Design Process OUtline

Platform: Web App | Industry: Telecommunications

In the real world it can be rare to take a project from start to finish with the perfect amount of time and resources. With this hypothetical project below I showcase my ideal process start to finish when tackling a new project.

In the following scenario a telecommunications and network infrastructure business is looking to expand their product portfolio. A potential user need of ongoing network monitoring has been proposed. It has now been tasked to the User Experience team to evaluate the need as valid and determine the best way to proceed.

Project Kick Off

In my years of experience I have found it is best to start every project with an all hands project kick off. Here all key stakeholders can come together and agree on the key components of the project. This helps avoid any miscommunication an start the project off on a solid foundation.

For this scenario the following have been aligned upon:

Research Analysis

In the analysis phase, all data will be reviewed and cross-checked across methods to create a comprehensive research document. The output documents vary by project scope. For this project, the analysis outcomes would include:

• Internal survey results that detail

  • a prioritized list of what information a user would need when monitoring a network

  • a prioritized list of what information a user would need to make a decision about upgrading their network

  • a list of network information we wouldn't not want users to have access to

• Internal whiteboarding results

  • an in-depth view on how we currently visualize data and a competitive analysis on how others visualize network data

  • early concept ideation

• External survey results

  • a list of tasks users perform during their day-to-day activities

  • a list of network information users would find helpful in monitoring the status of their network

  • various statistics on what / how users would find network data helpful

• User Persona (view above)

  • based on all external research (survey, observation & interviews) a persona would be created to help humanize the user, identify user goals and pain points.

• A Day in the Life (view below)

  • by evaluating a users day-to-day activities along with their attitude and pain points associated with those activities it can be determine where users most need help and guidance

• Service Blueprint (view below)

  • by evaluating the current product portfolio and the hypothetical new product we can map how the two would interact with the customer making sure it effectively meets the user and business needs

Stakeholder Alignment

After completing research analysis it is important to again bring key stakeholders together to share the outcome of the research. From there a path forward can be agreed upon. In this scenario, at this point a hypothetical solution statement can be made and agreed upon.

Problem Statement - After installation of a new network users don’t have the tools to quickly and easily monitor their network.

Solution Statement - By providing network data to users they can better monitor the functioning of their network and know when it is time to upgrade or make changes.

Concept Ideation

Now that the Solution Statement has been agreed upon by all key stakeholders we can begin to focus on the execution of that solution. I specialize on facilitating creative collaboration workshops where the goal is to bring together people from different disciplines throughout an organization to share and build off each others ideas / thoughts / inspirations on how we can achieve our goal.

User Testing - Concept

In the initial rounds of concept testing the main goal will be to find the pros and cons of each concept and determine which concept (or combination of concepts) will best meet the users needs.

Testing Outcome - Concept 2

In an industry that is built on data users want to know everything that is going on with their network. They like the idea of seeing an overview of the data, but also want the ability to dig deeper into the numbers. Users would also like to be able to easily print out the overview to share others in their organization.

Solution Alignment

After a path of execution has been decided upon it is important to once again bring all key stakeholders together for a final alignment before dedicating resources for final design creation and usability testing. This alignment gives everyone the opportunity to evaluate the concept and make sure the ROI for the project still stands along with making any timeline or resource adjustments.

Low Fidelity MockUp Ideation

Lofi Mockups ideation can be done only by the UX team or started by some creative ideation activities in a team workshop the narrowed down by the UX team. At this point the goal is not perfection but to generate lots of different thoughts and ideas that can be narrowed down during testing.

User Testing - Usability

After the concept has been selected the following rounds of user testings will focus purely on usability. What elements are displayed when, where and how. These testing rounds may start with paper prototypes and be more conversational in nature and end with a fully functional prototype depending on the project scope.

Usability Testing Outcomes

In this scenario the during the usability testing it was determined:

• what information users would want displayed on each page & how they want it displayed

• what information should have priority on each page

• how the users would move though our system (happy path & prime error scenarios)

• final low fidelity mock ups

High Fidelity MockUps

High fidelity mockups are typically made following a design system or brand guidelines. If no such documents are in place it is important to coordinate with the brand management team and make sure the visuals work for the brand.

Final Hand Off Alignment

After all designs are finalized it is important to have one final alignment with all key stakeholders before PI Planning and any development work begins to make sure everyone has one last chance to review the designs. This also gives a chance for anyone who was not involved to attend and get a nice overview of the project and understand how it came to be, this is helpful and promotes knowledge sharing through out the company.

Follow Up

After development and release is one of if not the most important part of the project, the follow up and continued improvement of the product. By collecting both quantitative and qualitative data via various methods such as surveys, analytics and user interviews more insights can be gained about how the product is working in the real world and provide information on how to continue to improve it.