overview

Design Process

Process Phases

1. Engagement

   The first step in any significant web project begins by filling out a simple request form. This establishes the rough objective of the project as well as the key stakeholders and any deadlines.

   Once this form is submitted, depending on the project deadline and current capacity, the Digital Team will coordinate with stakeholders to start the Discovery phase.

2. Discovery

   What comes out of this Phase?

   This is a collaborative phase that should result in a clear understanding of:

   • the business goals for the project
   • a general picture of project deliverables
   • metrics of success or KPIs (key performance indicators)
   • project scope, timeline and budget
   • most importanlty the project's target user(s) and their needs. Users might include professionals or patients; however, often a sponsor will be the principle audience and we should approach the project accordingly.
   Who's involved?

   The Discovery phase will involve internal stakeholders, the Digital Team and additional personnel as necessary (e.g. Marketing, Creative Services, etc.).

   How does it work?

   Typically Discovery will start with a working meeting and will often require onging conversations and additional work. The length and depth of Discovery will depend on the scope of the project.

   A variety of "tools" might be utlized during Discovery to get a clearer picture of our users and their needs includeing: writing user personas, mapping user journeys, formal user research,, etc.

   Any existing materials (e.g. proposals, content, analysis, research) should gathered and distributed during this phase.

3. Design

   The Design Phase is when the project starts to take shape by creating and iterating through prototype solutions. These are often visual in nature and take the form of sketches and wireframes.

   This phase is not about creating beautiful graphics, the goal is to design the user experience. This means decisions about the user interface, the content, the interactions, etc. should all be designed to meet the user's needs established during discovery.

   What comes out of this Phase?

   A prototype of the design solution that has enough specificity to provide a clear and viable development path.

   Who's involved?

   The Digital Team is responsible for creating the design and will do the bulk of the work during this phase. All Digital Team members should be involved as the various contraints of UI, UX and development require consideration.

   Depending on the complexity of the project, stakeholders will have the opportunity provide feedback on incremental designs and will be required to approve the final prototype before Development begins.

4. Development / Deployment

   Simply put, this is when the prototype actually gets built and deployed. How this happens and how long it takes vary and are dependent on the complexity of the Design.

   Any additional constraints or newly discovered complexities that arise during development might require an adjustment to the Design or even the project objectives and scope.

   Who's involved?

   The Digital Team along with additional IT personnel are primarily responsible for this Phase.

   However final implementation requires the review and approval of project stakeholders. Ideally a formal QA process will proceed final stakeholder review.

5. Marketing

   TBD

6. Optimization

   TBD