Here’s an example of how my UX/UI design process runs. Projects vary greatly in the type of methodologies and is dependant on whether it’s just me or if I’m working in a team.
User Research
Surveys, focus groups, phone calls, meetings, reviewing existing content. The photograph below was taken at a design thinking workshop.
These don’t always happen due to timeframes however it allows more creative thinking in the UX process. This allows for us to make better assumptions of our users and their frustrations, before prototyping and testing. A simple way of being able to find out user needs is to do a survey to your existing audience. Tools like Survey Monkey make this easy.
Persona creation based on results
From the research we create 1-2 personas of who we believe our target client/customer is. We outline his or her name, what age they are and include a stock photo. You should also outline their location and some of their frustrations are around the product we are designing for.
You can get a good idea of who this person is based on your Google analytics data. If it’s completely different to who you thought it would be, it’s key to understand why the product is attracting the wrong audience.
Flow Chart
Information Architecture based on who we are designing for. We map out the existing pages or screens of an app or website to understand the process for conversion before tweaking and refining it. Below is an example of the flow chart I used for the Print it app.
Wireframing
(Low fidelity sketches)
Depending on how much time is available on a project I sketch out the design of an app or website quickly. Sometimes it’s done together with the key stakeholders to ensure we agree on the layout of key elements.
Hi-fidelity Wireframes
Once the sketches are complete and agreed upon with the stakeholders or UX/UI design team I create high fidelity designs either in Sketch or Illustrator.
Prototyping
I use Invision app to prototype the tool and usertesting.com to get test users to try out my app. We get a good idea of how the app actually works and can pinpoint faults in the design if any.
Testing either online or in person
This isn’t always done, again it’s dependant on the company and deadlines however it’s highly recommended that testing be done either online or in person to see whether there are obvious faults with the design before it goes into development.
Move to development and launch
UI Designer starts exporting assets like buttons, images, progress bars etc in various sizes for the developer to use in the build.
Larger projects I’ve worked on have required a specifications documents on the functionality of the site. The binder below was a collection of documents from one project!
Add A/B testing to resolve problems or increase conversions
Once a site or app is up we can conducting A/B testing to test small changes. For example calls to action, button colours (like we did for AirNZ) or whether a side bar should be on the left hand or right hand side of a page.
Review results and start again to refine our assumptions about users and improve conversion
UX design is an on-going process where we can expect to refine and improve the product as we come across new issues with technology, new products added or the needs of the customer/client changes.
To start a project with me, please take a look at my portfolio and get in contact here.
