Knowing your problem space is only the starting point in the product design process. The real challenge begins when you step into the solution space. Here, you leverage your creativity to transform mere ideas into efficient solutions. Equipped with a clear understanding of the problem and a detailed design brief, this phase becomes a compelling venture where you craft, iterate, and refine solutions until you arrive at a final product that solves the problem in an elegant and effective way.
Phase Goal: Craft many potential solutions
Throughout this phase, your activities such as sketching, prototyping, and user testing are all conduits for idea generation and refinement. The cyclical process of creating, testing, learning, and improving serves one overarching purpose: to generate a wealth of potential solutions.
This iterative approach ensures you constantly evolve your design ideas, expanding the breadth of solutions while simultaneously deepening your understanding of the problem space. Producing a high volume of ideas is essential at this stage. It enables you to explore multiple paths, ultimately leading to the most effective, user-centric, and project-appropriate solution. Your ultimate goal, therefore, is to ignite a creative explosion, generating an abundance of ideas through continuous iteration.
Approaches to Consider
As you navigate this stage, consider adopting the following strategies:
Design sprint: This is a fast-paced, collaborative effort to solve design problems within a tight timeframe.
Information architecture / content model strategy: Structure your solution's information to create an intuitive user experience.
Sketching and wireframing: Visualize your ideas and concepts to communicate and refine them better.
Usability testing sessions: Get feedback from potential users to find potential issues and areas of improvement.
Design team feedback: Collaborate with your team to refine the solution.
Client or stakeholder feedback: Ensure your design aligns with business objectives and user needs.
Feel free to add more approaches that suit your project's context.
Potential Design Artifacts
During this phase, you'll likely produce several tangible outputs:
Content model diagram: This visual representation can clarify the organization and structure of your solution's content.
Information architecture diagram: Such diagrams visualize the structural design of shared information environments.
Sketches: Freehand drawings to quickly illustrate your ideas.
Wireflows: A combination of wireframe and flowchart to demonstrate the proposed functionality.
Clickable prototype: An interactive model of your solution that simulates user interface interaction.
Include links to your design artifacts to share your progress with team members or stakeholders.
Phase Exit Questions
These critical questions ensure you've thoroughly covered this phase:
Is there a design solution that effectively solves the user problem(s)? Answer this to ensure your design concept indeed resolves the user's pain points.
Does the client or stakeholder understand the design solution, and do they agree? Affirmation here aligns your solution with the client or stakeholder's expectations.
What is the impact of the design solution on users and the business? Understanding this impact is crucial to gauge the potential success of your design solution.
Review the answers to these questions with clients or stakeholders to ensure alignment and prepare to confidently venture into the next phase of your design journey.
In this phase, remember, it's about going wide and creating plenty. Keep your process user-centric, continually refine your ideas, and stay responsive to real needs and expectations. Your venture into the solution space promises to be a thrilling journey of discovery and creation. Happy designing!
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