User centred design or design thinking process are my preferred frameworks. Time, budget and resource availability determine which I choose to use. After a half-day workshop with my client, I undertake in-depth user research (interviews, observation) to understand user behaviour to validate or redefine the problem which I use to define user needs and align with business goals. This may require a shift in goals based on discovered insights rather than assumptions.
Once priorities have been agreed, I use the ATOM design system to determine the design structure and it forms the basis of the style guide ensuring design consistency. I go through an ideate, design and prototype cycle testing with users in short sprints. You get to development faster and allows you to integrate any technological limitations or trade-offs early in the project. I like to have the developers/engineers involved at this stage so usability and technological requirements can be balanced and any potential business logic are unearthed early.
As I’m involved in the full development lifecycle, design continues alongside development and I project manage the development process. This includes managing the product backlog board, writing user stories and acceptance criteria. As I also run daily stand ups and test each deployment, I also manage the bugs and fixes board.
I look for the stories, signals and insights in data to discover points of friction or blockers causing low conversions, abandonment or poor retention. This alongside ongoing user research guides ongoing design decisions.
