My Design Process

2021-10-02

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A micro-industry has sprung up within the design field. People are writing books and creating video courses trying to sell the best "Design Process".

There are many different schools of thought when it comes to creating and adopting a design process.

Colleges teach ridged design processes. Which large corporations have adopted and made overly-complex within their bureaucratic systems.

Some designers reject the whole idea that the messy chaotic work of creative design can be boiled down into a process.

I prefer to meet somewhere in the middle.
Keeping the creative side of things free from imposed rules.
While still having a step-by-step structural approach to plan out my work in stages.
This helps Stakeholders understand my workflow and feel they have input.

The following are general process guidelines I use on every project.
Note: Some of these steps were taken from Elon Musk's manufacturing design process.

Process

  1. Never work without a contract. Get everything in writing. Especially signoff on completed work. Because Stakeholder's moods change and some have faulty memories.
  2. Always be prepared to stop. No matter how much time and work you've invest in something.
  3. Form follows function. If the product doesn't work, or is hard to use, it doesn't matter how pretty it is. Don't put lipstick on a pig.
  4. Clearly define the problem. If the Stakeholder doesn't know what they want to eat, you cannot cook them any food. Or, read their mind and create a design.
  5. Make your requirements less dumb. Are we solving the correct problem?
  6. Delete the part or process. Does it need to exist?
  7. Iterate through drafts. Try many different ideas until you find a working solution.
  8. Simplify or Optimize.
  9. Go slow. Plan things out over a longer time frame. Expect delays due to Stakeholder uncertainty, indecision, or decision by committee. Plan for life and/or corporate bureaucracy to get in the way.

Workflow

I break my workflow into stages.
I insist on getting signoff on the work I've done for each stage before moving on to the next.

Because, while design does involve iteration, I don't want to waste time due to Stakeholder uncertainty or indecision.

Stage 1: Requirements Gathering

I prefer to do research and requirements gathering upfront.

My goal is to get all the big decisions made first and then iterate over minor details.
This allows me to work smart and fast. Because I don't have to stop and ask for resources, directions, decisions, or approvals.

Ideally the Stakeholder will base their decisions on analytics and user feedback. Using industry standards and logic to ground their expectations.

However, in a lot of cases, I've found Stakeholder decisions are based on vanity and personal preferences. Which hinders the project's success.

Once I understand the goal of the project, and have a look and feel in mind, I start working.

Stage 2: Application Flowchart

First, I create an Application Flowchart that shows every screen and how they connect together. It also shows how the user will move through the app. This helps weed out any unnessary screens that should not exist. It gives Stakeholders the opportunity to see a map of their application.

Stage 3: Wireframe

After the Application Flowchart is approved I move on to creating a Wireframe that details the positions of all the components per screen. This stage is ideal for iterating through changes. Because the Wireframe is faster to change. I encourge Stakeholders to be super critical. This stage usually takes the most time.

With freelance clients I always get signoff before moving to the Prototype. Making it clear any changes during the Prototype stage will incur additional cost and time. In corporate environments I expect changes at the Prototype stage. Which is frustrating because it bottlenecks productivity. I attempt to improve the culture to avoid this.

Stage 4: Prototype

After the Wireframe is cemented and signed off on I begin designing the Prototype with enough detail and functionality to demonstrate the solution. Hopefully by this stage the Stakeholder is happy with the end result. Signing off on the design so it can be sent to the developers for coding.

This design process and workflow works for me. But its not the best or only way to do it. You should use whatever process you like that gives you positive repeatable results.