Make coffee, get plans.

We talk and get to know more about:

...the problems you're facing

...what our common goals are

...how big we think the project should be

...things we think can or cannot be achieved

reach out and research

I use a lethal combination of UX research skills to dig up as much as I can about the users, the stakeholders and the market. My favourite are:

User Interviews & Research

Using a bespoke array of neutral questions, I elicit unbiased responses from unsuspecting interviewees.

Heuristic & Competitive Analysis

I help you understand both you and your enemies (though I may not be able to fight a hundred battles for you)

Contextual Inquiry

Shadow people, observe and inquire about their behaviours. 

Information distillation

I do my best Sherlock impression and connect the dots between all the information.

User behaviour is analysed using affinity mapping, persona profiling, job stories and user journeys.

At this point the original problem also undergoes validation. Is the initial problem that we're looking at the right suspect or has it been framed by a larger problem?

sketch, test, rinse, repeat

I begin solution ideation by sketching and using the personas' needs as guideposts, then extrapolate from there. It goes something like this:

think of a feature

what do the personas need? what do the clients need? what awesome thing could we add in?

consider the priorities

how important is the feature to a user? how much time and effort will it take to build it? how much will it cost?

sketches

what might this feature look like? will it fit in an existing flow or layout? does it have design precedence or follow an interface guideline?

tests

what did the users do right or wrong? was it what I expected? what should be changed?

(honestly my favourite part)

At this stage after testing, a collection of tested features and layouts can be compiled into a MVP prototype and taken to medium and high fidelities. This has two uses:

testing the user

what is the minimum viable fidelity that a user can grasp a feature's purpose and function during testing?

how much easier is it for a user to perform a task as fidelity increases?

how are users responding to the prototype's interaction design?

showing the stakeholders

how can a feature's look and function be illustrated in prototype form so that a dev can program it?

how clear can you make your design intent be so that nothing gets lost?

how can you help stakeholders best visualise the features being suggested?

let's do this again sometime

At this point, I show you my final findings and my recommendations, and the prototypes and all the user testing results, all packaged up in a presentation and accompanying documentation.

We shake hands and I ride off into the sunset, off to save others from the horrors of bad UX.