Plan - Designing The Solution

Objective

Building a product - whether it be a web application, native mobile app, or simple web site - requires an enormous amount of design. Some think design is simply about how a logo looks or the visual styles on a web page. We have a different opinion when it comes to what "designing" means. We feel design is much bigger than that, and it's the most important thing we each do each and every day. Spending adequate amount of time designing during the planning stage will pay for itself over the course of the product lifecycle.

Principles

Design is the creation of a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system. Having a product idea is the easy part. Executing on it effectively is the hardest part. Starting with a solid design for all the pieces that makes up your product or business is a necessary step to ensuring you're building the right product in the right way.

Our Process

We start designing products by analyzing the business model canvas. There are different levels of design that need to take place at this point, and we've found it optimal to work linearly down this list:

1. Business Model Canvas - This should be done by this point, but if it's not, finish it!
   
2. Features - Design the blueprint for the features and how the users will interact with them through the product.
3. Platforms, Channels, & Customer Relationships - Design the blueprint for where, on what, and how we will deliver the product to the customers.
4. Monetization - Design the blueprint for how the monetization engine will work from a user experience standpoint. Then layer on how it will be implemented from a technical perspective.
5. Key Performance Indicators - Identify 3-5 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that correlate to the desired business outcomes. If this is a new business or product, we will like to identify 1 KPI in each of the 5 following categories: customer acquisition, engagement, retention, revenue, and referral.
6. UI Sketches - By this phase, we know what features the product will have and what platforms it will be built on. Now we can start sketching out how the interface will behave.

Then depending on the particular project needs and what has been validated, one or more of these can be in progress simultaneously:

• Simple Prototype Designs
• System architecture design and data interaction maps
• Branding, mood boards, & visual style guides
• Content

Services & Tools

Learning Resources