You're working on a design project and it's not going well. How can you figure out what went wrong?

1 Review your design brief

The first step to figure out what went wrong in your design project is to review your design brief. A design brief is a document that outlines the goals, scope, constraints, and criteria of your project. It should also include information about your users, their needs, and their context. A design brief can help you clarify your design problem, define your design direction, and communicate your expectations to others. If your design brief is unclear, incomplete, or outdated, you might encounter issues such as misalignment, confusion, or scope creep in your project. To avoid these issues, you should review your design brief regularly, update it as needed, and share it with your team, clients, and stakeholders.

2 Evaluate your design process

The second step to figure out what went wrong in your design project is to evaluate your design process. A design process is a series of steps that you follow to plan, research, ideate, prototype, test, and refine your design solution. A design process can help you structure your work, generate insights, explore alternatives, and validate your assumptions. If your design process is flawed, inconsistent, or skipped, you might encounter issues such as lack of evidence, poor quality, or user dissatisfaction in your project. To avoid these issues, you should evaluate your design process regularly, follow best practices, and adapt it to your project needs.

3 Seek feedback from others

The third step to figure out what went wrong in your design project is to seek feedback from others. Feedback is a form of communication that provides you with information about the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of your design solution. Feedback can help you improve your design, learn from your mistakes, and discover new perspectives. If you lack feedback, ignore feedback, or receive feedback too late, you might encounter issues such as bias, blind spots, or missed opportunities in your project. To avoid these issues, you should seek feedback from others regularly, listen to feedback with an open mind, and act on feedback in a timely manner.

4 Analyze your design outcomes

The fourth step to figure out what went wrong in your design project is to analyze your design outcomes. Design outcomes are the results or impacts of your design solution on your users, clients, and stakeholders. Design outcomes can help you measure your design success, demonstrate your value, and justify your decisions. If you neglect design outcomes, measure design outcomes incorrectly, or fail to achieve design outcomes, you might encounter issues such as low impact, low return, or low credibility in your project. To avoid these issues, you should analyze your design outcomes regularly, use appropriate methods and metrics, and compare your design outcomes with your design goals.

5 Learn from your design failures

The fifth step to figure out what went wrong in your design project is to learn from your design failures. Design failures are the situations or events where your design solution does not meet the expectations or requirements of your users, clients, or stakeholders. Design failures can help you identify your design gaps, challenge your design assumptions, and stimulate your design innovation. If you deny design failures, blame design failures on others, or repeat design failures, you might encounter issues such as stagnation, frustration, or loss of confidence in your project. To avoid these issues, you should learn from your design failures regularly, embrace design failures as opportunities, and apply design failures to your future projects.