At this stage of the project we gather and absorb as much information about, the product, the users or customers, the problem that we are trying to solve and any prior research available to support these formulated thoughts. some exercises that may occur during this stage are, reviewing the current product or if a new product the PRD or Product Requirements Document, Stakeholder interviews (sitting down with stakeholder to better understand what value they are trying to offer there customers or users.
Define
Develop a strategy
At this stage we strategize on solutions for the users needs. Starting off at the most basic frameworks. Diagraming of the user flow or path to preforming a specific task and defining the structure and information hierarchy and architecture or the site, application or page.
Explore
Generating ideas for the design
At this stage we ideate on solutions for the users needs. Starting off at the most basic, diagraming of the user flow or path to preforming a specific task. When we have a better understanding or the flow, I use divergent and convergent thinking to find a solutions for the design. Creating many different ideas to refine an idea into the best one.
Validate
Prototype, test and refine
Next we create interactive prototypes to present the flows to stakeholders and test with users. Both of these stages are quite important because they validate design decisions as well as expose any potential flaw or problems with the design.
Implement
Design delivery, build and QA testing
The final stage of a project generally is the delivery of pixel perfect designs for the core pages and scenarios to development, and working with development to review and test the final implementation for bugs and issues before it is released to customers or users.
