Will Colley

Understand, define, sketch, decide, prototype, validate

As a product designer my role has changed and is changing from day to day and project to project. From discovery and post-it war rooms to final UI accuracy. Who are we designing for? What data do we have on them? What state are they in? What are the business needs and objectives.

Diagnose with data. Treat with design

This approach, coined by Chandra Narayanan, resonates with how I've been working and allows me and the teams I work with to build a foundation based on problems that our users have. Testing those assumptions quickly and publicly. Meaning that we learn fast and iterate towards better solutions. The reward is knowing that you're maximising the best functionality and desirability of a solution quickly and cheaply.

Critique often and openly

Having extra eyes on projects helps us to agree on the problems we're solving, ensure our proposed solutions are understood and challenge our hypotheses. Showing work early and often empowers us to resolve potential complications before they become unmanageable issues. Luckily I've worked with some amazingly talented, thick skinned, honest people who aren't afraid to speak their minds.