As a designer, I use tools and methods as needed. Although no two projects are the same, this is my foundational design process.
Discover
Define & Discover, Synthesize
define problem space, define user base, user research, secondary research, affinity diagraming, personas, diagrams, insights, stories, scenarios …
Concept
Concept, Prototype, Refine
sketches, brainstorming, white-boarding, golden questions, language, interactions, experiences, MacGyver, prototyping, user studies, validation, iteration …
Implement
Strategize & Implement, Reflect
scooping, specifications, technologies, business, marketing, implementation, maintenance, future planning, benchmarking, postmortem, reflection …
Define & Discover
Good design is human centered. Problem setting allows me to explore a problem space and understand what is really needed. User research is conducted to understand real people's needs, desires, thoughts, fears, values, etc. Academic research is used to understand theories and approaches to problems, motivations, and goals.
Synthesis
Analysis and synthesis of many different data points helps to create insights into people, behaviors, markets, and trends. These insights lead to key opportunities or show pain points of the users and potential users. Analysis and Synthesis guide and inspire concepting and ideation.
Concepting
Through several techniques such as whiteboarding, brainstorming, MacGyver prototyping, sketching, etc. a range of design concepts are born. These concepts are evaluated and narrowed down to help get at the right design.
Prototyping
Once some concept ideas have emerged, prototyping helps fill in the gaps and holes. Through a constant loop prototyping reveals design problems and challenges which need thought out through more concepting and sketching.
Refinement
With prototypes and sketches finished, real people are asked to help refine design directions. Expert critique, team feedback, and user studies are conducted to understand and refine designs through several iterations. Design stages help focus direction towards getting the right design and getting the design right.
Strategy & Implementation
Specifications and documents are created. Stakeholders, managers, business developers, marketing teams, etc. are brought in constantly to help pave the future path of the design. Throughout implementation questions, problems, technical and other constraints emerge and are looped back through various design stages.
Reflection
Reflection and postmortems allow me to understand what worked well in a given project process and what could be improved. Honest and serious self reflection help teams and myself become better designers and collaborators for future projects.
