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If you are wondering when to apply which design methods, or if you are interested in a knowledge map of Product/UX design, 👉this mind map may help you. The rest of this article is a detailed explanation of the map.
Why bother to make a map? The answer is to connect the dots systematically. In our daily designer lives, we practice many methods and skills — some are useful but some aren’t. We need a ‘when to use what’ guide on paper. And a mind map exercise can help. It also gives an overview of all the methods needed throughout the design process.
Connect the dots, ‘when to use what’
How to start? First, identify a design process. Mine is ‘understand, define, ideate, execute, and validate’. There are available ones to use, e.g. Lean UX and Stanford design thinking. Then, map out methods and skills that are suitable for each stage in the process. Most importantly, designers should involve themselves in all the phases during the process.
Map ‘what to use’ in the whole process
As a designer, we need to know not only user experience 🍇, but also business 🔵, technology 🧡, communication skills 🍏, etc. I color coded the map based on these categories.
In the understand phase, we put ourselves into users’ shoes and understand their likes & dislikes, context, needs, pain points, etc. Meanwhile, we learn about the business: What is the money-making model? What are the metrics to measure business success? What are the challenges? What product cycle we are in?
In the Define phase, we work with the team, especially the product manager to discover problems and opportunities. The ability to gather insights and synthesize data and abstract input to a problem is very important.
We come up with ideas that create a win-win situation for both users and businesses. And involve the team at this phase so everyone can contribute with their own expertise. Make sure the ideas are planed and will land on the product eventually. Also, think about how to measure success.