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