Process Toolkit
Helping designers break down the problem before moving into ideation.
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
4 weeks
Year
2022
My Process
Any project I work on - big or small, I start with breaking down the problem space and asking Why? I need to make sure that I understand the user and business needs before I start exploring solutions. Part of my arsenal that helps me tackle problems is the Design Process Toolkit.
When I was at Alcumus, I led the creation of the Toolkit — a collection of templates that follow the 5W framework, and enable effective problem-solving and collaboration across design and product teams.
Toolkit Benefits
Since we created and adopted the toolkit, we saw transformative shift in communication and collaboration. Using the framework allowed designers to engage and align with Product Managers and Developers at an earlier stage. Moreover, design critique sessions became more productive, yielding higher quality feedback due to enhanced clarity about the problem context and user journeys.
Check it out
I wrote a blog post on the Alcumus Design Blog about how we made the toolkit and published the file to Figma Community, helping more teams adopt this methodology. The Toolkit has been used by over 500 Figma Community members to date.
Brainstorming using the MoSCoW Framework
Deliverables grouped in the 5W format
When & Where — different ways of describing the context around the problem
About page with an overview of the Toolkit