UX Design Process

I follow an agile design process that focuses on collaborative problem solving, with an emphasis on metrics and measuring success.

1. Understand the problem

Software won't improve peoples lives if it doesn't solve some underlying problem for users or their organizations.  Product management can identify major features, and UX can help explain why - why does the user need to do this?  What is their ultimate goal?  How do they solve/avoid this problem now? Can we quantify the problem now using our analytics and KPI’s?

For me, it's important to have a relationship with users, even before we discuss specific problems to be solved. I can get a basic understanding of the user experience and customer journey from job shadowing, interviews, examples of their work. This helps me move quickly when new features come up. I also like to know where we stand currently with our KPI’s especially compared to our yearly goals and (if possible) how we index compared to the rest of the industry. This background gives me a solid foundation for understanding user problems and assisting Product Management in describing them. See the problem first hand, if possible, or talk directly with a user who has had this experience. Get screenshots of the actual issue, document the existing workflow, or get video of the problem.  In interviews, it's important to get to the root of a request.  Asking "Why?" multiple times is a common strategy:

User:  "I want an Excel download of today's data."

Investigator: "Why do you want this download?"

User: "I need to create a graph that shows my client where we'll be next week."

Investigator: "Why do you need to show your client where you'll be next week?"

User: "I need to reassure my client we are on-track to deliver in full."

2. Identify solutions

Better understanding of problems leads to cleaner, better solutions for users.  In the example above, the user might be better served with a pre-defined pacing report, or even a client portal they can access on their own.  

Identifying multiple solutions is important here. There are a hundred solutions to any problem, and focusing on only one often leads to failure.

Identifying a solution also requires an assumption about how that solution will affect our KPI’s. Are we increasing customer satistfaction, minutes spent with the product, ad revenue?

Early sketches, basic workflows, and simple prototypes can convey a solution better than a pixel-perfect example at this stage.  Show sketches to users early on to get some basic feedback.

3. DISCUSSION of the Problem & Solutions

As a UX designer, getting buy-in from the development team is almost as important as buy-in from the stakeholders.  In small teams and start-ups, coming together to agree on a solution happens naturally.  Everyone performs multiple roles, working together to create something.  But larger organizations have difficulty capturing that spirit.  While design and product management have been working to understand the problem, engineering and QA are usually working on other topics.  To get everyone up to speed, I like to meet with my feature team as a whole to describe the problem first, framing the discussion using real examples.  Then we discuss ideas for solutions, which helps everyone commit to the feature.

The earlier this meeting happens, the faster we can move forward with an optimal solution.

4. Detailed designs and user feedback

Circling back to my users at this stage helps them see a more finished design, and to provide feedback on the specifics.  When a visual designer or copy writer is needed, we work together to create the final design deliverables.

5. assist engineering and qa

Once the designs are final, the UX designer must be available to the development team for questions and for assistance testing. When I've worked with engineers in different countries, I've made a point to schedule meetings and "office hours" in their time zone. When we are all located in the same office, I make a point of staying in close proximity with the engineers if they have any questions or requests. In my experience, I get more questions when I’m in the same meetings the developers are in.

6. feedback from production

Once the feature has been released to production, feedback from the site's usage analytics will help determine if people are using the feature and if the expected KPI’s have improved. User shadowing, interviews, and usability studies can also be performed.