How do you balance user validation with your own design intuition and expertise?

1 Why user validation matters

User validation is the process of verifying that your design meets the needs, goals, and expectations of your target users. It can take different forms, such as user interviews, surveys, usability tests, prototyping, and analytics. User validation can help you identify user problems and pain points, validate your value proposition and product-market fit, evaluate design decisions and assumptions, measure user satisfaction and loyalty, and generate insights and ideas for improvement.

2 Why design intuition matters

Design intuition is the ability to make informed and creative design choices based on your knowledge, experience, and vision. This can help you define a design vision, innovate and differentiate your product from competitors, create a coherent and consistent design system, solve complex and ambiguous design challenges, and communicate and justify your design rationale. With design intuition, you can make informed decisions that will set your product apart from the competition.

4 How to improve your user validation skills

Improving your user validation skills requires practice and learning. To get started, you should read books, articles, blogs, podcasts, and case studies on user validation techniques and best practices. You can also join online communities, forums, and events to gain insights from other designers and experts. Additionally, you can use tools, templates, and frameworks to plan and prepare your user validation activities. For example, a research plan can define your goals, questions, methods, participants, and logistics. Furthermore, you can use video conferencing, screen sharing, and recording tools to conduct remote user validation sessions. Data analysis, visualization, and reporting tools can be used to analyze the results of these sessions. Lastly, you can use a debrief or retrospective to review your user validation process and outcomes or get feedback on your skills with a feedback or review system.

5 How to improve your design intuition skills

Developing design intuition is a skill that can be improved through practice and learning. To do so, you should learn from other designers and experts by studying design principles, patterns, trends, and best practices. Experimentation is also key; tools such as sketching, wireframing, prototyping, and testing can help create and test ideas. Additionally, feedback from other designers, users, or stakeholders can be sought out with the help of feedback or review systems. Finally, having a vision or mission statement and creating a style or brand guide can help foster trust in your design voice.

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?