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Phase 1 – Understand and Plan
Interaction design is an iterative design process which begins by understanding the ‘Design Problem’. The designer can begin by brainstorming on the keywords that relate to the design problem. One can also use the technique of mind mapping to structure the keywords and thoughts. Specifying the design goals and needs in the initial phase of the design process helps to create appropriate feature sets later. Planning also involves studying the environment of the target users and doing a comparative study of any existing design solution in the market. During this phase one should always setup a scope for the project with a design plan in place.
Phase 2 – Design
Next phase of the Interaction design process should focus on the design goals of a specific target users, represented as a persona. Those goals are considered to define scenarios that represent how the primary persona will use the solution. The combination of goals and scenarios leads to design artifacts and a functional specification. One can then start sketching the ideas and finalized concepts into wireframes.Wireframes and scenarios together help in understanding the concept in visual forms and in evaluating them before finalization.
Phase 3 – Develop
Now, one starts with the development after the finalization of the concept. Wireframes and user navigations that are defined can be detailed and documented. Wireframes can be paper prototypes, or digital prototypes as per the designers best adoption.Visual design which defines the look and feel of the system and describes the aspect of an interface, e.g. colours, sounds, images, icons, menus, etc. are mocked up. The final solution then goes for implementation and development.
Phase 4 – Evaluation
The design is now ready to hit the market. But, one can carry a quick examination of the product and judge its compliance with usability to be assured of the successful design. Heuristics, User testing, Think aloud, card-sorting can be done for further refinements.