Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The Design Process

The basic structure of the design process includes Information Gathering, Planning, Designing, Development, Testing and Launching.

                               

I have put the design process to use in this blog.

Step 1) Information Gathering
I began to gather information by:
  •          Reading the course materials
  •          Searching in other sources for more information on the design process 

Step 2) Planning
  •          I decided to demonstrate the design process through a simple listing of the steps


Step 3) Designing
  •          I visualized what I wanted to create
  •          I found a graphic that would illustrate the process for users


Step 4) Development
  •          I began by listing all of the steps to the process and then went back in to add a little detail in bulleted points such as this one

Step 5) Testing
  •          In this case, I just re-read through my work to make sure that there were no grammatical or layout issues that needed correction before posting

Step 6) Launching
  •          I posted the blog for end users to see


Further discussion on the design process

What steps might I add to the process?

                In a more complex situation in which there were other parties involved, there would definitely be more detail within each of the steps. For example, the gathering information step would expand to include speaking to end users, compiling details of the clients need, etc.
How can the process be improved?

                I think client collaboration should be its own step as it is extremely important. Besides gaining buy-in and acceptance from end users, the product’s success is dependent on the perception and acceptance of those end users. I think the collaboration step could be added between planning and designing and designing and development, but it should actually be an ongoing thing throughout the life of the design process.
What is the most important step of the process?

                I think each step is important but depending on the actual situation may weigh more heavily on one step than on another. For example, if there were many issues during the development of a program, then the testing might play an even more vital role than in a less complex design.
               


4 comments:

  1. Kimberly:

    Keep it simple! Your blog posting is the epitome of delivering a structured plan without the jargon. The elements include a strategic approach implementing the design process utilizing your blog posting as a gateway to disseminate the information to the segmented audience - in this case scenario, your classmates. Thank you for sharing your unique perspective.




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  2. This is a really great, simple yet informative explanation. Your image and layout (step 1, step 2, etc.), describing how you go about running your blog, illustrate what the design process is all about.

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  3. Hi Kimberly,

    I think you outlined the process of designing a blog entry very well. Each step forms a logical progression and you've shown that clearly throughout your post. How could we even start an entry without doing the reading? So that makes research important right away. Great point. Something I added in my entry was the use of comments as feedback, but I had it placed more toward the end of the process. Now that I'm reading your entry, I think that it could be considered part of the research process as well. It shows what has worked in the past and could be used as a reference for the future.

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  4. FANTASTIC post! All I could think of as I was reading it was, "Why didn't' I think of that!" smile

    Really, I enjoyed reading it. The way you listed the steps and then added how you would enhance the process was very easy to follow. Not too wordy or overly explained. So often I'll read an outline or step-by-step instructions, and by the time I'm done, my eyes are bleeding.

    Thanks!
    Jessica

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