Skip to content

UCD Process

I like to iterate on things. When I use something a lot, I tend to iterate on it a lot. Here’s the current version of my UCD process.

My UCD process: Discover, Design, Make, Measure

It still uses the same four steps, but with slightly different names, and a slightly clearer overview.

  • Discover: establish the problem.
  • Design: choose a solution.
  • Make: build a solution.
  • Measure: validate a solution.

As I use it, I keep adjusting it for the kinds of clients that I’m working more (or less) with. At the moment, I’m mostly working with teams of back-developers. That means it makes sense to have a few more steps in each of the big blocks of Discover, Design, Make, Measure.

More steps means it’s a bit more explicit. I’m trying not too assume too much existing knowledge about front-end and UX things. More steps gives us more things to choose from. Some teams aren’t comfortable doing prototypes and wireframes yet. Many teams have large existing applications. In both of these cases, usability testing is a great way to get started in the Design block.

Here are some older versions: August 2013, August 2015, August 2016. (Apparently this is a good time of year for writing about UCD processes for me!)

I’ve also added a “business” top and tail for showing to new clients. The very first step is still the questions about time, scope, and money, then we move on to the Proposal.