About

Process

There are seven steps that are universal to moving any digital product from concept to code. These steps comprise what is known in enterprise software as the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

The SDLC is a well-established and well-understood model for the people who predominate in this business, technical people, especially developers. As well as product people, especially product managers.

So by way of understanding these stakeholders and responding to their need to understand the often elusive concept of UX Design, I have found it useful to frame my process in terms of the SDLC.

Ubiquitous UX Across the SDLC

In the broadest possible terms, I embrace a process intended to quickly reveal the best possible form your solution can take and then get it into code so it can start delivering value for your users — and ultimately, your bottom line. I call this process “Ubiquitous UX across the SDLC.”

Why ubiquitous? Because contrary to a lot prevailing opinion, design considerations are relevant to the ENTIRE process and so must be ever-present. Because, as design thought leader and author, Brenda Laurel has said, “Design isn’t finished until somebody is using it.”