How do you explain design choices to stakeholders?

1 Know your audience

Before you present your design choices, you need to understand who your audience is and what they care about. Different stakeholders may have different perspectives, expectations, and questions about your design. For example, a client may want to know how your design aligns with their vision and brand, a manager may want to know how your design meets the project objectives and timeline, a developer may want to know how your design can be implemented and tested, and a user may want to know how your design solves their problems and enhances their experience. By knowing your audience, you can tailor your presentation to address their needs and interests, and avoid unnecessary details or jargon.

2 Show the process

One of the best ways to explain design choices is to show the process behind them. This means showing how you conducted user research, defined the problem, generated ideas, prototyped solutions, and validated them with users. By showing the process, you can demonstrate how your design choices are based on evidence, insights, and feedback, rather than personal preferences or assumptions. You can also show how you iterated and improved your design based on user testing and stakeholder feedback. Showing the process can help you build trust and credibility with your stakeholders, and invite them to participate and collaborate in the design process.

3 Use storytelling

Another effective technique to explain design choices is to use storytelling. This means using narratives, scenarios, or examples to illustrate how your design choices create value and impact for the users and the business. For example, you can use user personas, user journeys, or user stories to show how your design choices address the user's goals, pain points, and emotions. You can also use metrics, outcomes, or benefits to show how your design choices contribute to the business objectives, such as increasing conversions, retention, or satisfaction. Using storytelling can help you engage and persuade your stakeholders, and show them the big picture and the rationale behind your design choices.

4 Use visuals

A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to explaining design choices. Using visuals, such as sketches, wireframes, mockups, or prototypes, can help you communicate your design choices more effectively and efficiently than words alone. Visuals can help you show how your design choices look and feel, how they work and interact, and how they fit and flow in the context of use. Visuals can also help you compare and contrast different design options, and highlight the pros and cons of each one. Using visuals can help you capture and retain your stakeholders' attention, and make your design choices more tangible and understandable.

5 Invite feedback

Finally, explaining design choices is not a one-way communication, but a two-way dialogue. You should always invite feedback from your stakeholders, and listen to their opinions, questions, and concerns. Feedback can help you validate, improve, or refine your design choices, and identify any gaps, issues, or opportunities. Feedback can also help you build rapport and alignment with your stakeholders, and show them that you value and respect their input and expertise. Inviting feedback can help you create a collaborative and constructive relationship with your stakeholders, and achieve a better design outcome.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?