An Example Product / Software / Web Design Process Guide
PHASES MILESTONES
concept
start
DELIVERABLE
IDEA INFORM
REVIEW CHECKPOINT
LEGEND
MILESTONE KEY MEETING
discover
concept approval
definition
proposal approval and scheduling conceptual design review
refinement
PRD approval UI design approval
development
committed schedule visual design approval beta
launch preparation
post launch launch
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ROLES
Communicate business needs & brand identity
Communicate business needs & brand identity
Brand Positioning
Review Promotional & Marketing Needs
Business development / partnering Mockups to marketing
Note: In some companies these roles are encompassed by one person
business owners
Describe problem or needs, proposed solution, and benefits.
Develop strategic rationale, business case, financial analysis, policy considerations, implementation plans. Gather supporting market research, etc. Gather information for and create the Proposal Document
Collect team input Research: Solicit input from Business owners/ brands - contact other associated stakeholders (legal, customer support, international) Write Draft PRD and Review
Product Roadmap Point release plan
Promotion plan
product manager
Gather information for and create the Concept Document
Deliverables:
Project kickoff
Note: In some companies these roles are blended into one or two people. i.e. ui may do user research or visual designers may do ia, etc.
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Review user feedback on previous product UI's and analyze competitive products.
Refine design concepts Develop navigation model and refine scenarios
Product Requirements Document (PRD)
(authored by a Product Manager) and
Evangelize
Wireframes and navigation maps Product prototype, e.g. paper, HTML, director, or flash UI Design Approval
I T E R AT I O N S
ui/id/ia design
Idea
Deliverable:
Begin writing functional spec UI Revisions based on testing
Provide input for level of effort
Final product specification & handoff to build team
Design fidelity checks and bug fixes
Deliverable:
Define personas, usage scenarios, user goals, and perform task analysis
Deliverable:
Concept Document
Develop usage scenarios and/or design concepts
Proposal Document this step may be optional
Concept Design Review
and / or
Provide input for level of effort
Visual design explorations
visual design
Leads brainstorming
Concept Prototype
Concept Design Materials
(authored by blended design team)
Templates & Navigation
(authored by UI / ID / IA Design)
I T E R AT I O N S
Refined Visual design explorations
Art direction
Visual Design Approval
Handoff to build team
L A U N C H
Post mortem
UI maintenance
Visual maintenance
Provide input for level of effort
UCD research cont'd. (i.e. paper prototyping, participatory design, field studies, surveys, etc.
Competitive usability testing
Prototype usability test
Prototype testing
Write/update test plans for final usability Usability test release product capture issues for next release Focus Group, Field Studies, Survey Analysis, etc.
user research
Define personas, usage scenarios, user goals, and perform task analysis.
Execute visual design
Build/publish QA
production
Provide input for level of effort
Build HTML
credits
Design based on earlier maps created by various UI design teams at America Online Incorporated. Revised and edited by Erin Malone, September 2003 for the AIfIA.