Understand
It all starts with understanding the users through research: who they are, what they need, and how they interact with the product. This involves competitive analysis and a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, from user interviews and surveys to heatmaps and screen recordings. Personas and user stories define key user groups and goals, while empathy and journey mapping uncover motivations, frustrations, and opportunities for improvement.
However, my focus here isn’t on deliverables but on unearthing actionable insights. I take a Lean UX approach, prioritising “just enough” research to make informed decisions while trusting my experience and instincts. Working within team size and resource constraints, I balance speed with depth to keep the process efficient and effective.
Design
The first priority is structuring content and navigation (Information Architecture), followed by wireframes and prototypes to validate ideas, all with a “shift-left” philosophy in mind – incorporating testing and accessibility early to address potential issues sooner. Modular components are key to ensuring usability, consistency, and flexibility for future iteration.
To align understanding and define the scope, specifically for a minimum viable product (MVP), I find this simple checklist helpful:
- Who are the primary and secondary USERS? Are there conflicts of interest?
- What are the OBJECTS? How do they relate to users and each other? For example in a music app this could mean establishing the various relationships between song / album / artist / collaborators / playlist / gig / festival / merch / app users … and so on.
- What are their possible STATES? Including all edge and corner cases
- What ACTIONS are required? Who can take them, in which states?
- What VIEWS are needed based on these elements?
Test
Design is never finished. It evolves through continuous refinement: Usability testing identifies friction points, A/B testing refines decisions, and accessibility audits ensure inclusivity. Feedback loops drive iteration, which links back to the research and understanding phase. So my approach here remains the same as in the research phase: treating the methods as a flexible toolkit, considering available resources and discussing the next actions needed to continue iterating.
And then? Loop back for more understanding, more refining, more designing…