Front-end Development & User Interface/Experience (UI/UX)
Strategic has large trusted network of UI/UX development partners. Some partners offer in-house UI/UX services and design teams to compliment their full-stack development teams for delivering a complete end-to-end solution, while others are highly focused design only firms that are solely focused on the UI design and the overall user experience. Sometimes it makes sense to engage a provider that is a "one-stop-shop", and other times, instead of working with a company that is primarily focused on back-end development where the UI/UX is a secondary focus fo the company, it makes sense to work with a highly focused expert design firm . Strategic assists it's clients in figuring out the best path for meeting their current needs, and then delivers options for the optimal design engagement.
The UI/UX design process begins with these important preliminary steps that must be completed in order to build a satisfying UI based on a strong UX foundation:
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Market research
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Benchmarking
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User Interviews
These steps are sometimes completed by the founders or other stakeholders, within the customer organization. Either way, once these steps are completed it is time to engage the entire team in the "Design Thinking" process so every team member is pointed towards the same "true north" before development begins.
"Design Thinking" Design Process
When working through the UI/UX design process, we strive to have every development team member focused on the project's established design principles and methodologies, which in the industry is called "Design Thinking". A team focus on the overall design is established as a top operational priority for each member. Once a preferred creative design, and it's associated development stack, agile framework, and process are chosen, we then deliver a team that can build the application, and complete the project, on budget, and on time.
Minimal Viable Product
If the requirement is to build a new greenfield product, we typically recommend that a proof-of-concept or prototype is built, then we recommend our clients move towards focusing on the creation of an MVP, which contains only the necessary software features and functionality needed to test and validate the proof of concept with customer prospects.
An MVP should effectively test the market, and lay the ground work for future development iterations, resulting in the establishment of an intial product development roadmap.
At Strategic, we assist both start-ups and large enterprises with building their businesses by helping them validate market demand with the minimum amount of time and expense, and we do this by focusing the team on Design Thinking.
Design Thinking - A Five Stage Process
EMPATHISE :
Observe users by interviewing them and understanding the “why”
DEFINE :
Identify patterns, develop insights, and establish targeted needs
IDEATE :
Sketch and storyboard every assumption.
PROTOTYPE :
Build, identify important design elements, and keep in mind the problem being solved.
BUILD :
Think by doing, If possible, create several prototypes to test user preferences.
TEST :
Show don’t tell: Put the prototype(s) in the user’s hands.
Ask them to compare and contrast between the different prototypes
Use Prototyping to Empathise, Define, Ideate, and Test
Prototyping should be a part of each stage of Design Thinking. Prototyping is an ideation method, and it allows developers, as well as users, to explore alternative solutions. This is possible because prototyping allows developers to think by doing. Adopting a ‘thinking by doing’ mindset is extremely helpful in letting development teams derive more value from researching, defining, ideating, and testing.