You have a UX project with a tight deadline. What are the most important things to consider?

The first thing to understand is the customer journey in the current solution. What are the break points in the current journey How many touch points are there in the current journey How many 'hand offs' are there in the current journey What are the blocks, back and forth(infinite loops)? Most important is to know the MAGNITUDE OF IMPACT of the above in customer experience.

Don’t jump into solutions without understanding the context and the purpose. It’s always better to sharpen the axe before we cut the trees. Take your time understand the purpose and context. List down all priorities and then do a design make sure it’s already in framework for quick development

Ensuring a thorough understanding of the project's scope is essential. Conducting research on the problems users face is a great starting point, as it helps prevent misunderstandings about user needs. And make sure to communicate with engineers in time, as it can save valuable time in terms of product feasibility.

Most important what business value/outcomes it is going to achieve by improving the user experience. You can adopt any unorthodox methods to understand the needs and arrive at a solution. Solution is just a mean to achieve the result.

In my experience, you have to clearly define the problem to solve, ensuring you’re not just tackling a symptom, but the problem itself. You also decided what are the goals, who are the users, what are the users’ pain points and what does solving that problem look like to the user.

Consider remote usability testing tools to gather insights without needing participants to be physically present. Remember, even a small, validated improvement is more valuable than a time-consuming, unvalidated perfection.

Select efficient and effective UX methodologies that align with the project's scope and goals. Consider methods like rapid prototyping, user testing, and collaborative workshops to streamline the design process.

When you're up against a tight deadline in UX, streamline your approach. Embrace iterative design: sketch, prototype, test, then do it all over again. Use rapid prototyping tools for speedy visualisation, rather than getting into high-fidelity deliverables. Keep user interviews brief and focused on actionable usability feedback. And remember, always focus on the core user needs – it's easy to get lost in the weeds when the clock's ticking.

Choosing the right method to do a project with a tight deadline is more crucial than we think. We need to understand that there is no time to be wasted. First thing we need to do is follow the 80/20 method, do the most important thing first which contributes for the 80% of work, rather than wasting a lot of time on things which do not matter as much.

Design Methods: Use sketches, wireframes, and prototypes to explore and visualise ideas. Testing Methods: Conduct usability tests, heuristic evaluations, and gather user feedback to refine the solution. Considerations: Balance time, resources, and data availability while choosing methods. Iterative Approach: Continuously iterate based on user feedback to improve the UX solution.

A project with a tight deadline needs to have feature prioritization, as it is not possible to build every idea in finite time. It is very important to consider project goals and what problem is being solved, or what opportunity is being addressed. With those considered, features can be prioritized and a scope can be set in order to meet the goals, and solve the problem. Prioritization along with good frequent communication with stakeholders can help set expectations for the minimum that can be achieved within time, can help share progress and issues, and also set a roadmap for future work.

Make sure to understand the current goals. Focus on the essential features for users & prioritize user experience over perfection. Also, maintain a balance between speed and quality.

Think "must-haves" over "nice-to-haves." Leverage techniques like user stories and prioritization matrices to identify features with the highest impact for both users and stakeholders.

Identify and prioritize essential features based on user needs and project requirements. Focus on core functionalities that contribute to the project's success, and be prepared to iterate and refine in subsequent phases.

Be crystal clear about what needs to be done. Figure out what's most important and tackle those tasks first. Whip up quick prototypes to test ideas fast and get feedback. Use tools and methods you already know to speed things up.

it's vital for the team to prioritize decisions informed by user feedback over assumptions. This approach ensures that the project remains user-focused, even under pressure.

Regularly share ideas, progress, and feedback with colleagues. Don't forget stakeholders! Align goals and expectations, and involve them in key phases like design and testing.

Try to include all the team members from the start of the project, including stakeholders, to integrate different perspectives. - Allow people who have updated knowledge about ongoing activities in the project to have a say in the final decisions. No Swoop and Poop.

Establish open communication and collaboration channels within the team. Foster an environment where team members can share insights, feedback, and updates. Collaborative efforts contribute to a more cohesive and efficient workflow.

Maintain open and transparent communication with developers and other team members. Utilize collaborative tools and quick communication channels to keep everyone on the same page and address issues swiftly.

Develop a realistic timeline and project plan. Break down the project into manageable tasks and set deadlines for each. Prioritize tasks based on dependencies and critical milestones, allowing for a structured and time-sensitive approach.

There is a hack to this, well it is more like how much you know yourself as a designer. What I mean by that is: you know your weak and strong points when it comes to designing. For some people who are super fast and efficient in Figma, they should allocate less time to UI Creation and more time to where they are slow. This matters and I realized it myself and in other designers very late. I usually spend loads of time on small details and like to have a perfect design. So when there is less time, I schedule this polishing to be performed at the end to save time for primary tasks.

Manage your time with task lists, calendars, and timers. Remove non-essentials. Deliver core UX experience.This ensures you deliver the core UX experience within the unforgiving deadline.

Use time management techniques like task prioritization to ensure you're focusing on the most critical aspects of the project within the limited time frame.

Distribute mundane tasks with the team, and try not to do everything yourself. It is advisable to steer clear of lengthy meetings, as they tend to be unproductive.

Agile Approach: - Adopting an agile methodology can help in managing tight deadlines effectively. - Break down the project into smaller tasks or sprints to ensure steady progress. - Conduct regular reviews and retrospectives to identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments. Example: Implementing daily stand-up meetings to keep the team aligned and address any issues promptly.

Continuous Feedback Loop: - Establish a system for gathering feedback throughout the project lifecycle. - Regularly solicit input from stakeholders and end users to ensure alignment with expectations. - Use feedback to iterate on designs and make necessary adjustments quickly. Example: Setting up regular feedback sessions with stakeholders to review progress and gather input on design iterations, allowing for timely revisions and improvements.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help: -If possible, delegate some tasks to other team members to free up your time for critical design decisions. -Consider using external resources like usability testing services if time is extremely tight, but ensure it aligns with the budget.

Find ways to preserve your sanity. - Try to avoid switching tasks. - Take 5 minute walks in between large chunks of work. Do it alone. Try to do it outdoors. - Look up Andrew Huberman's "Physiological sigh" and do 10 repetitions every time you get jittery. - Try to get enough sleep. - Eat proper meals. - View the pressure as an opportunity to get better at stress tolerance. - Stop being so scared, the worst possible thing that can happen is you losing your job. And that can be dealt with. You can get a new one. So break free from your shackles and do your best.

Ask yourself if you really understand the problem repeatedly. The pressure on you due to the timeline makes one feel like they know what to do, and that the time is the problem. I realised this may not be the case, what you think you should do might be entirely misplaced. So this is very important to consider on every project. This caught me off-guard in the past.