Work Experience In Practice

Building a complete picture begins with gathering information and understanding the "what, why, and how" to start the process—collecting the necessary details such as research materials, marketing analysis, data structures, and information architecture forms the foundation to build on. This information also informs what UX practice and tools may be necessary to generate the North Star, a point used to drive direction and focus efforts.

Working on the plan is taking all the gathered information and after careful study apply UX processes to refine and define what the next steps will be. This includes with every project building a living user flow mapping of the ask. It may also include if necessary building data flow mapping, user journey, or service blueprints to further clarify the ask. At each step review with stakeholders communicating as often as possible to reassure is still following the initial intent, the projects North Star.

The process of defining the ask works to cut down on one of the most detrimental mistakes that take place when approaching a solution—jumping into the visual design too early, which can derail a project, causing confusion, time, and money. Whether it is building, journey maps, or service blueprints to inform what we are making and how the next step begins with defining with wireframes and prototypes to display the intent visually, getting caught up in visuals can lead to missed specifications. Though flowcharts are not as sexy, they are more informative and beneficial to defining a solution than any wireframe graphic interface.