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Igor Polyakov
Igor Polyakov

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Case Study: How The Two-Hour Design Workshop Made The Project Page Better

Introduction

Client: Reinvest24.com - the investment platform. The problem: the client was concerned about the effectiveness of their project page. The process: we conducted a two-hour design workshop based on the design thinking and design sprint methodology. The solution: after we spent two hours evaluating the common patterns in the industry and done heuristic research, we come up with the set of the essential blocks for the page. We have arranged them in orders of priority using the gestalt methodology and come up with the wireframe.

Design thinking and design sprint

We attended design thinking workshops in the past and did the same exercise with the client. One of the main differences is that we limited the number of participants to one, so it was more of a discussion that helps in decision-making. The exercise is efficient; it teaches the participants to reflect on their thought processes and identify common patterns. We used it as a model to simplify the process further. Using Design Thinking techniques, we broke down the problem into its most essential characteristics: clarity, impact, intention, and action. Based on the key features, we went ahead and explained the user's journey and his need. Finally, we listed out the goals and desired outcomes.

The problem the client was concerned about the effectiveness of their project page.

The process (2 hours):

Explore to validate the requirements and validate that it is possible to build the page based on them. Make multiple hypotheses. Define in-depth and do heuristic research to discover common patterns in the industry and do heuristic research to find standard practices. If possible, create prototypes using real-life circumstances. If it is not possible, with a reasonable risk, try to use a crude design prototype and formulate hypotheses. After you conclude the research, filter out your ideas. Block it into two categories ā€“ High and Low priority. It's a good practice to block each type into a separate category and keep them separate for the duration of the workshop. This is the proposed page set.

We conducted a two-hour design workshop based on the design thinking and design sprint methodology.

Our design process is based on the principles of Design Thinking. While Design Thinking is a framework for problem-solving and building solutions, Design sprints are a specific process of solving the answer. A practical solution to a problem demands, among other things, a willingness to change and think differently. Design thinking creates the right conditions for this. For instance, as we were mapping out the solution and to make our process more efficient, we went for small, frequent iterations. One of them focused the problem on smaller subsets to see if there is a problem with specific subgroups. After identifying the problem, we determined how we could solve it.

The solution

After we spent two hours evaluating the common patterns in the industry and done heuristic research, we come up with the set of the essential blocks for the page.

The work in progress state

We came up with our solution from an end product-oriented perspective rather than focusing on the end product. We laid the strategy and called the shots simultaneously, rather than starting a design from scratch. As a result, we had a work-in-progress state which we could touch when needed without causing undue stress to the user.

Key learnings: The experience design process could be extended by doing a staged design process which serves as a working feedback mechanism.

Conclusion

Fully optimized the process has the potential to contribute significantly to the overall product launch. I believe our two-hour designer workshop gave us a new perspective in working with designers and let us do more. Hence, I would like to request all designers, whether freelancers or full-time employees, to learn more about workshops on BlueRoad blog, so that together we can come up with simple yet beautiful ideas for our clients.

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