A well-designed and appealing product is crucial in a fiercely competitive industry like the software market. What exactly is the product design process and what underlying assumptions does it entail? 

What is Product Design? 

Product design offers a thorough insight into the appearance, texture, functionality, and tools required for the end product to address specific tasks. Today, it is nearly impossible to discover a business niche that is not already taken. As a result, teams of specialists with various areas of expertise work together to create even relatively simple products.

Ten Phases of the Product Design Process 

We have created a standardized set of product design process steps, which are detailed below. The stages of the product design procedure consist of: 

1. Brainstorming 

The initial stage in creating a product involves brainstorming, a concept that originated in the United States in 1953. Typically, two groups are formed to carry it out. The initial group consists of individuals who come up with ideas to address the issue. The next category is comprised of a “committee” that handles the consideration of the suggested concepts. Brainstorming is made up of three stages:

Identifying the issue: Specifically, you are required to identify the issue (creating the optimal product design) and choose team members for each team. 

Generating ideas: This step requires the most imaginative strategy. During the brainstorming session, participants share every idea they can think of, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. In this case, the focus is on quantity, not quality. Hence, it is essential to adhere to the following guidelines: 

• Produce a multitude of ideas with no restrictions. 

• It is important to consider even the most ridiculous and unconventional ideas, ideas have the potential to be merged and enhanced. 

• No feedback is permitted – at this point, concepts must not be judged in any manner. 

Choosing the most feasible ideas from the ones that have been suggested: In this stage, both praise and feedback are encouraged. The second team typically carries out this stage. 

2. Defining the Product 

Following the brainstorming session, once the selected viable ideas for the future product have been identified, it is essential to outline a specific set of overall expectations (requirements) for its execution. Typically, the result is a quite abstract rundown, with the purpose of not creating a precise roadmap for progress, but instead identifying the paths for future team actions. 

3. Performing the User Research 

Research involves different aspects such as analyzing competitors, identifying trends, evaluating the potential lifespan of a product, etc. Typically, marketers and business analysts handle this task. The findings of this guide offer a foundation for constructing customer profiles known as customer portraits. Consequently, these portraits will provide your team with a more comprehensive idea of the desired end product. 

A well-structured portrait takes into account factors like gender, age, marital status, income level, place of residence (geography), work, role within a company, common challenges, requirements, anxieties, wishes, and more. Under no circumstances should you overlook this step in the expectation of developing a one-size-fits-all product. There is a strong likelihood that you will not satisfy anyone and will deplete your entire budget “down the drain”. 

4. Sketching

The creation of sketches will only enhance the success of any big project with a substantial budget. Prior to dedicating time to finding answers, it is essential to align the search direction with the client. Sketches help to somewhat limit this particular direction while selecting the main idea, and only after that come composition, layouts, edits, refining the concept, and so on. 

5. Creating A Rough Model Or Version 

Developing a prototype is just as essential and critical as designing the actual product. Be aware that the result you will receive is not a polished final version, but instead a basic outline of the future product’s design. However, it enables the showcasing of the product’s features, user interactions, and overall look. The development of the prototype helps prevent numerous errors and revisions down the line. This will assist in saving time, money, and stress for both the client and the artists. 

6. Gathering Specifications 

The development of a specification list is essentially the act of expanding on the requirement specification mentioned above. It enables a thorough review of all the requirements and potential solutions for the final product. Additionally, these specifications must include the ultimate assignment of duties, timeframes, and expenses. These are crucial during the product development phase. 

7. Creating the Factory Samples 

Producing pre-production samples can assist in determining if the product’s core concept would be viable and appealing to actual users, or if redirecting focus to other key areas is necessary. 

For a physical product, it helps determine the production capacity and efficiency of different manufacturing departments or contractors in producing the developed goods at the necessary speed and quality. When it comes to software, these kinds of examples are known as MVP, which is a type of basic prototype that includes the core features. 

8. Testing The Sample 

Testing samples helps to promptly detect any flaws in the product or discrepancies with the requirements. This is prior to starting the typically costly process of carrying it out. The samples can go through multiple rounds of manufacturing and testing until they meet all requirements and receive sufficient positive feedback from customers. 

9. Initiating The Production Process 

When you begin manufacturing or developing the product, you will have a complete set of technical specifications that outline requirements, tasks, responsibilities, deadlines, and budget. Your objective should be to divide the main tasks into smaller subtasks (ensuring they can be completed within a few weeks) and determine their priority. Agile methodologies like Scrum or Kanban are utilized in today’s software industry. 

10. Providing High Standards Of Quality 

Indeed, quality assurance tasks encompass every phase of product creation, from development to deployment and ongoing support. However, their primary duties are focused on assuring the standard of the final product. When it comes to app development, the QA team ensures the quality of the released solution by conducting pre-release testing to meet requirements and target audience expectations (they are decided during the creation of the customer profiles). 

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