Articulating Design Decisions Flashcards
Tom Greever
What makes a good design good?
Why is Design such a difficult thing to talk about?
All design is subjective. What one person likes, another person hates. What seems obvious to me might not be obvious to you. What works in one context could fail miserably in another.
This is why design is such a difficult thing to talk about, especially with people who aren’t designers. There is little common understanding of what design is or should be.
What happens when disagreement and defensiveness take over during design meetings?
When we disagree, we tend to become defensive. When we become defensive, we fail to focus on the real issues. The meeting ends, not with collaboration, but with grumbling, compromise, and often, a crippled user experience.
In situations like this, meetings can easily turn into a design-by-committee. Everyone has a suggestion for how to solve a problem. We hear different opinions on every side and are unable to defend our own choices against this barrage of feedback. One suggestion evolves into an idea for something else, and that idea spurs a thought about something else, resulting in a hodgepodge of well-intentioned tweaks that collectively spell doom for the overall goals of the project. The thing we came together to accomplish has been muddled by groupthink and mob mentality.
What is a CEO button?
The CEO button is an unusual or otherwise unexpected request from an executive to add a feature that destroys the balance of a project and undermines the very purpose of a designer’s existence.
What is a Home Page Syndrome?
A condition whereby the home screen of an application or website becomes a catchall for everything, creating a garage sale of links, buttons, and banner ads that unravels the fabric of usability, causing designers to cry themselves to sleep.
How does the way we communicate impact others’ responses?
The way we talk to people and the things we say will influence their response.
What matters more than creating the most innovative design?
It’s not about whether you can create the most innovative design, but whether you can work with people in a way that gives them confidence in you and your expertise.
Why is being articulate important when explaining design decisions?
We have to turn those words into something that will enact change or compel people to support our decisions. We have to explain why we did what we did. It’s not just about using words with frequency or persistence; it’s about using them in a way that is compelling and convincing. It’s about being articulate.
What is the key to being articulate as a designer?
The key to being articulate is to understand both the message you want to communicate as well as the response you want in return. If you can learn to craft your messages in such a way that they yield the desired response, you’ll find that you’re much more successful at getting the things that matter to you.
What are the four benefits of being able to articulate about our designs?
- Imparts Intelligence: You’re smart, you know what you’re talking about, you have expertise in this area, and you can be trusted with the solution.
- Demonstrates Intentionality:
You’ve thought about it, pursued it, and are logical in your approach. This isn’t just a random idea; there is purpose and focus. - Express Confidence:
You know what you want and how to get it done. Having a solid argument shows that you’re not wishy-washy and you mean what you say. - Shows respect:
You value everyone’s opinions and time enough that you’re well prepared. You’re not wasting time or disregarding others.
What is the difference between a good designer and a great designer?
The difference between a good designer and a great designer is the ability to not only solve the problem, but also to articulate how the design solves it in a way that is compelling and fosters agreement.
What are the three things that every design needs to be successful?
- It solves a problem
- It’s easy for users
- It’s supported by everyone
Projects that fail are usually lacking in one of these areas. If you can do all three of these your project will be a success
How do we know if our design work is successful, and why are goals and metrics important in a project?
Of all the things we’re trying to accomplish with our work, we have to solve problems—whether that’s business goals, engagement, conversion, interaction, or feedback. Whatever the problem is, our job is to find a solution and measure its success.
How will we know if we’ve done our job? By looking at the results before and after, tracking some specific metric, and watching it improve.
You and your team should already have established these goals, metrics, or key performance indicators (KPIs) for your project. Projects without goals will surely languish because there’s no way to convince someone else that you’re right if you have nothing by which to measure success. Without clear metrics, it just becomes a matter of opinions and subjectivity.
What should I do if my team hasn’t established key goals or metrics at the beginning of a project?
If your team isn’t set up to establish these in the beginning, do it now for your own sanity. Find out what the most important factors are for your stakeholders—whether that’s impressions, conversions, account sign-ups—and then pick one or two measurable issues that you’d like to improve and write them down.
Set this as your goal and use it to your advantage when talking to other people. Having these clear goals will give you focus and help you align conversations and decisions around what truly matters.
Is it okay to compare my designs to popular platforms, and how can I use that comparison to improve my design thinking?
Do whatever it takes to help you identify your thinking. If you find yourself comparing your designs to another popular platform, it’s a good sign that your decision was based on solving a problem that the other platform might have already addressed.
It’s okay to make decisions based on another app, but it doesn’t always make the best case. What it will do is allow you to go through a new series of questions to get to the bottom of your thinking:
- Why do they do it this way?
- Is our context similar enough?
- Do they have any data?
- Were they intentional about this choice?
Every time you’re able to describe your designs, you’ll uncover a part of your thought process that can help you find the best ways to talk about it.
How is going through a reflective process when comparing your designs to popular platforms helpful?
You can better understand why you’re making certain design decisions. It helps you articulate your design rationale clearly and ensures your choices are rooted in solving the right problems for your users. This level of self-awareness not only sharpens your design thinking but also stregthens your ability to communicate and defend your decisions to stakeholders.
Why is user research important in the design process?
What you think makes sense and what a user does are quite often two different things. That’s why we have research. After we’ve made some informed guesses, we need to test our ideas by using real people. Research can take many forms, but the most common tools are either analytics or a usability study.
What are the limitations of analytics in UX research, and how can we truly understand user behavior?
The challenge with analytics is that it can only tell us what the users did. It cannot tell us why they did it. The only way to actually know how your decisions affect users is to observe them. So, make your best guess with the data you have, but then verify your designs with real people and make notes.
You may be surprised by the results, and you’ll be in much better position to defend your decisions.
What is getting support all about?
Convincing people to trust us with the solution. You need to create an environment where everyone understands what you’re doing, believes in your expertise, and supports your choices, so that you can move on to the next thing.
