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My Approach to Design Research

Keep it simple​

I’ve found that this process covers the fundamentals of human-centered design yet is easier to explain to stakeholders who may be new to the process. Along the way, I look for every opportunity to demonstrate the value of research and design. 

Tools and Methods

Research

  • Stakeholder Interviews

  • Comparative Research

  • Cognitive Walkthrough

  • User Interviews

  • Content Audit

  • Plain Language Review​

  • Card Sorting

  • Personas and User Stories

  • Journey Mapping

  • Storyboarding

  • Dot Voting

  • KJ Method

  • Surveys

  • SQL data queries

  • API database access

  • Usability Testing

  • Affinity Mapping
     

Prototyping and Designing

  • Low to High Fidelity Prototyping with wireframing tools including Figma, Sketch and Miro

  • Coding with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and node.js

  • Content Strategy, Design and Writing

1 –
Research and Design

  • Align around who we are designing for

  • Assess the current state

  • Show possible solutions to people

2 –
Repeat

  • Adjust and repeat as needed!

  • Provide ongoing feedback on strategy



3 –
Deliver Value

  • Deliver research and prototypes

  • Offer guidelines, templates, and best practices

  • Document our work to make it easier to find and reuse later

Design Research Practice

Services

  • Persona Library

  • Research Repository

  • Office Hours

  • Templates and guidelines

  • Wiki for past projects

  • Discussions of best practices

Getting better all the time

I developed a design research practice with my colleagues at the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission. We are always finding ways to improve as a team. How can we make our work easier to find, use and understand for us, our colleagues and our users?

 

I designed and built our Persona Library, Past Projects Wiki, Office Hours to share tools and methods with colleagues, a Best Practices folder with reusable templates, and a Research Repository to house past insights.

personalibrary.png

Persona Library with introduction for newcomers on the left.

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Research Repository that houses past insights.

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