MODULE 2 - DESIGN PROCESS

THE DESIGN PROCESS-ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT

FOR DESIGN

The first challenge of the design process is to create a streamlined and effective organization that
is aligned with the strategy and desired results of the organization. The second challenge is to get
buy-in from the entire organization and implement the new design so that it dramatically and
positively changes the way the business operates. Many organizations fail to adapt and adjust
their internal infrastructure to the rapidly changing business demands around them because their
business processes, structures, and systems act as barriers to efficiency and common-sense
decision making. These internal barriers can trap capable people who eventually become cynical
and disheartened by their inability to change or influence obvious gaps, inconsistencies, or
burdensome constraints within the organization.
A second model involves a core design team, charted by senior management. In this model, a
smaller number of employees from a cross-section of the organization analyze, redesign, and
develop implementation plans which they present to senior leadership and the rest of the
organization for approval and adjustment. The advantage of this model is that the design team
creates continuity throughout the process, and can drill deeper in some of the analysis, design and
planning tasks. The design team model also fosters commitment and ownership throughout the
organization, but requires more ongoing communication to the rest of the organization, and tends
to take a little more time to get through design and planning and on to implementation. With either
the conference model or the design team model, the design process, from chartering to
implementation, can take from six weeks to eighteen months, depending on the size, motivation,
and resources of the organization.
STEP #1: IN-DEPTH PROCESS ANALYSIS
If comprehensive organization assessment has not been done during the leadership process as
part of direction setting with senior leadership, it must be done here as preparation for design
sessions. Once assessment is completed, it is often necessary to analyze core work processes
and computer system flows at more levels and in more detail. In-depth process analysis starts
where the larger assessment process leaves off, identifying and analyzing processes which need
to be understood and mapped in more detail before conscious and accurate design decisions can
be made regarding them. If there are other systems or structures which need to be better
understood, they may also be analyzed in more depth before moving to redesign decisions. In-
depth analysis can take from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the need for more data.
STEP #2: ORGANIZATION DESIGN
The macro design session can last from four or five days, depending on the size and complexity of
the organization. During this session, participants step outside the current organization and
develop a comprehensive set of recommendations for the larger or “macro” organization, aligning it
with current strategies and business demands. They outline the “ideal organization,” identifying
ideal processes, structures, and systems for the whole organization. They will streamline and
simplify core processes spanning the entire business, and reconfigure how business units,
departments, support groups and teams organize around those processes. This often eliminates
functional silos and integrates people and resources around activities critical to organization
success. As units are created, dedicated and shared resources are also assigned to various
sections or levels of the organization.
STEP #3: TEAM LEVEL DESIGN
In some cases, the macro design session includes team level design. In many cases, however, a
micro design session is needed to detail team configurations, roles, responsibilities, and staffing
numbers. The micro design session generally takes from one to three days. In this session the
number and size of teams is determined, and specific roles and responsibilities are designed for
each team created. The micro design helps clarify how the macro design will fit together at all
levels of the organization.
STEP #4: TRANSITION PLANNING
Once design recommendations have been reviewed and accepted by the organization, the next
task is to develop transition and implementation plans. Transition is the period between design and
startup, which may be two or three weeks to six months, depending on the size of the organization,
the complexity of the design and how quickly they can or need to implement. Implementation is the
period of time between startup and the ideal. During transition planning, participants will identify all
transition and implementation activities necessary to successfully implement the new design
throughout the organization.
STEP #5: TEAM DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERMENT
PLANNING
Individuals or teams are considered “empowered” when they are clear about boundary conditions
(expected results, non-negotiables, authority levels, and time constraints) and have the
knowledge, information, skills, resources, and support they need to achieve their charter.
Empowerment planning is the process of identifying the boundary conditions, knowledge,
information, skills, resources, and support that teams will need, and then planning how and when
those items will be transferred to or developed into the teams.
Typically, leaders will develop a team development chart and determine levels of authority for
various responsibilities the team will take on, choosing from the five levels of authority:
 Level 1—act when directed
 Level 2—act after approval
 Level 3—act after consultation
 Level 4—act and report
 Level 5—act autonomously
STEP #6: NEW DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The time period between approval of the new design and the designated startup date for
implementation of the design is called transition. It is during this transition period that new jobs or
job changes can be posted, interviews can be held, management changes can be decided and
announced, and new structures, processes, policies, and plans can be explained in preparation for
startup implementation. Leadership training and technical changes may also take place during
transition. The purpose of transition is to make sure the organization is ready before it pulls the
startup lever to begin implementation of organization changes and design plans.
STEP #7: TEAM STARTUP AND DEVELOPMENT TRAINING
One of the purposes of startup training is to bring newly formed business units and teams together
around a vision of what they must accomplish in the new design. Teams, business units, and
support groups are often pulled together to share expectations, learn about each other, and
identify mutual requirements, especially if they have a high degree of interdependence. Leaders
explain team development plans to their teams and discuss how those plans can be implemented
over time. Teams can begin receiving training in the technical, business and social skills required
for them to manage their part of the business and improve their performance. The training
provided will depend on the development needs of each team and will come from a variety of
different sources, including internal subject matter experts. We recommend that organizations
invest in their own training staff who can provide ongoing planning, assessment, and delivery.
STEP #8: ADJUST AND REFINE COORDINATION AND
DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS
Organization-wide coordination systems include communication and information sharing, decision
making and authorization, measurement and feedback, goal setting, and policies and procedures.
Organization-wide development systems include recruitment and selection, orientation, training
and development, progression and promotion, performance evaluation and feedback,
compensation, and recognition. During macro organization design, the ideal concept for each of
the coordination and development systems will have been identified. The ideal concept for many of
those systems can and should be implemented at startup. However, adjustment or serious
redesign of some of the systems such as compensation or performance evaluation, often requires
additional time to study alternatives and develop appropriate implementation plans.

What is SDLC?
SDLC is a systematic process for building software that
ensures the quality and correctness of the software built.
SDLC process aims to produce high-quality software that
meets customer expectations. The system development
should be complete in the pre-defined time frame and cost.
SDLC consists of a detailed plan which explains how to plan,
build, and maintain specific software. Every phase of the
SDLC life Cycle has its own process and deliverables that
feed into the next phase. SDLC stands for Software
Development Life Cycle and is also referred to as the
Application Development life-cycle.
Why SDLC?
Here, are prime reasons why SDLC is important for
developing a software system.

 It offers a basis for project planning, scheduling, and

estimating
 Provides a framework for a standard set of activities and
deliverables
 It is a mechanism for project tracking and control
 Increases visibility of project planning to all involved
stakeholders of the development process
 Increased and enhance development speed
 Improved client relations
 Helps you to decrease project risk and project
management plan overhead

SDLC Phases
The entire SDLC process divided into the following SDLC
steps:

SDLC Phases

 Phase 1: Requirement collection and analysis

 Phase 2: Feasibility study
 Phase 3: Design
 Phase 4: Coding
 Phase 5: Testing
 Phase 6: Installation/Deployment
 Phase 7: Maintenance

Phase 1: Requirement collection and analysis

The requirement is the first stage in the SDLC process. It is
conducted by the senior team members with inputs from all
the stakeholders and domain experts in the industry. Planning
for the quality assurance requirements and recognization of
the risks involved is also done at this stage.

This stage gives a clearer picture of the scope of the entire

project and the anticipated issues, opportunities, and
directives which triggered the project.

Requirements Gathering stage need teams to get detailed and

precise requirements. This helps companies to finalize the
necessary timeline to finish the work of that system.

Phase 2: Design(Preliminary & Detailed Design)

In this third phase, the system and software design documents
are prepared as per the requirement specification document.
This helps define overall system architecture.

This design phase serves as input for the next phase of the
model.

There are two kinds of design documents developed in this

phase:

High-Level Design (HLD)

 Brief description and name of each module

 An outline about the functionality of every module
 Interface relationship and dependencies between
modules
 Database tables identified along with their key elements
 Complete architecture diagrams along with technology
details

Low-Level Design (LLD)

 Functional logic of the modules

 Database tables, which include type and size
 Complete detail of the interface
 Addresses all types of dependency issues
  Listing of error messages
 Complete input and outputs for every module

Phase 3: Coding(Build)
Once the system design phase is over, the next phase is
coding. In this phase, developers start build the entire system
by writing code using the chosen programming language. In
the coding phase, tasks are divided into units or modules and
assigned to the various developers. It is the longest phase of
the Software Development Life Cycle process.

In this phase, Developer needs to follow certain predefined

coding guidelines. They also need to use programming
tools like compiler, interpreters, debugger to generate and
implement the code.

Testing:
Once the software is complete, and it is deployed in the
testing environment. The testing team starts testing the
functionality of the entire system. This is done to verify that the
entire application works according to the customer
requirement.

During this phase, QA and testing team may find some

bugs/defects which they communicate to developers. The
development team fixes the bug and send back to QA for a re-
test. This process continues until the software is bug-free,
stable, and working according to the business needs of that
system.

Phase 3:
Installation/Deployment(Implementation)
Once the software testing phase is over and no bugs or errors
left in the system then the final deployment process starts.
Based on the feedback given by the project manager, the final
software is released and checked for deployment issues if
any.

Phase 4: Maintenance(Evaluation)
Once the system is deployed, and customers start using the
developed system, following 3 activities occur

 Bug fixing – bugs are reported because of some

scenarios which are not tested at all
 Upgrade – Upgrading the application to the newer
versions of the Software
 Enhancement – Adding some new features into the
existing software

The main focus of this SDLC phase is to ensure that needs

continue to be met and that the system continues to perform
as per the specification mentioned in the first phase.

DESIGN FRAMEWORKS:

Many organizations and startups adopt one or more UX design

frameworks to deliver successful projects. Design teams use these
frameworks to guide decision-making and solve problems.

What is a Design Framework?

A design framework is a set of tools, workflows, protocols, and processes
for design projects. Design frameworks provide teams with a systematic
approach to solving problems and delivering projects.

Design frameworks help with onboarding new hires or handing over

responsibilities. By following a familiar, structured process, new team
members know where they are in the design process and how to carry the
project to completion.
In large organizations, with multiple cross-functional teams working on the
same product, a design framework ensures teams communicate and
collaborate to maintain the highest quality and consistency in workflow and
delivery.

Design frameworks guide teams rather than force everyone into a specific
way of thinking and working. Instead of telling team members what to do,
the framework provides a systematic path to finding a solution.

Why do we Need Design Frameworks?

Some of the core benefits of design frameworks include:

 Teams deliver projects methodically and consistently

 UX designers, product teams, and engineers communicate and
collaborate throughout the product development process
 Fewer errors and design drift
 Reduce bottlenecks and maximize efficiency
 Provide teams with approved tools and techniques to solve design
and development challenges.

USER-CENTERED DESIGN:
What is User-Centered Design?
User-centred design (UCD) is a collection of processes which focus
on putting users at the center of product design and development.
You develop your digital product taking into account your user’s
requirements, objectives and feedback. A more formal definition is
the one provided by the Interaction Design Foundation:

User-centered design (UCD) is an iterative design

process in which designers and other stakeholders focus
on the users and their needs in each phase of the design
process. UCD calls for involving users throughout the
design process via a variety of research and design
techniques so as to create highly usable and accessible
products for them.
— Definition of user-centered design (UCD) by
the Interaction Design Foundation

User-centered design vs. Human-centered design: User-centered

design is very often used interchangeably with human-centered
design, but there is a difference in that it is a subset of it. Simply put,
all users are humans, but not all humans will be your users (you
wish!). Thus, user-centered design requires deeper analysis of users
– your target audience. It is not only about general characteristics of
a person; it is about particular habits and preferences of target users
to come up with right solutions for specific problems.

User-centered design takes into account age, gender, social status,

education and professional background, influential factors, product
usage expectations and demands and many other important things
that may vary for different segments. What is critical for some may be
irrelevant for others. User-centered design is about deep research on
users’ habits, from their interactions with the product to their vision of
how the product should look like and behave.

User-centered design and UX: User-centered design improves the

user experience. While it can be applied to almost any product, in this
article, we will focus on website or mobile app development. It helps
to understand users’ needs and preferences regarding features of a
product, task, goals, user flows, etc. At the end of the day, it has
become one of the most important user experience requirements –
that of being user-centered. It should be implemented throughout the
entire customer experience, no guessing, no personal opinion. What
matters is what your users say and do. Every “touchpoint” that the
customer has with the product should be analysed, well design and
developed.

User-centered design in the commercial world: Unfortunately,

there are still some companies that prioritise business goals over
those of their users, prompting them to first design a product and only
then search for people who would be interested in using it. User-
centered design advocates the exact opposite. Before developing
your idea, you need to find and speak with (representatives) of your
target users first. This is because even though you have cool
features, breathtaking technological capabilities and other awesome
things, if you do not know your target, you have a big problem.
Suffice to say that you will find yourself in a situation where, post-
launch, you will need to spend a lot of money on redesigning your
features or maybe you end up in a situation where you do not have
enough interest in your idea to break even. You need to think about
the end user right from the beginning.

In other words, user-centered design is about designing and

developing a product from the perspective of how it will be
understood and used by your user rather than making users adapt
their behaviours to use a product. The idea is to offer a product which
would support its users’ existing beliefs, values, attitudes, and habits.

As you may guess, the result of employing user-centered design to

your process is a product that offers a more efficient, satisfying, and
user-friendly experience for the user, which leads to increased sales
and customer loyalty.

PARTICIPATORY DESIGN:-

Participatory design (originally co-operative design, now often

co-design) is an approach to design attempting to actively
involve all stakeholders (e.g. employees, partners, customers,
citizens, end users) in the design process to help ensure the
result meets their needs and is usable.
What is Participatory Design?
Participatory design is a collaborative design approach that involves end-
users in the design process. Its aim is to create products and services that
better meet the needs and expectations of users by applying their knowledge
and experiences.

Participatory design is also known as cooperative design, co-design or

community design. Various fields use it, including architecture, urban
planning, UX and product design.

The Principles of Participatory Design

Participatory design is built on the principles of collaboration, co-creation,

and empowerment. Users contribute to the design process, which allows
them to provide feedback, suggest ideas, and participate in decision-making.
The goal is to create products and services that accommodate users’ needs
and help them achieve their objectives.

Key Aspects of Participatory Design

This method arose from a need to diversify educational backgrounds and life
experiences for designs used by a broad range of people. Tech industries
have traditionally struggled over déformation professionnelle, or
professional bias, and participatory design is a solution. However, designers
need to adhere to these principles to make truly participatory designs:

Inclusion: Include a diverse range of participants who will be affected by or

interact with the product, system or problem that needs to be solved. This
includes end-users, designers, developers, domain experts, and other
stakeholders.

Collaboration: Involve collaborative activities where participants can

contribute their knowledge, insights, and ideas. This collaboration can take
various forms, such as workshops, interviews, brainstorming sessions, and
co-design exercises.

Empowerment: Empower users and stakeholders to actively influence

design decisions. Their input and feedback are valued and incorporated into
the design process, giving them as much ownership and control as designers.

Iteration: Iterate; the design process is iterative, with continuous feedback

and refinement. Participants should help evaluate prototypes, provide
feedback, and suggest improvements. This iterative approach helps ensure
that the final design meets user needs effectively.

Contextual understanding: Listen to the participants to understand the

context in which the final product or system will be used. Learn the cultural,
social, and environmental factors to create solutions tailored to their specific
context.

User advocacy: Allow users to advocate for themselves throughout the

design process. Address power imbalances and ensure design decisions
prioritize users' interests and goals. The goal is to create an equal and safe
space for collaboration and co-design.

AGILE INTERACTION DESIGN:

Interaction design is a separate process in the agile

development where the design created is intended to cover
the majority of the sprints to come. Interaction design activities
include identification of user needs and goals, specific design
activities, behavioral design, and interface design.

Agile UX is a working method that brings together Agile

software development and UX practice.
In practical terms, this means placing at least one UX
specialist in Agile software teams and creating a
culture that recognizes and understands the value of
the UX process.
It also means allocating resources—both budgetary and
hourly—to make sure that the UX process is fully
integrated into the development cycle.
But before we dive deeper into the core principles of
Agile UX, it’s necessary to briefly touch on what Agile
software development itself is.

What is Agile software

development?
In our UX Design Glossary we use this definition:
“Agile is an incremental approach to software
development. Instead of building the entire product at
once, Agile breaks it down into smaller bits of user
functionality and assigns them to two-week cycles we
call iterations.
These iterations are generally called Sprints and they
run continuously. Often, Sprints follow a Design-Build-
Test-Review process:
Source: Thandi Guilherme
Although Agile originated in engineering (surprisingly,
not software engineering), it has now all but taken over
the software development space. The Manifesto for
Agile Software Development (2001) laid out the core
principles of Agile—it’s well worth a read.
Fast-forward 21 years and the vast majority of software
development teams globally use Agile. However, their
differing interpretations of Agile’s theoretical side mean
extremely diverse outcomes.
And, because Agile’s origins are in engineering, UX was
not considered when it was created. But after Agile
was adopted by the software industry, industry leaders
gradually began to see the necessity of integrating UX
into their Agile software development.
Ok, so now let’s take a look at the principles that this
marriage of UX and Agile software development is built
on.
The core principles of
Agile UX
Going back to the Manifesto for Agile Software
Development, four value principles of Agile were laid
out.
These value principles are:
 Individuals and interactions over processes and
tools. Agile emphasizes the importance of
individuals and interactions over processes and
tools as only the former can respond to business
needs to drive the development process in the
flexible way Agile demands.
 Working software over comprehensive
documentation. Comprehensive documentation—
although it can be both necessary and a huge
value add—is time-consuming and costly to create
and maintain, and it can often become a
bottleneck to working software in rapid cycles.
 Customer collaboration over contract
negotiation. This principle was included to make
sure that the voice of the customer is present
throughout a dynamic development cycle. Agile
favors this approach over the more traditional
model of a PM (product/project manager) and
customer negotiating hard and fast product
requirements at the start of the contract, which
can lead to tunnel vision in the development cycle.
  Responding to change over following a plan. Agile
means working in sprints, and this is largely
because their short cycles allow flexibility and
openness to change. Not only this—depending on
the team and company culture—they often actively
embrace change as a way of adding value to a
project.
On top of these, the original authors also created 12
principles of Agile. For the sake of space, we won’t
include them verbatim here (to read them in full, head
to the Principles behind the Agile Manifesto). However,
the 12 themes on which they were based were:
1. Customer satisfaction
2. Harnessing change
3. Faster development timelines
4. Collaboration
5. Building projects around motivated individuals
6. Face-to-face communication
7. Working software as the key benchmark for
success
8. Sustainable development
9. Technical excellence
10. Simplicity
11. Self-organizing teams
12. Self-reflecting teams
Needless to say, as well as Agile, these values and
principles all apply to Agile UX too.
What do Agile UX teams
look like?
At this stage, you might be wondering what UX brings
to Agile and vice versa. If all the Agile principles can be
applied to Agile UX, what is the difference between the
two? And what do Agile UX teams actually look like in
comparison to standard agile teams?
Well, having UX specialists on the team who both
represent and advocate for UX principles can lead to
very different practices and outcomes.

DESIGN METHODS:

Design methods are procedures, techniques, aids, or tools for

designing. They offer a number of different kinds of activities
that a designer might use within an overall design process.

The Design Method is a framework you can

implement in every design project to achieve
appropriate results. This blueprint helps you gain
understanding, craft a plan, develop ideas, and
ultimately produce and apply them.

Presenting The Design Method

The Design Method is a philosophy and
approach that lends clarity to and facilitates
your work. It helps you understand the situation
and problem, and then allows you to determine
what the design solution needs to do. The
method walks you through an increasingly
detailed series of stages. This top-down
approach prevents fumbling around with styles,
instead enabling you to shape your choices
around what your design and client actually
need.

Ideation is at the heart of the Design Thinking process. There are

literally hundreds of ideation techniques, for
example brainstorming, sketching, SCAMPER, and prototyping.
Some techniques are merely renamed or slightly adapted versions of
more foundational techniques. Here you’ll get an overview of the best
techniques as well as when and why to use them.

“Ideation is the mode of the design process in which you

concentrate on idea generation. Mentally it represents a
process of “going wide” in terms of concepts and outcomes.
Ideation provides both the fuel and also the source material for
building prototypes and getting innovative solutions into the
hands of your users.”
– d.school, An Introduction to Design Thinking PROCESS
GUIDE

How to Ideate
You ideate by combining your conscious and unconscious mind. You
combine your rational thoughts with your imagination. The following
techniques are the most essential techniques, which can help you and
your team ideate:

The Most Essential Ideation Techniques: Which

Ideation Techniques Should You Choose?
Due to the nature of ideation, it is extremely important to make use of
techniques that match the type of ideas you're trying to generate. The
techniques you choose will also need to match the needs of the
ideation team, their states of creative productivity and their
experience in ideation sessions.Here is an overview of the most
essential ideation techniques:

Brainstorm
During a Brainstorm session, you leverage the synergy of the group to
reach new ideas by building on others’ ideas. Ideas are blended to
create one good idea as indicated by the slogan “1+1=3”. Participants
should be able to discuss their ideas freely without fear of criticism.
You should create an environment where all participants embrace
wild ideas and misunderstanding, and which will allow you to reach
further than you could by simply thinking logically about a problem.

Braindump
Braindump is very similar to Brainstorm, however it’s done
individually. The participants write down their ideas on post-it notes
and share their ideas later with the group.

Brainwrite
Brainwriting is also very similar to a Brainstorm session. However,
the participants write down their ideas on paper and, after a few
minutes, they pass on their own piece of paper to another participant
who’ll then elaborate on the first person’s ideas and so forth.

Brainwalk
Brainwalk is similar to Brainwriting. However, instead of passing
around the paper, the participants walk around in the room and
continuously find new “ideation stations” where they can elaborate
on other participants’ ideas.

INTERVIEWS,FOCUS GROUPS AND SURVEYS:

Interviews, focus groups, and surveys are all qualitative data
collection methods used to gather information from subjects
by asking them questions.

SURVEY
A survey is a set of questions that are given to a specific group of participants.
Surveys may be done using paper, through digital means if it is not possible to meet
the respondents, face-to-face, or carried out over the phone.

FEATURES OF A SURVEY
RANDOM SELECTION OF RESPONDENTS
For quantitative analysis to take place, the participants must be randomly selected.
Randomization prevents bias in the selection of the respondents.

ADHERES TO PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Participants of the survey usually submit anonymous answers. This ensures the safety
of the information that they provide which may be highly confidential or matters that
are sensitive.

One of the biggest pros of administering a survey is that participants feel compelled to
be honest, as they are anonymous and not directly corresponding with a real human.

INTERVIEW
An interview is a personalized version of a survey. In an interview, the interviewer
will sit down with the interviewee and ask him or her a specific set of questions about
the product or concept at hand.

QUALITY VS. QUANTITY

The essential factor to consider with an interview is that the results are much more
quality-driven than quantity-driven. Though you won’t get as much information from
a wide range of individuals, you’ll get comprehensive, in-depth information from one
participant.

Of course, you can hold multiple interview sessions, but this will end up costing you a
significant amount of money.

VARIOUS MODES OF IMPLEMENTATION

Like the survey, interviews can also be done over the telephone, leading to increased
mobility and, therefore, lower cost. However, unlike the surveys, you interview a pre-
determined group of individuals representing a particular sector of society.
FOCUS GROUP
MODERATOR OR FACILITATOR AND RECORDER AS
KEY ELEMENTS
A focus group discussion (FGD) is a session that takes place with multiple
participants but not a large group. The ideal number ranges from six to eight people.

A moderator facilitates the process, aided by the recorder who tracks the progress of
the discussion and occasionally asks questions to verify vague points raised by the
participants for recording purposes. The moderator asks a set of questions, and
whoever feels compelled to speak will do so.

QUALITY VS. QUANTITY

The essential factor to consider with an interview is that the results are much more
quality-driven than quantity-driven. Though you won’t get as much information from
a wide range of individuals, you’ll get comprehensive, in-depth information from one
participant.

Of course, you can hold multiple interview sessions, but this will end up costing you a
significant amount of money.

VARIOUS MODES OF IMPLEMENTATION

Like the survey, interviews can also be done over the telephone, leading to increased
mobility and, therefore, lower cost. However, unlike the surveys, you interview a pre-
determined group of individuals representing a particular sector of society.

FOCUS GROUP
MODERATOR OR FACILITATOR AND RECORDER AS
KEY ELEMENTS
A focus group discussion (FGD) is a session that takes place with multiple
participants but not a large group. The ideal number ranges from six to eight people.

A moderator facilitates the process, aided by the recorder who tracks the progress of
the discussion and occasionally asks questions to verify vague points raised by the
participants for recording purposes. The moderator asks a set of questions, and
whoever feels compelled to speak will do so.

ETHNOGRAPHIC OBSERVATION:

Ethnographic research involves the gathering information about users and tasks directly
from users in their normal work, home or leisure environment. Although traditional
ethnography focuses on long-term studies spanning weeks, months, or even years,
 information may be collected quickly through participant observation, interviews, audio or
video recording, observer logs, artifact collection, diaries and photographs.

"User" is the primary element in User-Centered Design. Knowing how

your users interact in the normal environment is crucial to understanding
how they will interact with yours.
Ethnographic research employs three kinds of data collection:

 interviews,
 observation,
 and documents.

These are interpreted to produce three kinds of data:

 quotations,
 descriptions,
 and excerpts of documents

The final output of the ethnographic research is a narrative description..

SCENARIO AND STORYBOARDING:

A Scenario is a description of a possible, imagined, and projected sequence

of events. A Storyboard is an illustrative representation of how the scenario
unfolds. Scenarios are self-created, workable, and flexible scenes created to
motivate "what if the user?" thoughts and storyboards are a visual
representation of how the users will interact with the design solution.

Scenarios and storyboards are techniques that help to connect dots from the
idea, to identify how will the idea work in the real world. They create a bridge
to explain the user experience in a real situation through text and visual
representations.

Importance of writing scenarios and creating storyboards

1. They ensure that the idea is executable.

2. Help to predict and synthesize user behavior.
3. They describe the real circumstances in which the end product is
likely to be used.
4. It's easy to spot early errors.
5. The visual representation facilitates a better presentation of the idea.
6. Helps to bridge the gap between creative thinking and business
thinking
7. Both are team-based activities, hence encourage equal participation
and contribution from designers and non-designers.
8. While looking into a tangible verbal and visual portrayal of the design
solution, it's difficult to get attached to the idea.
Prototype Design Pattern
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Prototyping - Design Tools, Practices, and Patterns – Design Tools

Prototype allows us to hide the complexity of making new instances from the
client. The concept is to copy an existing object rather than creating a new
instance from scratch, something that may include costly operations. The existing
object acts as a prototype and contains the state of the object. The newly copied
object may change same properties only if required. This approach saves costly
resources and time, especially when object creation is a heavy process.
The prototype pattern is a creational design pattern. Prototype patterns are
required, when object creation is time consuming, and costly operation, so we
create objects with the existing object itself. One of the best available ways to
create an object from existing objects is the clone() method. Clone is the simplest
approach to implement a prototype pattern. However, it is your call to decide how
to copy existing object based on your business model.

Prototype Design Participants

1) Prototype : This is the prototype of an actual object.
2) Prototype registry : This is used as a registry service to have all prototypes
accessible using simple string parameters.
3) Client : Client will be responsible for using registry service to access
prototype instances.
When to use the Prototype Design Pattern
When a system should be independent of how its products are created,
composed, and represented and
When the classes to instantiate are specified at run-time.
For example,
1) By dynamic loading or To avoid building a class hierarchy of factories
that parallels the class hierarchy of products or
2) When instances of a class can have one of only a few different
combinations of state. It may be more convenient to install a
corresponding number of prototypes and clone them rather than
instantiating the class manually, each time with the appropriate state.
Advantages of Prototype Design Pattern
  Adding and removing products at run-time – Prototypes let you
incorporate a new concrete product class into a system simply by
registering a prototypical instance with the client. That’s a bit more
flexible than other creational patterns, because a client can install and
remove prototypes at run-time.

 Specifying new objects by varying values – Highly dynamic

systems let you define new behavior through object composition by
specifying values for an object’s variables and not by defining new
classes.

 Specifying new objects by varying structure – Many applications

build objects from parts and subparts. For convenience, such
applications often let you instantiate complex, user-defined structures
to use a specific subcircuit again and again.

 Reduced subclassing – Factory Method often produces a hierarchy

of Creator classes that parallels the product class hierarchy. The
Prototype pattern lets you clone a prototype instead of asking a
factory method to make a new object. Hence you don’t need a Creator
class hierarchy at all.

Disadvantages of Prototype Design Pattern

 Overkill for a project that uses very few objects and/or does not have
an underlying emphasis on the extension of prototype chains.

 It also hides concrete product classes from the client

 Each subclass of Prototype must implement the clone() operation
which may be difficult, when the classes under consideration already
exist. Also implementing clone() can be difficult when their internals
include objects that don’t support copying or have circular references.

DESIGN TOOLS:

Best Designing Tools

Designing tools are general-purpose programs that allow UX designers to create
and edit assets for use in designs. Many of these tools are used both in UX design
and web design as a whole.
Figma is a cloud-based design tool that is similar to Sketch in functionality and
features, but with big differences that make Figma better for team collaboration

Figma works on any operating system that runs a web browser. Macs, Windows PCs,
Linux machines, and even Chromebooks can be used with Figma. It is the only design
tool of its type that does this, and in shops that use hardware running different
operating systems, everyone can still share, open, and edit Figma files.

Sketch

Sketch is a design tool that’s exclusively offered on macOS. It’s a vector-based

design app that’s primarily used for UI and UX design for websites and mobile
applications. This collaborative tool makes it easy for designers to hand off
designs between team members and developers alike and is used widely across
web design, marketing, and development.

Sketch is also quite powerful; users have access to a wide variety of plugins and
assets to change the app’s functionality. What’s more, Sketch is user-friendly and
easy to pick up, making it an excellent option for early-stage UX/UI designers.

Sketch costs $99/year, or $9/month. This price is lower than comparable options
from Adobe, making it easy for an individual to access the service.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most-used tools across many graphic design-
focused disciplines and is available on Mac, Windows, and iPad. It’s one of the
best image manipulation tools on the market due to its status within the graphic
design and photography industry.
Photoshop is a potent image editing tool with a lot of depth. You can accomplish a
lot with it, but the trade-off is a steeper learning curve. Thankfully, there are plenty
of resources available for anyone wanting to learn how to use
Photoshop. Tutorials are available through Adobe’s website and in the
application itself, however, it’s not the most beginner-friendly tool on the market.
That said, putting in the time and effort can be worthwhile for anyone wanting to
enter a design-focused discipline.

Adobe offers Photoshop as part of its Creative Cloud software subscription

package, and there are a few subscription options available on Adobe’s
website. Adobe provides the complete Creative Cloud software package that
includes all of its applications for $52.99/month, access to Photoshop by itself for
$20.99/month, or a photography package that includes Photoshop and Lightroom
for $9.99/month. Discounts are available for learners and teachers.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics and design program that’s a part of the
Adobe Creative Suite available for macOS and Windows.

Illustrator is a powerful tool for creating web graphics, icons, and UI elements, and
is a broadly used design tool across the design industry. You can use it to create
vector graphics that can be resized with no loss of quality, making it an excellent
tool for creating logos for use across websites, applications, and print pieces.
While you can accomplish a lot using Illustrator, it can be more challenging to pick
up and might not be the best choice for absolute beginners. However, mastering
the application can be a major step in a designer’s skill set.

Adobe Illustrator is part of the broader Creative Cloud software suite. Individuals
can purchase a subscription for $52.99/month for all