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