A testament to UI/UX development transcends the narrow idea that the process of creation is a linear trajectory. Rather, uncovering the underlining workings of what the process entails means deep diving into a project to understand it fully in the creation progress.
Streamlining the strategies of visual UI design and functionality in UX design is always a concrete must, however, zooming in on other highly important elements of the process with data-driven design allows designers and developers to bring the lifecycle of a project to fruition.
Data-driven design that embraces an iterative, agile approach highlights the central idea that the user experience should be propelled into the best version it can take until the next design is layered above it. Shedding the idea of a linear, waterfall approach with data and analytics creates transformative focus points and a faultless user experience, because, after all, a design is never done.
Iterative Design: More Than Just a Workflow
Digital design agencies that adopt iterative workflows into their development strategies understand the vitality of iterative design. To simply create a digital interface without the need to cycle back and smooth out fault lines is seldom a pragmatic approach. The best designs come to fruition when there is a cycled process that continuously improves as it moves along toward a “finished” state. As iterative design cycles between design, prototype, and testing, it is clear that many UI/UX designs are never solidified in a state of completion, and this can truly be a beneficial practice.
The flexibility and dynamism of a design continue to flourish even after it is pushed live. Iterative design embodies the philosophical framework that perpetual mending elevates the user experience, as opposed to viewing it as something to be ameliorated. Instead, iterative reinforces the idea that it is a process of improvement for the users’ overall enjoyment.
Data and Discovery Stage
As with any project scope, a preliminary and essential stage is research and data analysis, as it can inform all the details that go together in every level of design. Within the discovery phase of a project delineation, the deep analysis of a project’s goal harbors data that drives the foundation. This stage thrives in data-driven design because it is the collection of information that can be assessed before the initiation of a digital interface is informed by the details.
The data in this stage is used to strengthen the vision of a project’s objectives, site map, personas, and wireframes. This stage itself functions within an iterative approach because it bounces back between finding a solution-agnostic mode to questions such as, how a design could best match the preferences of a user, as well as finding the proper re-alignment between a design approach and stakeholder objectives. The ideation process in the discovery stage itself is iterative because it covers the collection of data within user-testing and focus group analysis. The best practices to approach the project scale are cycled until developers can neatly match the best solution to commence the design stage.
Data and Design
In all aspects of design—whether UI or UX, data continues to be cycled. The solutions that are created for users are based on the data from the previous discovery stage. Data and analytics are stacked and layered upon each other for user resonance.
The iterative process of data informs the structure of design with analytic tools such as heat mapping the most active elements of a website layout, implementing solutions from usability testing, determining the pain points that increase bounce rates, and much more.
An analytical perspective that cycles between different stages of design encourages a seamless experience. There is early detection of pain points when constant usability testing is put into place and within the triangulation of data analysis. Google Analytics, for example, demonstrates how iterative design can thrive post-development. With the research that arises from a live website, it informs actionable insights that can be adjusted to streamline an interface, once again highlighting that UI/UX designs are robust when is it periodically updated with iterative successions.
Feedback as an Analytical Tool
The accumulation of feedback from project stakeholders, users, and internal team members is a viable tool. Feedback, in of itself, is a form of qualitative research data. The feedback that is applied to different cycles and stages throughout the whole development process qualifies as input that can be used to determine the progression of a digital design.
Feedback through collaboration with stakeholders can adjust a project roadmap to better match user preferences and inform upcoming decision-making. Information can be analyzed as data because it moves a project along until it reaches a stage in which stakeholders and users are content, pain points are mended, and a robust user experience is at the forefront of design. Feedback can allow new perspectives on visual design elements, functionality, and encourage new modes to align design with a brand/company image.
The functionality of data within iterative design cycles enables a clearer vision within project development by breaking each stage apart and analyzing the proliferation of data that is folded within. Information and data are never static, still entities, due to their hyper-active evolution within technological and digital advancements, thus UI/UX designs continue to shift and change with that data. Data-driven design is a layer to iterative design due to the changing nature of user preferences, expectations, and behaviors which are progressively changing with trends as well. It is important to keep in mind that iterative strategies embrace openness to change and if it efficiently elevates a user’s experience, then it is a well-routed trajectory to embark on.