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As an interaction designer, the most common task is to complete the design according to the design requirements given by the product. Design requirements should be prioritized. Non-critical requirements can reduce investment, but how should designers deal with critical design requirements?
During my years in Dachang, I have seen and experienced three types of design requirements:
****🥉 Type 1: Complete the task and ensure the design quality
****🥈 Type 2: improve the design requirements and put forward suggestions for improvement
****🥇 Category 3: User + business perspective, leveraging design value
These three ways can also be understood as three levels from low to high, reflecting the designer’s professional ability and work level.
Level 1
Complete the task and ensure the design quality
Some designers aim to “complete design tasks”. After receiving the design requirements, they will not do too much extra action and immediately start work against the PRD.
Although such designers will communicate with the product when they encounter problems in the design process, they always give full “trust” to PRD and will not argue or refute too much even if there are doubts.
🥉**** Design Achievements:
– Basically able to complete design requirements on time and in quantity;
– Good behavior, no big problems but no surprises;
– Design quality and design review results are mainly dependent on the quality of PRD. Design drafts are sometimes questioned, challenged, or asked **** to supplement interactive details by front-end and back-end.
– The number of design reviews and discussion of details will increase depending on the revision of the design draft.
â–½ Designer’s workflow for “fulfilling requirements”
Level 2
Improve design requirements and propose improvement suggestions
Designers who undertake design requirements in this way, after receiving the requirements, usually will first in-depth analysis, understand the function, will check the situation of similar competitive products; Establish my own understanding of PRD and reflect it in the design draft.
During the design review, such designers will express their opinions rationally and try their best to replace the deficiencies in PRD with the optimized design.
🥈**** Design Achievements:
– While maintaining quality and quantity, add some professional details and general specifications;
– Use design thinking and methods to make product functions more smooth and easy to use;
– There may be disputes with the product manager during the review process. The front end, back end and business side can evaluate and reject the scheme.
The designer’s workflow for “optimizing and perfecting needs”
Level 3
From the perspective of users, play the design value
This is a more advanced and professional way to undertake design requirements. Such designers will not only analyze PRD and competing products in depth, but also treat themselves as users and analyze problems from the perspective of users when there is no condition to conduct user research.
Upon receiving a design request, such designers do several things according to the PRD:
1. Sort out the user’s task flow
The user’s task flow chart is an overview of the key steps that the user will go through in the requirements. It helps designers clarify key points in design requirements, especially for new projects. The benefits of this are:
(1) From the perspective of the whole process, a clearer understanding of product functions and user usage mode, in order to optimize the process;
(2) Check and supplement the key nodes, such as what kinds of judgment logic will exist at the node, whether to guide the user, etc., which can not only reduce the experience breakpoint, but also make up for the SHORTCOMINGS of PRD;
(3) Clear design key links are sorted out, and the design force is more focused.
Example of user task flow
2. Disassemble the core appeal of the product/business
For such designers, the content of a PRD is a “to-do” item, not a final “requirement.” More valuable than PRDS are product/business goals, which are not necessarily optimal for achieving product requirements and business goals.
The “design objectives” ** derived from ** “business requirements ****” and “product requirements” provide more guidance for the output of the design draft, allowing designers to redefine product requirements and design solutions. It is normal for such designers to challenge and question PRD from the perspective of products and users.
Derive design goals and strategies from user, business, and product requirements
3. Put forward multiple schemes according to the implementation capability
For the design scheme that can not be fully determined, such designers will draw 2-3 schemes in the design draft, keep an open attitude in the review, and coordinate with multiple parties to determine the optimal solution.
🥇**** Design Achievements:
-Produce design thinking and optimal scheme convincing others with high quality and quantity;
– From the standpoint of users, make the product experience to a higher level;
– From the perspective of product/business objectives, use design to enable business initiative and maximize the value of design;
– The more comprehensive the thinking in the early stage, the less time it will take to revise and review the design draft repeatedly in the later stage, improving the overall work efficiency.
â–½ Workflow of designers from user + business perspective
The above three types of design requirements can also be seen as a designer’s comprehensive quality and professional ability. As you continue to use advanced working methods to meet design requirements, your design skills will improve.
You can look at the state and level at which you normally receive and do requirements. These ideas and experience, I hope to inspire you.