Our methods

Our design approach starts from people, and keeps people at the centre of our thinking. While we base our solutions on industry best practice, we continually evaluate new and developing techniques to see how they too can help us help our clients. Each time we start a project, we consider what we need to understand, to explore and to define. Each of these facets covers a number of activities, explained farther on this page, and each activity is supported by appropriate techniques. Our choice of activities and techniques is closely dependent on the challenges posed by a particular project.

UNDERSTAND

Here we get to know the client, the user and the key issues and challenges to address. Understanding why we design, who we design for and what the user’s needs are, is crucial for developing successful products.

We reach understanding through:

• Framing
• Field study
• Assessment
• Task analysis
• Requirements analysis

Framing

Here we concentrate on developing a common understanding of the design challenge, so that all the stakeholders understand the context of the project. We disentangle current problems and opportunities.
The framing activities result in a strategy brief: a clear, mutually agreed upon description of the assignment.

Techniques for framing include:

• portfolio analysis
• thinkering
• strategy brief

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Field study

Here we immerse ourselves in the world and the activities of the users, to discover their true habits, needs and fears. Interviews only tell us what people think they do: observation reveals what they really do, and provides a mine of information. Good design is inspired by good observation. All material gathered is interpreted and structured to communicate the findings. This communication can take the form of a project room (with pictures, notes, reactions on the wall), a study report (which may contain movie or audio fragments) or inspiration cards (with learning and ideas, or new questions). The findings then form the basis for any next steps in the project, and help to make the project’s focus explicit to the different stakeholders. Techniques for field studies include:

• participant observation
• user panel
• cultural probe
• link analysis

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Assessment

Here we evaluate the current situation, product or service in a formal way, to make sure we understand the strengths and weaknesses of the current situation. This evaluation covers available content, any existing product and the organisation that will endorse the new design. The output of an assessment depends on the type of assessment chosen (normative, qualitative or quantitative) and the tools used. After a normative or qualitative assessment, we deliver recommendations; after a quantitative assessment, we deliver factual information that might help in taking design decisions later in the design process. Techniques for assessment include:

• content analysis
• benchmarking
• maturity model
• usability test (summative)
• design critique
• expert review

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Task analysis

Here we reach a deep and formal understanding of how the user perceives his or her tasks. Based on procedural documentation but corrected by field studies, task analysis enables the designer to (re)design tasks in line with user goals. It also uncovers what information people need to support their decision making and actions. Depending on the focus of the task analysis and the complexity of the task, the output can range from a simple inventory of tasks and task relationships to a detailed description of tasks, including the required information, subsumed knowledge or cognitive demands. Techniques for task analysis include:

• hierarchical task analysis
• goal-directed task analysis
• cognitive task analysis

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Requirements analysis

Here we move on from user and task needs, to specify what the product should do, and which constraints should be considered. This is the last, crucial step in understanding what to design: it delivers concrete input for the actual design activities. The output resulting document can be a narrative (cases and stories) describing system usage or an list of the functionalities foreseen. "Agile" methodology results in shorter, less formal documentation than "waterfall". Techniques for requirements analysis include:

• design brief
• use case
• agile user story
• requirements specification

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Explore

Here we apply an innovative mix of creativity, collaboration and iteration to explore, conceptualize and visualize design possibilities. Everyone involved is committed to experimenting, looking in different directions for a variety of concepts. The results are melded to give concrete, innovative solutions.

We do this using:

• Ideation
• Storytelling
• Mental modelling
• Classification
• Conceptual design
• Prototyping
• Visual design

Ideation

Here we start by generating as many ideas as possible, using associative and blue-sky thinking. Then we select the best, most usable ideas and rank them for use as the basis of a design. Ideation typically results in an inventory of ideas, mood boards showcasing the innovation concepts, or a ’concept car’. Techniques for ideation include:

• brainstorming
• role play
• post-it session

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Storytelling

Here we create true-to-life descriptions of people and the way they interact. These stories, covering real-life situations, help all stakeholders reach a common understanding about the users and the user experience we are taking as our starting point. Storytelling results in descriptions of the user – personæ – or use-situations, which can be presented as a written use scenario or a visual storyboard. Techniques for storytelling include:

• scenario of use
• storyboard
• personæ

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Mental modelling

Here we represent the way users perceive (and expect) a product or service and how it works. People are constantly building, reusing and refining their mental models. We illustrate a target mental modelpeople need to use the product or service successfully, so that we can align the design with how the users perceive the product. The main concepts, relations and processes are made clear using a diagram or a glossary. The mental model is then taken into consideration while producing the design, in particular the conceptual design. Techniques for mental modelling include:

• diagramming
• glossary
• semantic net

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Classification

Here we organise information and tasks into meaningful classes, with a clear structure and comprehensible labels. Though the classification is primarily derived from the nature of the content nature and the needs of the users, we involve all stakeholders. The aim is to make finding information and performing tasks more efficient. The result is information structured by group and by topic. Techniques for classification include:

• collaborative classification
• card sorting
• mind map

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Conceptual design

Here we outline the basic ideas of a product or service, exploring alternative solutions and determining what major concepts are applicable: for example, which are the various application screen types and screen architecture. The conceptual design consists of sketches and models, leaving room for experiment and lateral thinking. The conceptual design can result in:

• a model presenting how the user would navigate through the application
• sketches and wireframes of various screens, presenting the main interaction structure and basic layout of the screens

Techniques for conceptual design include:

• interaction architecture
• wireframe
• navigation model
• service blueprint

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Prototyping

Here we refine the conceptual design and present a low-fidelity or high-fidelity simulation of the user interface. A prototype makes the design ideas and concepts more concrete, visible and tangible, so that we can evaluate, review and refine them A prototype can take various forms, from a refined, detailed drawing to a dynamic prototype illustrating – perhaps with animation – the way all or part of the user interface will behave. The prototype is ideal for conducting usability tests and can be used to derive service assets. Techniques for prototyping include:

• mock-up
• dynamic prototyping
• service assets
• animation
• usability test (formative)

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Visual design

Here we determine the "look and feel" of the interface. A successful visual design is an extension of the conceptual design on which it is founded: it enhances the design, reinforces the designer’s message and contributes to the user experience. It should also match the corporate identity. The visual design is shown as a selection of screens or a mood board. It may also result in completed digital assets. Techniques for visual design include:

• mood board
• digital assets

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DEFINE

Here we describe the decisions and roadmap for the final design. We hand these over to the client, ready to be implemented and lead to a valuable product for the user. The focus lies on clear, efficient communication and on collaboration with the development team.

A definition includes:

• Roadmap
• Engineering specification
• Follow-up

Roadmap

We provide a management-level overview of how the product or service can be brought to life – the end of the Namahn project, though usually the client still has a long way to go. The final outcome of the project depends not only on technical aspects of the implementation phase, but also on how people within the client company work together: they need to provide the content for the new product, to introduce the new product with the least possible disruption to users, and to keep the product alive. Management buy-in is essential. The result is a document setting out what needs to be done, when and how it needs to be done – and who needs to do it. Resources for producing a roadmap include:

• strategy
• governance
• roll-out plan
• migration path

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Engineering specification

Here we specify the final design in detail, for the development team to implement the design as intended and to make sure that future enhancements of the product follow the same lines. It co-ordinates a team of developers in their efforts to create and maintain a consistent product. The specification may be delivered as a well-structured and detailed text illustrated with screens and screen elements, as a set of annotated graphical screen representations, or as a collection of guidelines or patterns. Where required, projects also include an account of why design decisions have been taken or an overview of measures that ensure the overall safety of the system. Resources for producing engineering specifications include:

• style guide
• annotated drawing
• safety case
• formal specification
• pattern library
• service ecology map
• design rationale

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Follow-up

Here, Namahn supports engineering and development teams in creating a high-quality experience. We assist the analysts, developers, technical architects and testers by making clear what the future product should look like and how they may go about refining the design. Since a truly human-centered product will continue to evolve, the main purpose is to transmit our expertise so that the design can be kept alive without requiring our continued intervention. Follow-up includes meetings, hands-on sessions, training material, design advice and support. The project is concluded by a debriefing, where we ask the client for feedback on our contribution to the project. Techniques for follow-up include:

• walkthrough
• coaching
• training
• debriefing

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