with found tremendous value in my requirement writing, so much so that they could easily develop their code based solely on my documentation. This team specifically had a minimal number of bugs come up because they had a strong basis of knowledge in the required documentation.

There are a number of different ways to share requirements, and it is my job to figure out the best way to outline the information that needs to be shared. When documenting the needs for Meaningful Use reporting back in early 2000, flow charts were the best option to decipher the differences in the numerators and denominators for attestation. These specifically were referred to not only by the development staff, but also stakeholders, clients, and the executive team.

Style Guides

Style Guides help to create a uniform feel and consistent behaviors on products. I created this style guide as a tool for all of the development and quality analysts to use. The design team utilized it to keep or update standards across the entire product and create new components as needed for future use.

Websites

Working with some small companies and organizations I have helped to create functional and responsive websites. I have had the opportunity to work with WordPress themes as well as coding websites using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This Building Design firm allowed me to create a website for them that met their needs to reach customers.