If you clicked on this article, you probably have a service that you know is not in perfect diamond condition. Maybe time has passed since then, or you are still working on the version that was tried to be finished quickly. Maybe there hasn’t been a budget for further development, or the project lacked a designer altogether. All these are the reasons we discuss with our customers.

I don’t want to build you any story about how you can improve your own service through a mystical process. The process through which I always think about UX development projects is the ” double diamond ” that has been used a million times. There have been drawn as many versions of this as there are authors, but the basic idea is always the same.

 

Observe and understand

At this point, my own style is to collect information from every direction as much as possible and to make sure that the role or attitude of certain people does not affect the collected feedback too much. It can often be said that it is easier to tell an outsider. That’s why I conduct interviews and collect information myself rather than relying solely on the data collected by the client organization. Conversations with people give me a lot as a designer. This if someone is dealing with people and understanding the human mind. If possible, I always also want to observe myself when the end customers use the service. It usually opens your own eyes a lot and gives answers that don’t even exist.

Focus and understand

Analyzing and structuring all the collected data takes time. At this point, I also make a lot of comparisons with competitors and collect examples from outside the industry. I have noticed that my own superpower is connecting different things and figuring out and structuring big entities. I see and recognize points of convergence that are not so recognizable and through that I find new kinds of points that can be developed. This stage usually requires a lot of putting aside opinions and just focusing on the process.

Develop and experiment

In the third phase, we start building blanks, prototypes and services with which you can try to verify the functionality of different ideas and concepts. The fact that hundreds of these projects have been done helps here. I have sometimes stated that a large number of clients do similar projects once every five years, while I myself do at least ten of them every year. The experience gives support and broadens the understanding of the direction in which different things should and can be taken. Creativity can bloom as much as possible in this moment. No idea or thought is still bad, but everything possible is written down.

Produce and test

When there are enough ideas about blanks and concepts, that what to choose and what to proceed with, you can start building prototypes so that they can be tested with real users. The versions of the previous phase, which mostly helped to support the concept discussion, are usually no longer useful in this phase. At this point, both post-it notes and coffee are consumed. We collect feedback, test, optimize, analyze the collected data and try to learn as much as possible about what works and what doesn’t in this case.

Distribute and scale

Ready is better than perfect. When we have the “coded version v.1” in use, we can move on to the actual development. At this point, you have to understand that nothing is really ready yet, but we only have the first version on fire. This is where competence, experience and a broad understanding of things are emphasized. Data drive’s further development actively embraces functionality and service publishing under the hood. Development targets are identified when more data is obtained, based on that we learn what should be changed further.

Ash diamonds?

Well, how do you get your own service up like Fenix? If you really want to twist the iron wire, then here is a simple list just for you.

Understand the current situation. Let an expert analyze your service and compile comments.

Correct the easy comments immediately. Start with small things and get lessons and successes.

Start systematic planning for bigger changes. Together, we make a road map that supports the goal, but enables us to get there in small, manageable chunks.

Trust the designer and understand the customers. Put your own feelings aside for a moment and try to focus only on what your customers need and say.

Let customers and data do the talking. Let’s collect and analyze how the changes bite and together identify new development targets from there.

Don’t reinvent the wheel. A large part of UX problems is caused by not following proven models and not understanding how people behave.

When do we start?

With us, improving UX is easy. You get yourself a designer who is part of your team and works as part of your everyday life. We do everything we can to ensure that you get honest feedback about your service, genuine user comments, and user interface design that understands people. If necessary, we create a visual identity for you at the same time and spar over all business-related development. We understand code and business, so we know what kind of services should be planned so that their technical implementation is smooth and their use is enjoyable.

Let’s arrange a meeting on the subject, where we can discuss together what exactly your needs are and how we could help with them.

 

Image borrowed. Original author: Sakshi Bhardwaj. Product Designer | Google UX Design