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Design Risk: Recognize, Roadmap, and Resolve
By Stephen Gay
DESIGN RISK
All projects contains an element of risk, the key to a successful project is reducing the risk)
Let us begin with acknowledging that all projects involve risk. Though the type of risk may vary, most risk can be defined as something that might occur, resulting in negative affects on a given project, product, or strategy. The key to a successful project is to recognize what the risks are, develop a roadmap for tracking risk, and resolve the risk with the right services.
To consider risk—and the means of avoiding it—is to look at three aspects: business, design, and technology. Considerable attention is given to business and technology because they offer the most tangible results. There already exist hundreds of well-defined methods of dealing with risk in those two categories. For the purpose of this article, we examine design risk.
What is design risk, then? Design risk encompasses design quality or usability problems that might occur, and negatively impact a project. Usually, design risk is heightened by the failure to implement a user-centric design process. [click here to read about user-centric design] The goal for those involved on a project should be to mediate, manage, and otherwise reduce the impact or chance of risk.
RECOGNIZE
The first step in this process is to identify the design risks. This is achieved by listing the different components and design elements that make up a project or product. These elements can typically be divided into five areas of design, and designers should turn a critical eye to each, seeking out weaknesses or potential pitfalls.
Information Architecture
This assessment covers all aspects of how product features and information are ordered and accessed. The architecture should support how the end user engages with and utilizes the product—whether it is website content and navigation, the features of a commercial application, or the functionality of a consumer product.
Considering the micro and the macro levels, designers must study the information architecture as it relates across the entire product and within individual interaction points and screens. Other aspects might include access or decision points, labels and nomenclature, navigation systems, or interface orientation.
Interface Design
Interface design covers more specific aspects of a product or application design, such as screen layout, content design, placement of information, or other visual interaction. Designers should also focus on how interface design meets accessibility, particularly for mental, visual, hearing, or learning handicaps. A truly accessible product allows everyone—regardless of their physical or technological abilities—to get use from a consumer product, website, or computer application.
Managing interface design risk will improve end-users’ ability to access information, to understand content, and to effectively and efficiently control a product.
Content
Many products and application depend on some type of content—instructions, educational components, or programming. Without this clear and well-researched foundation, end users will not achieve their use goals. Risk factors include missing or incorrect content, unclear or confusing writing, and a lack of structure to identify how to access the content, e.g. needing to understand point A before understanding result B.
ROADMAP
From these assessments should result a list of design risk elements. The next step is to prioritize which of these elements can, will, or might be addressed. Consideration factors might include low vs. high value or high implementation cost vs. low implementation cost. This is where design risk links closely with the business and technology risks.
Designers must ask what the repercussions of not fixing or managing a specific risk might be. Could the results cost customer loyalty? Will it cause harm to a brand identity? Or will it allow a small percentage of users to become frustrated in their use?
The next step is planning. Once risks have been prioritized, those involved in mitigating risk must determine where, when, and how risk will be approached. Depending on how priorities weigh out, some steps might take place in the first round; others might simply be monitored to see how great their impact ends up being. Monitoring still gives designers the opportunity to minimize damage if a risk that was a lower priority ends up having unexpected consequences.
RESOLVE
So, we have identified risk; we have prioritized which will be dealt with and when. Now, what do we do to actually fix these risks?
The answer is to hire services that specialize in the areas we first explored for risk identification.
Information Architecture
Information architecture is the foundation of any quality product or application development. This is achieved by assessing user goals and understanding business and technology requirements to create a structure of information. The primary goals of an information architect include creating user profiles and user scenarios, identifying functional and business requirements, categorizing content, and developing organizational models.
Interface Design
Professional interface design delivers navigation solutions and provides the primary function of an application or product. Quality design will have appropriate controls and provide a context formulated to satisfy users’ needs. As a reminder, the design applies not only to software, but to hardware, as well.
Graphic Design
Those who specialize in graphic design understand how people visually access information. They will know how a reader moves through content, based on visual cues, and they will understand how to call attention to information, instructions, or tools that users should not miss. A great graphic designer will pay close attention to the content and let it be a guiding force in the design process.
Content Strategists
Content Strategists will look at audience, goals, information, and content to understand what an application, product, or website needs to do. They know how people learn and what they need to feel comfortable in a new “environment.” They will also be able to hierarchicize information so that designers can determine how to build a structure that supports what information needs to be accessed in which order.
Design or Ethnographic Researcher
Design research focuses on the user and the design of the product throughout the process. A design researcher might conduct usability testing to find out whether the system or product meets its intended purpose. Ethnographic research attempts to understand behavior and use patterns by interviewing during use or observing use. This allows designers to step into the user’s world and create a more stable, usable product.
We cannot plan for every possible risk, but by closely examining the possible pitfalls, we can lessen impacts, costs, and damages. The key is hiring the right people to solve problems with usability. In the end, the cost in person-hours spent in research pales in comparison to the cost of a loss in customer loyalty, poor user reviews, or even a product recall.
About the Author
Stephen Gay is a gifted design professional, who has worked closely with many high profile companies including Motorola, Prudential, Sapient and HannaHodge. His skill set and services include design management, information architecture, interface design, graphic/icon design, and usability testing. Through his real world experience and his deep passion for innovation in design, he utilizes his expertise to solve complex business problems related to technology and usability. For further information, you may visit Stephen at his website at www.stephengay.com.
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