Timebox your designers work. Always

This quite controversial title is not clickbait. I know and understand what the design process is. I am aware that the less time the designer has there, the better solution he will provide. Nevertheless, I tend to impose a time frame on the design team.

The product must move forward

Each design can be sanded endlessly. The sooner we validate our assumptions, the better. Continuous Delivery is product development in line with the Kaizen philosophy. Minimal progress but steady. The sooner we start relying on quantitative data from production and feedback from real users, the better.

Designing a continuous process?

Yes. I fully agree with it, but designing without granulation and delivery is a process that does not translate in any way into improving the user experience. Know when to “Hands off” and leave some questions and hypotheses for the next iteration. Mockups and prototypes have no value for users. Good User Experience is only when the user comes into contact with the project in real use.

Documentation and structure of the design process

Does it mean YOLO Design and the so-called Pixel Monkey? NO!!! A well-documented design process and a constant repository of test reports – all this helps us with the quality of the solutions provided. This way you reduce the time needed to redo discovery processes and ask questions that have already been asked. Such documents are a great starting point for further work.

How much to limit the time of the UX team?

Here is your favorite answer. “It depends…” There is no middle ground. This should be jointly worked out between PM and the design team. Full understanding that the goal is to increase the value of the product as quickly as possible and at the same time address further work. That’s why we employ smart people to ask them for their opinion 🙂

Summary

„Product Guy” and the UX team should find an understanding of the current problems and pain of users together. Find „Quick Fixes” and granulate thick bands so that the user iteratively gets better and better product. Step by step…