Affinity Diagramming for the Vehicle Datalytics
Research
As UX Designers, research is at the heart of what we do and why we love doing it; figuring out exactly what the users pain points are, their needs and overall wants. Without researching our potential users we are only assuming, and our assumptions, regardless of how educated they might be, might not be what they need. By utilizing user interviews, contextual inquiry, competitive & comparative analysis, heuristic evaluations, organizational research, & affinity diagramming we are able to develop a persona and get the ball rolling. By taking these necessary steps, we are able to determine and define our users behaviors and patterns.
Design Studio Exercise
Plan
Rapid ideation and creative chaos is the place where I am able to develop a loose understanding of what the next phase of my design will be. Some of the techniques where I have found success include: sketching, story boarding, design studios, use cases & scenarios, card sorts, & user stories. These steps help me to determine the informational architecture and the overall flow of a project.
Initial Sketches and Wireframes
Design
Once I have determined the structure and general layout of a project, I use a variety of different tools to create wireframes. Due to my past focus on typography, I love working within the grid systems to create clean wireframes & designs.
With the growth of the UX industry, a myriad of different tools have been made available to us, and it is a change that I am happy to embrace.
A few of the tools I use: Sketch, Axure, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Omnigraffle, Balsamiq, Invision, Keynote, & my all time favorite, pen and paper.
Results From Usability Testing
Test
When developing a product, testing should never be an afterthought. In my experience, this is the part where the most valuable insights are discovered: what your users really think about what you've created, on a holistic level. Usability testing is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal, granting us the ability to realize our successes and failures. The information we collect here presents the opportunities for re-iteration, therein providing a greater experience for our users.