Paying attention to user experience is a priority today, and it has a major influence on the success of digital projects and initiatives.
Behavioral studies in the field of UX Design are increasingly important for understanding interaction patterns among users in specific market niches, in order to craft strategies that deliver the best experience regardless of the end goal.
Ideally, UX Design best practices and strategies should be considered from the very start of a project, follow every action along the way, and be continuously optimized and studied.
In this article, we’ll answer when to bring a UX Designer into an initiative, project, or product to guarantee the best results. Enjoy the read!
UX Design in the creation process
In User Experience Design, work typically begins with the product discovery stage — also known simply as discovery, or a creation workshop. This is usually the first step of an initiative, aimed at exploring the best solution to offer.
Some of the frameworks we use to ground these discoveries are Design Thinking and the Double Diamond, which apply facilitation dynamics adaptable to each scenario while still following a clear line of reasoning, as shown in the image below.
Source: NogDesign / Design Council.
The UX professional, together with the PO, tailors the best dynamics for the discovery stage based on the initial idea behind the initiative.
This makes it possible to gather incredibly rich information to feed the subsequent UX Design activities.
As I mentioned in a previous post, we don’t just design screens — we also run research and other studies. So we need to understand the client’s context, create discovery-specific dynamics, and build the foundation for our research.
Here’s an example: to run a usability test on prototypes, you need to know who the users are — their profile, behavior, and context.
That’s why we recommend including dynamics like the Empathy Map, Personas, and User Journey during discovery.
The Journey, in particular, is a dynamic that helps uncover potential gaps between tasks — gaps that can become business opportunities to fold into the solution we propose to the client, and that add real value to the Feature Brainstorm dynamic.
Another important tool is the “Certainties, Suppositions, and Doubts” matrix, or CSD.
In it, the team captures all the information relevant to the solution and resolves open questions with the client right at the start of the initiative.
With a UX Designer participating in this stage, there’s far less risk of critical questions about the initiative going unanswered — even ones that aren’t specifically about interface design or visual identity.
I should also mention an example I love bringing into any initiative: storytelling.
Every client has their own universe — a market, a culture, and so on. This lets us explore and weave that context into the discovery stage, making clients feel more confident, driving greater engagement and gamification, and building more trust in the team.
One way to apply storytelling is to use written communication, and even illustrations, on the dynamics boards that reference the market being studied.
Another is to use a usability testing script featuring the names of the personas created during the dynamics, making the solution more memorable and the work even more organized and aligned.
But beyond all these theories and applications, the real secret is a harmonious relationship between the UX professional and the PO, with each understanding that the other brings unique experience and expertise.
They are stronger together and enrich the work they produce — not only during discovery, but throughout the entire initiative.
