What techniques can mobile design teams use to improve decision-making?

1 Define the problem

Before jumping into design ideas, mobile design teams need to clearly define the problem they are trying to solve. This involves identifying the user needs, goals, pain points, and expectations, as well as the business objectives, constraints, and opportunities. A good way to do this is to use tools such as user personas, user stories, user journeys, and problem statements. These tools can help the team empathize with the users, understand their context, and frame the problem in a user-centric way.

2 Generate and evaluate alternatives

Once the problem is defined, mobile design teams can start generating and evaluating possible solutions. This requires creativity, experimentation, and feedback. A good way to do this is to use techniques such as brainstorming, sketching, wireframing, prototyping, and testing. These techniques can help the team explore different options, test their assumptions, and validate their ideas with real users. The team should also use criteria such as feasibility, viability, desirability, and usability to evaluate the alternatives and select the best one.

3 Communicate and document decisions

After selecting the best solution, mobile design teams need to communicate and document their decisions clearly and effectively. This involves explaining the rationale, benefits, and trade-offs of their design choices, as well as providing guidelines, specifications, and assets for implementation. A good way to do this is to use tools such as design presentations, design reviews, design systems, and style guides. These tools can help the team share their vision, align with stakeholders, and ensure consistency and quality across the project.

4 Learn and iterate

Finally, mobile design teams need to learn and iterate on their decisions based on feedback, data, and results. This involves measuring the impact, performance, and satisfaction of their design solutions, as well as identifying the gaps, issues, and opportunities for improvement. A good way to do this is to use methods such as user testing, user interviews, surveys, analytics, and A/B testing. These methods can help the team collect and analyze user feedback, data, and behavior, and use them to refine and optimize their design solutions.

5 Collaborate and trust

Throughout the decision-making process, mobile design teams need to collaborate and trust each other. This involves sharing ideas, opinions, and perspectives, as well as listening, respecting, and supporting each other. A good way to do this is to use practices such as co-design, pair design, design sprints, and design workshops. These practices can help the team work together, leverage their strengths, and overcome their challenges.

6 Use tools and frameworks

To support and streamline the decision-making process, mobile design teams can use various tools and frameworks. Design thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving that involves empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing. Agile is a flexible and iterative way of working that involves delivering value in small increments and adapting to change. Lean is a customer-focused and data-driven way of working that involves eliminating waste and maximizing value. Scrum is a framework for agile teams that involves roles, events, and artifacts to deliver products in sprints. Kanban is a method for agile teams that involves visualizing work, limiting work in progress, and optimizing flow.

7 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?