Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Tom Jepson

There is a constant stream of articles focussing on the efficiencies of design tooling, why X software is better than Y software (Sketch, Photoshop; I am looking in your general direction), and ’10 steps to making a better [thing]’. In contrast to the focus on software and its merits, I wanted to explore what I consider one of my ‘tools of the trade’ and how to make it as sharp as can be to aid creating the best possible work.

UX Tools.

For me as a UX designer, the most fascinating and valuable parts of any project are the processes and activities that fall at the beginning; the discovery phases where we find out what we’re making, for whom, and — most importantly — why we’re making it. We can look at our visual tooling time and time again to optimise our processes within that environment however, without a solid concept to work from, we’re merely optimising how we paint a pretty picture.

Improve your end-game by doing better work up-front: better ideas mean better output.

There are a handful of fantastic activities that I have used over the years to help dig deep and discover the who, what, and why of a design. Before you begin, however, we have to gather some information and insight. It may sound obvious, but to do your research and ask open questions of your users, SMEs, and key stakeholders is infinitely more beneficial than running with assumptions and conjecture.

When I’m tasked with kicking off a new piece of design work at any scale (from a new feature on a single screen through to a brand new product journey) I aim to start by gathering — at a bare minimum — the following piece of information:

Who are we making this for? Who is the intended audience for the product or service we’re designing? It could be an individual you have in mind or a really broad group; make sure an abstract of this user is documented as a persona once you’ve whittled down a solid answer.

What problem do they have? The most critical piece of information; what are the pain-points and challenges our audience has that need to be solved?

What are we making? Without jumping too far into solutions at this stage, it’s good to solidify the core concept of your idea. Specifics of features and functions can come later.

How does it solve the user’s problem? How can our idea benefit the user, break down their pain points, and improve their current state?

Where does it fit into the user’s journey? This is a very broad question to ask but can help identify if what you’re making is a brand new ecosystem that users will need to adopt or an ‘add on’ to an existing flow or behavioural pattern.

How is it better than an alternative solution? If you’re looking at making something that is competing for market share or have maybe had other ideas on how to solve a similar problem, how is this particular thing better than that something else?

These questions alone will help you add context to your thinking and give you the frame into which you can pour your efforts. From here, you can start to use the insight you’ve gathered to do even more research and really explore your audience and their needs. Or, if you’re working lean, unpick a user journey for your new product, service, or feature and start to lay out the features and functions.

Story Mapping to Frame the Questions

If asking probing questions directly isn’t something you’re comfortable with, don’t panic. A method I have recently started to use to help frame these questions into a single, manageable flow is the ‘concept story map’.

A ‘lean’ story map canvas

Story mapping is a great way to unearth the valuable information you need to successfully kick off your design process and add some narrative to the thing you are looking to design. The map gives you a journey to follow — great if you’re not one for conversation — and milestones at which you can ask your important questions.

It doesn’t have to be a complex process — a collaborative session with your SMEs and stakeholders over a cup of coffee; remember your PostIts and sharpies! — just as long as you’re thorough in asking those key questions to help you work up great ideas and, in turn, deliver a fantastic, fit for purpose end product.

There are loads of fantastic articles available about the process and impact of story mapping; I’ve included a couple below to start you off. Thanks to Helen Clark, too, for introducing me to story mapping and its place in my design process — gratitude all round!

The Process of Design: Asking Questions was originally published in prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Process of Design: Asking Questions

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