Process & Strategy

To arrive at the right answer, first you have to ask the correct questions. Incomplete or incorrectly assumed information often leads to compromised outcomes. Every marketing and design project needs a solid foundation to succeed, one that accurately captures the needs of stakeholders and users and clearly articulates requirements. And, this is rarely captured in the signed estimate.

The process to expose critical details is similar across all projects, but the individual scale and tactics can change. The more complicated the project, the more important it is to follow a process to ensure nothing is overlooked. I can help you define the problem and make the solution more effective.

Process


The process always starts with some form of discovery, or requirements gathering from audience and stakeholder interviews that include people at all levels in the org (like CSRs). It then typically goes through the '5 Ds'. After discovery it is codified in the definition, which sets the framework for everything to follow.

Design-develop-deploy are distinctly different steps performed by different teams... however they are incredibly interndependent on each other and must be driven by shared vision and scope. It's important that each team member has input and feedback at key stages in the project. This can be a waterfal or agile process, or somethign in between depending on the deliverable.

The individual exercises used vary with the scope of the project and the type of deliverable—it's not one size fits all. Each exercise is a tool to expose stakeholder or user perspective and reveal scope and functionality that should be considered in the final deliverable.

Examples of Exercises

  • Stakeholder Interviews
  • KJ Sessions
  • Defining Success
  • Documenting Scope
  • Collaborative Sketching
  • Focus Groups
  • Audits (Content, Data, Technical)
  • User Journeys
  • Site or Product Map
  • Wireframes
  • Rapid Prototyping
  • User Testing