Write and Design
Product designers should be in a position to write an essay about every module or component they intend to design. The essay should capture the why, what, and for whom they are designing a solution. A clear response to why only a certain pattern solves a specific problem in a given context needs documentation. What are the benefits and tradeoffs, and most importantly, how does the solution fit into the user experience strategy, product strategy and overall business strategy.
The internet is never short of one thing. Templates! Random templates are not design solutions. Every business demands a unique UX strategy. Delivering this strategy is a buildup of taking contextual design decisions by product designers and product owners. Documenting design decisions and backing them with logic and evidence, builds your credibility and influence in the organization.
"The Why" is of extreme importance. An essay should highlight how your design decisions can achieve your product metrics and success factors. As you write, you'll develop more clarity, cut through irrelevance and only focus on being the bridge between business and users. I'm not sure if any company is following this practice, but I recommend this to build a superior user experience and design practice.
We need to understand that anything a designer does has a domino effect throughout the product development cycle and has a continuous business impact as long as the design is in existence. What we do and what we don't do also has an effect.
Design is a responsibility which needs logic and evidence. It can't be driven by whims and fancies of individuals or teams. You would never dare to write an essay, saying I liked this, so I took this design decision. Well, you can always say that, but you'll think twice to write it and ten times to document it. Writing and designing generates your internal documentation, whereas designing and writing is for user documentation.
Documenting your design decisions helps in reflecting and deeper thinking about your business and users. By the time you finish building your product, you’ll end up with an entire book on why, what and how you built something. Such an effort can also act as the baseline to build your product documentation, new-hire design orientation, future product design development, and the potential to turn into a ready repository for collective learning for your design team and beyond.
Writing is thinking!
"The Why" is of extreme importance. An essay should highlight how your design decisions can achieve your product metrics and success factors. As you write, you'll develop more clarity, cut through irrelevance and only focus on being the bridge between business and users. I'm not sure if any company is following this practice, but I recommend this to build a superior user experience and design practice.
We need to understand that anything a designer does has a domino effect throughout the product development cycle and has a continuous business impact as long as the design is in existence. What we do and what we don't do also has an effect.
Design is a responsibility which needs logic and evidence. It can't be driven by whims and fancies of individuals or teams. You would never dare to write an essay, saying I liked this, so I took this design decision. Well, you can always say that, but you'll think twice to write it and ten times to document it. Writing and designing generates your internal documentation, whereas designing and writing is for user documentation.
Documenting your design decisions helps in reflecting and deeper thinking about your business and users. By the time you finish building your product, you’ll end up with an entire book on why, what and how you built something. Such an effort can also act as the baseline to build your product documentation, new-hire design orientation, future product design development, and the potential to turn into a ready repository for collective learning for your design team and beyond.
Writing is thinking!
Write and design.
Originally published on LinkedIn on February 13, 2024