Strategic UX: Blending Discovery & Design
Stole this image here, and agree with every word
My UX design journey blends academic Design Thinking with the agility of Lean UX. I've recently embraced Discovery Discipline to enhance operational excellence and efficiency.
I've learned that the key isn't choosing one methodology, but rather expertly combining tools and workshops to suit the audience and objectives.
From designing physical experiences to crafting digital solutions for diverse fields like software development and online marketplaces, my canvas has evolved. My curiosity remains insatiable, and I'm always eager to explore new frontiers in design
*For documentation on Lean UX methodology, I recommend this short article from the Interaction Design Foundation.
Research > Discovery > Vision
This will always be my starting point.
Learn about the users, their wishes and their pain points, their needs
Gather knowledge on the product, the brand, the industry
Have a look at what competitors are doing
Get to know the stakes (tech, product and business) as well as the stakeholders.
The tricky part is then to converge and agree with all the parties on what we are aiming for, and how we plan to achieve it. A blurry vision never makes a clear project.
Let’s not forget to define evaluation metrics as well as KPI’s to follow along the road.
Define (do) & ideate
Once the goal is clear, we then need to broaden our horizons. Just like the middle of the Double Diamond says…
This phase should not be conducted alone. Confront ideas, share opinions, seek confrontation, and co-design as much as possible: great ideas are never the fruit of only one. Even less of a single great designer.
Explore things, fail fast and start again. Be prolific & humble.
I also like to integrate technical teams as much as possible. They are always a great source of ideas and solutions and I find that this saves times along the line.
Prototype, test & repeat
I will never emphasize enough the value of prototyping and testing. Test all you can, in as many configurations as possible.
Whether a simple pen-and-paper to a pixel-perfect interactive prototype, drawing and articulating screens to make interactions come to life is going to help the story come together.
The more you share the story, the more you see if it fits what you had hoped for and defined as user goals. It may seem time-consuming but this will allow only high-value designs to go thought.
It’s also a great time for technical assessments and smaller proof-of-concepts that can be built quickly.
The Golden version
It’s all about making the high-fidelity rendering come together, taking into account all corner cases and interactive states.
Making sure all the colors and styles respect the brand identity and design system and polishing the UI. Working on those micro interactions and animations that make the difference.
Hands-off to the (magic) builders
Designs are set, but won’t come to life until the rest of the team makes it happen.
Part of the job is also to write clear specifications for the technical teams to read, and taking time to evaluate the final results before going live to our final users.
Designers are responsible for the whole user experience, not just the model.
Evangelize, communicate & asses
Being a designer means also being a design advocate:
Being able to showcase and explain what the team has done
Why and how it benefits the users
How it benefits the company and what to look at in terms of KPI’s
Communication is key to make design part of a company’s stategy.