It depends on your maturity level.
Well we all know what the design process is, at least we should. But, quick recap, it’s basically this:
Empathizing & Defining, followed by:
Ideating & Prototyping, followed by:
Testing, & Implementing, then rinse, lather, and repeat.
However, most companies don’t follow this to a tee or they follow it loosely because simply put some of them can’t due to their design maturity level. Therefore, “my design process” or anybody’s design process for that matter really depends on the design maturity of the company at the end of the day.
Therefore, I’m going to run through what my process would be at a high-ish level for brevity depending on each design maturity as defined by Invision. For further reference as to what all of this means, I encourage you to check out their 40-page report that they wrote up here:
And without further ado, here it is:
The Producers
As the report states, this level is mostly focused on the Ideate, Prototype, and Testing phases of the general design-thinking process.
What this means is as it states:
- Wireframing & Mockups
- Design Compositions for Marketing
- Interactive Prototyping for Testing
Essentially: basic research that feeds into a design based on a mixture of applying existing design principles, business goals, and mission/vision and then basic testing to improve with async handoff with devs.
The Connectors
As the report states, this level is mostly focused on the Define, Ideate, Prototyping, Testing, and Implementing phases of the general design-thinking process.
What this means is as it states:
- Workshops
- Rapid Sketching
- Stakeholder Input
- Integrations between Designers and Developers
Essentially: basic research that feeds into a design based on a mixture of applying existing design principles, business goals, and mission/vision and then basic testing to improve & implement.
The Architects
As the report states, this level is mostly focused on the Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototyping, Testing, and Implementing phases of the general design-thinking process.
What this means is as it states:
- Daily Standups
- Planning & Prioritization
- Design Briefs
- Written Documentation
Essentially: intensive research that feeds into a design based on a mixture of applying existing design principles, business goals, and mission/vision and then test to improve/implement.
The Scientists
As the report states, this level is mostly focused on the Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototyping, Testing, and Implementing phases of the general design-thinking process.
What this means is as it states:
- Concept Testing
- A/B Testing
- Analytics
Essentially: intensive research that feeds into a design based on a mixture of applying existing design principles, business goals, and mission/vision and then intensive testing that enables data-driven design-decisions to refine & implement.
The Visionaries
As the report states, this level is mostly focused on the Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototyping, Testing, and Implementing phases of the general design-thinking process.
What this means is as it states:
- Trendspotting & Foresight
- Product Market Tests
- Vision Artifacts
- Cross-Platform Strategies
Essentially: intensive/extensive research that feeds into a design based on a mix of applying existing design principles, business goals, & mission/vision & then intensive/extensive testing/implementation.