The Ultimate UX Design Process | Step by Step Guide From Research to Prototype & Beyond
Summary
TLDRThis video script outlines the Ultimate UX Design Process, a nine-step journey from concept to launch, with an emphasis on iterative improvement. It begins with an idea, moves through research, definition, ideation, prototyping, testing, and building, to finally launch and post-launch analysis. Each step is crucial, with research being the most extensive and iteration the heart of the design process. The script also hints at bonus content on tools and methods, encouraging viewer engagement.
Takeaways
- 🚀 The Ultimate UX Design Process is a nine-step journey from an initial idea to the launch of a product or feature.
- 🔍 Research is the most critical and time-consuming step, involving both primary and secondary research methods to understand user behavior.
- 🤔 The problem identification step is crucial for formulating hypotheses about the causes of user issues, such as drop-offs in a sign-up process.
- 📋 A well-crafted problem statement should be clear, concise, and understandable to all stakeholders, including the impact on users and business.
- 💡 Ideation involves generating numerous solutions through divergent thinking and then narrowing down to the best options through convergent thinking.
- 🎨 Prototyping is about creating a basic model of the solution to test its effectiveness and gather early user feedback.
- 📊 Usability testing is a key method for validating prototypes with real users, ensuring the solution addresses the identified problem.
- 🔁 The iterative nature of the design process allows for repeated refinement of the solution based on user feedback and testing outcomes.
- 🛠️ The development phase requires close collaboration between designers and developers to ensure the final product is both visually appealing and user-friendly.
- 🎉 Post-launch, it's essential to monitor how the larger audience interacts with the solution and gather metrics to guide further improvements.
Q & A
What is the primary focus of the video on UX Design Process?
-The video focuses on explaining the Ultimate UX Design Process, which is a nine-step process starting from an idea to the launch of the idea, including a bonus step that is critical for the success of the entire process.
Why is the bonus step after step #6 considered critical in the UX Design Process?
-The bonus step is critical because it embodies the iterative nature of the design process, allowing for continuous improvement of the product or service by going back and forth between steps or repeating the process as needed.
How does the video define an idea in the context of UX Design?
-In the context of UX Design, an idea can be both a problem that needs a solution or a solution itself. It can originate from anyone within an organization and serves as the fuel to start the design process.
What are the two main categories of research mentioned in the video, and how do they differ?
-The two main categories of research are Primary Research and Secondary Research. Primary Research involves conducting original research, while Secondary Research utilizes research done by others, such as reports from research companies.
What is the purpose of the 'Define' step in the UX Design Process?
-The 'Define' step is to articulate the problem in a format that all stakeholders can understand. It involves writing a problem statement in simple language, without technical jargon, and including the impact of the problem on both the user and the business.
How does the video suggest formulating a hypothesis during the research phase?
-The video suggests creating multiple hypotheses about what might be causing the problem identified in the previous step. This is done to explore various potential reasons before validating them through research.
What is the role of usability testing in the UX Design Process as described in the video?
-Usability testing plays a crucial role in both identifying the problem and validating the proposed solutions. It involves presenting prototypes to users and observing their interactions to gather quantitative and qualitative data.
What is the significance of the 'Prototype' step in the UX Design Process?
-The 'Prototype' step is significant as it involves creating an early, working model of the proposed solution to test its effectiveness without investing extensive time and resources. It helps in getting early user feedback for further iterations.
How does the video describe the transition from the 'Prototype' step to the 'Testing' step?
-The video describes the transition by emphasizing that once a prototype is created, it should be tested with actual users to validate if it solves their problems. This involves following a research process similar to the one used for identifying the problem, but focusing on validating the solution.
What are the two primary tasks of designers during the 'Build' step in the UX Design Process?
-During the 'Build' step, designers have two primary tasks: 1) to provide a walkthrough of the experience to the development team and answer any queries, and 2) to validate the output created by the development team to ensure it matches the design.
Why is the 'Post-launch' step important in the UX Design Process?
-The 'Post-launch' step is important to evaluate how the larger audience perceives the solution and to gather insights for further improvements. It involves tracking key metrics such as user adoption, satisfaction, and support inquiries.
Outlines
🚀 Introduction to the Ultimate UX Design Process
The speaker introduces the topic of UX Design Process, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive guide that explains the process from conception to delivery. They highlight the lack of such resources on platforms like YouTube and express their motivation for creating this video. The video promises to cover the entire process, including a critical bonus step that is essential for the success of the design process. The speaker also mentions the importance of understanding the UX Design Process for interviews, suggesting that many aspirants and experienced designers struggle with this topic. The process begins with an idea, which is compared to the fuel that starts a car's engine, and can originate from various sources within an organization. An example of a problem acting as an idea is given, drawing a parallel to the Wright Brothers' challenge of human flight, which led to the invention of the airplane. The example of user drop-off during the sign-up process is introduced as a running case study for the steps to follow.
🔍 Deep Dive into Research in UX Design
The speaker delves into the research phase of the UX Design Process, which is divided into primary and secondary research, with further subdivisions into qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research aims to understand the 'why' behind user behavior, utilizing methods like user interviews and usability testing, while quantitative research seeks to quantify behaviors through web analytics and surveys. A practical example is provided, where the research aims to uncover the root cause of the sign-up drop-off. The research process is outlined in seven steps, beginning with identifying the problem and formulating hypotheses about potential causes. The speaker then describes the creation of a research plan, including selecting research methods, recruiting participants, and estimating costs. The execution of the research plan involves conducting technical debugging sessions and usability testing to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The stage concludes with data analysis and interpretation, leading to a conclusion about the cause of the sign-up issue, exemplified by a strict password policy that complicates the user experience.
📝 Defining the Problem Statement in UX Design
Following the research phase, the speaker discusses the importance of defining the problem statement in a clear and understandable manner for all stakeholders. The goal is to articulate the problem in simple language, avoiding technical jargon, and to include the impact of the problem on both the user and the business. The 5W method (who, what, when, where, why) is introduced as a tool for drafting a comprehensive problem statement. The speaker provides an example of how to answer these questions to define the problem of password creation difficulties during sign-up. Additional tools such as Personas, Empathy Mapping, and User Journey Mapping are mentioned as part of the problem definition process. The speaker invites viewers to request a video on these tools if interested.
🤔 Ideation and Solution Generation in UX Design
The speaker moves on to the ideation phase, where the focus shifts to finding solutions to the defined problem. The process is divided into divergent thinking, aimed at generating as many ideas as possible, and convergent thinking, which narrows down the solutions to the most viable options. Methods such as brainstorming, Crazy 8's, and dot voting are discussed as part of the ideation process. The speaker uses the example of the sign-up issue to generate potential solutions, including allowing weaker passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and using social media for sign-up. The chosen solutions are then prepared for prototyping.
🛠️ Prototyping and Testing in the UX Design Process
The speaker explains the role of prototyping in the UX Design Process, emphasizing that prototypes are early models used to test concepts without investing excessive time and resources. The importance of creating a balanced prototype that is detailed enough for users to understand the proposed solution is highlighted. The speaker discusses common prototyping methods like wire-framing and paper prototyping. The example of creating wire-frame versions of the chosen solutions for the sign-up issue is provided. The speaker then transitions into the testing phase, where the prototypes are validated with actual users through methods like usability testing. The iterative nature of the design process is introduced, explaining that the process may require returning to previous steps based on test outcomes. The speaker concludes by discussing the importance of collaboration between designers and developers during the build phase, ensuring that the final product is both visually appealing and functional.
🌟 Launch and Post-Launch Activities in UX Design
The speaker describes the launch phase, where the validated solution is transformed into an actual product or feature by the development team. The designer's role during this phase includes providing walkthroughs to the development team and validating the final output to ensure it matches the design. The importance of communication and collaboration between the design and development teams is emphasized. The speaker also discusses the post-launch phase, where the solution is monitored for its effectiveness with a larger audience. Metrics such as user adoption, satisfaction, and support inquiries are tracked to measure the success of the solution. The speaker stresses the importance of being flexible and willing to adapt based on post-launch feedback, potentially reevaluating the problem and solution if necessary. The video concludes with an invitation for viewers to learn more about UX Design through the speaker's channel and to subscribe for updates.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡UX Design Process
💡Idea
💡Research
💡Prototype
💡Iteration
💡Usability Testing
💡Problem Statement
💡Personas
💡Empathy Mapping
💡User Journey Mapping
💡Design Thinking
Highlights
Introduction to the Ultimate UX Design Process, a nine-step journey from idea to launch.
Emphasis on the critical nature of the bonus step in the design process for success.
The necessity of a clear understanding of the UX Design Process for interviews and professional growth.
The foundational role of ideas in initiating the UX Design Process, likened to fuel for a car.
The importance of recognizing both problems and solutions as potential starting points for ideas.
Practical example of user drop-off during the sign-up process to illustrate the UX Design Process.
Explanation of the two categories of research: Primary and Secondary, with further division into Qualitative and Quantitative.
A seven-step research process to identify and validate hypotheses about user behavior.
The significance of data analysis and interpretation in drawing conclusions about user issues.
The importance of articulating the problem in a way that resonates with stakeholders.
The ideation phase where divergent thinking leads to a multitude of potential solutions.
Convergent thinking and dot voting as methods to select the most promising solutions.
The creation of prototypes as early models to test the effectiveness of proposed solutions.
Usability testing as a method to validate prototypes with real users and iterate designs.
The iterative nature of the design process, allowing for refinement and improvement of solutions.
The transition from design to development, requiring collaboration and communication between teams.
The role of designers in supporting marketing efforts and ensuring a successful product launch.
The importance of post-launch analysis to measure the success and adoption of the solution among the broader audience.
Encouragement for designers to be persistent and creative in solving complex user problems.
Transcripts
Today I am going to talk about UX Design Process,
step by step with practical example which will help you understand the process better.
If you search for UX Design Process on YouTube you will get 100s of different
video but none of these videos explain the end to end process and that's where I saw an
opportunity to create this video which will explain the process from the initial idea to
the actual delivery of the idea and therefore I call this the Ultimate UX Design Process.
It is a nine step process which starts with an idea and end with the launch of the idea.
Actually there is one Bonus step here after step # 6, this bonus step is the most critical one,
without this step the entire process will fail and also looses the characteristics
of a design process. so stay tune to know more about this bonus step.
UX Design Process is one of the crucial topic of discussion in any UX Design Interview for Aspirant
as well as for experience designers. I have seen many aspirants even experience designers
struggle to answer this question properly. So in this video I have covered everything you need
to know about UX Design Process so that you can answer questions confidently in your interviews.
Okay, enough selling the importance of UX Design Process. Let's jump into the process.
Step 1: Idea
The process start with an idea. Think this process as a car and the ideas as the fuel, without the
fuel the car cannot start, right and likewise without the ideas the process cannot start.
An idea can come from anyone from the CEO,
the Product Manager or the Customer Support team or from any department.
Now, please focus here whenever we talk about Ideas we always think
about the solution but an idea can also be the problem without any solution yet.
Example, Wright Brother who invented the airplanes did not knew the solution, what they knew was the
problem "How human can fly" and that became the idea which invented the airplanes, the solution.
Let me give you an example in terms of UX or Product, the analytical data shows that
the users are dropping at a certain stage while signing up for the service. Now this
a problem which needs a solution. This can act as an idea to initiate the UX Design Process.
Please remember this example, drop in signup process because I am going to
use this as an example for every steps going forward.
Step 2: Research
Now that we have found the problem or the solution in the form of idea in step 1, we need to start
digging deeper into it and the process of digging deeper is called Research or also known as User
Research. This is also the lengthiest step of this video but it is the most important one.
Research is broadly divided into 2 categories
1. Primary Research: Where we conduct the research
2. Secondary Research: Where we utilised the research done by other researchers. Example
of this is buying research reports from Research Company such as Gartner, Forrester etc.
These are further divided into 2 sub categories
Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research.
1. We conduct Qualitative Research when we wanted to understand the "why" behind the user behaviour
such as why did the user click on option A vs Option B. Some of the methods we use for
qualitative research are user interviews, focus groups, card sorting, and usability testing.
2. We conduct Quantitative Research when we want to quantify the user behaviours
such as what percentage of user click on option A vs option B, some of the methods
we use for quantitative research are web analytics (or app analytics) and surveys.
Ok, that's it for theory part, let do some practical now, remember the example,
there was a drop in signup and currently we don't have any information about it and Research
will help find the root cause of it.
Let's understand how to practically do a Research taking the case of our example.
Researchers follows a 7 step process to come to a conclusion.
Step 1: Identification of Problem: The first step is to identify the problem,
in our example it is the drop in signup journey.
Step 2: Formulation of Hypothesis: Here the researcher formulates the
hypothesis as to what might be the reason that causes the problem.
For our example the hypothesis can be 1. There might be some technical
bugs 2. The users are not able to understand the copy 3. The journey
is broken 4. The forms are not intuitive 5. There might be Information Overload.
The idea here is to create as many hypothesis as possible. Let's move to the next step,
Step 3: Formulation of Research Plan: Once you have listed down all the hypothesis,
the next task is to create a plan to validate the hypothesis created in the earlier step.
Here the researcher creates a detail plan which includes what research method to use;
how to identify and recruit research participants,
date and time of the research, what will be the overall estimated cost of the research, etc.
For our example, here is how I will make the plan. There were 5 hypothesis we have
identified in our previous step and the methods required to validate Hypothesis 1
is technical debugging session, Hypothesis 2 to 5 will require Usability Testing.
Just to reiterate we are try to find the root cause of the problem here,
we are not finding solutions at this stage.
Alright, so once the methods are decided we will need to plan to
recruit the participants and accordingly send the invites for the usability testing.
Step 4: Conduct the Research: In this stage we execute the plan
made in step 3, i.e., we conduct the research.
For our example we will initiate the technical debugging session as well as conduct the usability
testing with our participants and we will capture both quantitative data such as success rate,
error rate, completion time as well as qualitative data such as satisfaction metrics.
Step 5: Data Analysis and Interpretation: In this stage
we analyse and interpret the data collected while conducting the research in step # 4.
For our example, we conducted the debugging session and usability testing in step # 4.
The data we collected will be analysed in this step, all the data point such as what % of users
are able to complete the signup process, what was the error rate and why those error happned,
how much time it took to complete the process and what was the satisfaction rate.
Step 6: Drawing Conclusion: Once we have the data and the analysis,
we draw a conclusion as what is the reason for the drop as per the research.
For our example let's assume that the error rate was high in password field,
where the user enter their password to create the account
When the researcher asked the users why did they drop, they said it is too complicated
to create a password and therefore they were dropping. When the researcher dig deeper they
found that the product has a strict password policy where it is mandatory to have 12-digit
alpha numeric character, one capital, one small letter text, no sequential numbers as
well as alphabets are allowed and that’s was too much criteria for the users to fulfil.
Step 7: Reporting: The last step of the process
is to prepare a report of the findings. This is a crucial step because you will
have to present the pain points the users are going through to all the stakeholders.
Alright, so with that we have completed the most lengthiest yet the most important
step of the Process i.e., the Research, again this is the tip of the ice-berg on Research,
just the overview because User Research can be a course by itself, it is that vast. If you want
a complete video on User Research please say "Yes User Research" in the comments.
Let's move forward and get back to our UX Design process,
We just completed step #2 and our next step is.
Step 3: Define
With the solid research in Step 2 and an in-depth understanding of the problem,
step 3 is to articulate the problem in a format that every stakeholder can
understand. The goal here is to write the problem statement in a simple and
plain language without any technical jargons so that every stakeholders
not just understand the problem but should be able feel the pain point of the users.
One pro tip here, while writing a problem statement make sure to add the impact of
the problem in our user's life as well as the impact in the business.
For example "During signup, our new users are facing difficulties while creating the password
and that is majorly because of the password policy we have. As a result of this our user
are not able to signup for the services and we are loosing the revenue opportunities."
One method which I use to write problem statement is called 5W writing method.
The 5W's are who, what, when, where and why. In this writing method you
answer questions corresponding to these words and draft a statement.
Specifically for writing problem statement for UX, the questions can be
1) Who is facing the problem?
2) What is the problem?
3) When does the problem appear?
4) Where does the problem appear?
5) Why does the problem exist?
Your problem statement is properly defined if the statement answers all these 5 questions.
In the example of problem statement I shared
earlier, here is how I answered all these questions.
This defines who is facing the problem?
This defines what is the problem?
This defines When does the problem appear?
This defines Where does the problem appear? and
This defines Why does the problem exit?
Some of the other tools we use in this stage are Personas, Empathy Mapping,
User Journey Mapping etc. If you want a video on these tools please
say "Yes Tools" in the comments and I will create a video soon.
Step 4: Ideate
With the clear definition of the problem now it is time for ideation,
where we jump into find the solution. However please remember we haven't touch the Design
tools yet and neither we are going use it in this step as well. One important lesson to all
those Aspirants who jump into learning the tool first, remember tool comes last in the
design process and therefore please learn the foundation first and then the tools.
okay, Let's come back to our Ideation step, so the goal in this step is to come up with as many
solution as possible and then to choose the best solutions to take forward for the next steps.
This step is further divided into 2 parts
1. Divergent: While in divergent stage we focus on getting as many ideas as possible
going beyond the scope of areas. Some of the methods we use are Brainstorming,
Crazy 8's, Mind-mapping, How might we etc. 2. Convergent: This is opposite of Divergent
where the focus is to trim down as many solution as possible to select the best
2-3 solution based on the combine agreement of the team. The most popular method to
select the best solution is dot voting. Dot voting is a democratic method where the
team members vote for their favourite solution and the solution with maximum votes is taken forward
for next step. Again if you want a video on these tools and methods say "Yes Tools" in the comments.
For our example of drop in signup, we can come up with solution such as
Solution #1: Allow user's to set weaker password
Solution #2: Allow user's to set weaker password but enable 2FA
Solution #3: Use Social Media sign-up such as signup with Facebook, Google and Apple
Solution #4: Remove Password and allow login using OTP (one time password) in email
Solution #5: Remove Password and login using magic link sent in email
Once we get these solution as a result of divergent thinking,
the entire team can now choose the best solutions out of these available solutions
using the dot voting method. Let's say the team voted for solution #1 and #3,
now these solution will be taken forward to next step which is Prototype.
Step 5: Prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model,
or release of a product or feature built to test a concept, this is not to be confuse
with UI Prototype feature which we use in figma and other design tool.
Prototypes are not the final product or feature. Instead,
it is a working model of the proposed solution which helps in validating the effectiveness of
the solution without utilising much of the time and resources. Example;
instead of spending time in creating a polish UI of the proposed solution,
we can quickly create a paper prototype using paper cuts or just a rough wireframe.
One most important thing to remember while creating a prototype is to make
sure that the prototype you have created have just enough details in it that the
users can easily understand the solution being proposed. If the details are less,
the users might not be able to understand the solution and if the details are too much,
you are wasting time on the solution which is not yet validated and may not work for
users. Hence you will need to make sure that the prototype is perfectly balanced.
The primary goal of creating a prototype is to validate the proposed solution with the users and
to get the early feedback so that we can iterate and create a better version of the solution or
to drop the solution if it does not solve the problem and reinitiate the ideation process.
Some of the most common methods are wire-framing, wizard of Oz, paper prototype, etc.
For our example: As you remember the team voted for solution #1 and #3,
so in this step we will need to quickly create the wire-frame version of the solutions.
When we say wire-framing version we generally means the grayscale UI also
known as low-fidelity design. The reason behind creating the 1st version in grayscale is to get
the focus of the users on the solution rather than on the look and feel of the interface.
Next we will get this wire-frame version tested with our users.
Step 6: Testing
Once the prototype of the proposed solution is created we will need to
test these prototype with our actual users to validated if it solves their problem.
This step also comes under the purview of research and accordingly we can follow the Research Process
mentioned earlier in our Research section, we will need to follow all the steps except step 1 and 2.
At this stage we can directly start with Step 3 i.e., Formulation of Research Plan: Where
the researcher will create a detail plan on how to validate the solution created, what methods
to use, how to identify and recruit research participants, date and time of the research, etc.
Then we will need to move Step 4 i.e., Conduct the Research
Then Step 5: Data Analysis and Interpretation
and lastly Step 6: Drawing Conclusion
I hope it making sense, please rewatch the research section
again to get more clarity on each of this steps.
One of most commonly used method to validate the solution is usability testing,
where we present the prototype created in step 5 to our participants users and
ask them to complete the targeted task. For our example, the targeted task is to signup.
You see the importance of usability testing, it is being used in finding the problem at
the initial stage and now it is being used to validate the solution. Next is the bonus step
Bonus Step:
This particular step is what makes the process a design process. There is one
important thing which is at the core of any design process and that thing is the iterative
nature of the process and this step is all about understanding this iterative nature.
Iterative means doing something again and again with the goal to improve the product or service.
BTW did you notice something here, from step 2 to step 6. If you have watched my video on the
difference between UX and Design Thinking, you could have guess by now that this part
is exactly same as the Design Thinking. So that means in this video you are not just
learning the UX Design Process but you have also learned the Design Thinking.
Alright let's come back to the iterative nature of the process, iterative in terms
of Design means the flexibility of going back and forth between the steps or repeating the entire
process again to improve the proposed solution. Let's understand this with our example of drop
in signup; so in Step 4 if you remember, we finalised 2 solutions and accordingly in Step
5 we created the wire-frame version of the solutions. Now, this wire-frame version will
go through the test and there will be 2 outcome of the test either it will fail or it will pass.
If it fail we will need to jump back to the Research and reinitiate step 2 to step 6 again.
If it pass the initiate test then also we will need to go back to our previous step which is
prototype to create the High Fidelity or the Polish User Interface of the solution, once the
UI is ready we will again test the same with our users, get their feedback and back to prototype
step to modify our design based on the user feedback and this will continue until we reach a
satisfactory level with the feedback. This is call the iteration of design and I have seen designs
goes through this iteration for multiple time before it makes to the next step, which is Build.
Step 7: Build
This is where the solution turn into an actual product or feature. Once the
solution is validated the design team share the design to the dev
team and the dev team convert them into the lines of code.
Wow!!! Finally the work is completed. If you are thinking that work of designer is completed
after handing it over to the developer than my dear fellow designers you are wrong. This is the
start of another journey, where the designers shift their role from creators to validators.
There are 2 primary task of designer in this step
1. Task 1: is to give walkthrough of the experience created to the dev team and answer
any concern or queries the developers might have 2. Task 2: is to validate the output created by
the dev team to make sure that the output and the design matches and if it does not match,
the design team need to share precious feedback to the dev to make necessary corrections.
The dev and design team have to work closely to make sure that the product is not only
visually appealing but also functional and user-friendly. By working together,
the team can create a product that not only looks great but also works seamlessly. Communication
and collaboration between the dev and design team is key to a successful product launch.
Step 8: Launch
After so much of work by the Designers and the Developers, finally, it's time to launch
the solution. While the majority of the work will be done by the marketing team but the
designers need to support the marketing team with the knowledge about the user,
the pain points and the benefit of the proposed solution so that the
marketing team can create a compelling and meaningful campaigns for the launch.
Apart from providing the support, the designers can definitely celebrate the
launch of their proposed solution. Believe me it feels so good to see
the solution you proposed being used by 100s and 1000s of different users.
Step 9: Post-launch
Now this is crucial, okay you celebrated the launch of your proposed solution but
now you will need to check whether or not the proposed solution works for the
larger audience because in Step 6 you have tested the solution with just the
sample users and this does not represent the entire audience.
Therefore it is important to understand how the larger audience are perceiving
the value of the solution. Some of the important metrics to track are
1. How many users have used the features 2. How satisfied are users with the solution
3. How likely are users to recommend the solution to others
4. How many support tickets or inquiries have been raised related to the features
These metrics can help measure the success and adoption of the solution among the larger
audience, and can provide valuable insights for further improvements or adjustments.
And if the solution does not work for the larger audience we will
need to reevaluate the problem and find a more comprehensive solution.
This could involve gathering more data, consulting experts,
or testing different approaches. It's important to be flexible and willing
to adapt in order to find the best solution for the larger audience.
Remember, not all problems have easy solutions,
but with persistence and creativity, a successful outcome can be achieved.
With that we completed the entire process. If you want to learn more about UX Design, you can
check out my channel where I post videos about UX design principles, tips and tricks, and tutorials.
Subscribe for more content and updates on UX Design. Thanks for watching and See you next time.
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