UX frameworks are used to facilitate and improve user experience design, which contributes to the creation of high-quality and satisfying products for users. Frameworks can help in project implementation, such as Lean UX, Double Diamond, User-centered Design, Human-centered Design, HEART to achieve results for a specific function. Many companies or teams use one or more UX frameworks to organize the process, find problems and solve them, and to implement successful projects.
SDH shares a list of the most popular frameworks, but it is also describe and provide use cases for best practics that are most popular.
A design framework is a set of tools, workflows, protocols, and processes for design projects. Design frameworks provide teams with a systematic approach to solving problems and delivering projects.
Design frameworks help with onboarding new hires or handing over responsibilities. By following a familiar, structured process, new team members know where they are in the design process and how to carry the project to completion. In large organizations, where multiple cross-functional teams work on the same product, the framework ensures communication and collaboration between teams to maintain quality and consistency in the workflow. Design frameworks adjust teams rather than forcing everyone to follow a certain way of thinking and working. Instead of telling team members what to do, the framework provides a systematic path to finding a solution.
Let's take a look at the most popular design frameworks.
One of the best for me is the Double Diamond framework, which is one of the most popular frameworks. This framework most used by teams because of its flexibility and simplicity.
Three important aspects to keep in mind when using this framework:
✅ It is not a structure but a framework. Apply whatever works for you, adapt it, and use it as you see fit. ✅ Be prepared to iterate or even restart at any point in the process. ✅ It's a never-ending process because creativity is a habit of constantly doing something in a new way to positively change our lives.
Discover — Research Phase
Objective: Understand the initial situation or challenge.
Output: Unstructured research findings and documentation.
Define — Synthesis Phase
Objective: Make sense of your research and ensure you're addressing the correct problem.
Output: Final brief, Customer Journey Map (CJM), User Story, Value Proposition Canvas (VPC), new or refined "How might we..." research questions, or a strategy paper.
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Develop — Ideation Phase
Objective: Generate and evaluate solutions for the identified issues.
Output: Prioritization, hypothesis, a set of ideas, a strategic thesis, a concept, first design drafts, a vision, or first prototypes.
Deliver — Implementation Phase
Objective: Transform ideas into tangible solutions through design, testing, and iteration.
Output: The final decision, result, or optimized solution to the problem.
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Lean User Experience (Lean UX) is a team-based approach to building better products by focusing less on the theoretically ideal design and more on iterative learning, overall user experience, and customer outcomes.
Lean UX design extends the traditional UX role beyond merely executing design elements and anticipating how users might interact with a system. Instead, it encourages a far more comprehensive view of why a feature exists, the functionality required to implement it, and the benefits it delivers. By getting immediate feedback to understand if the system will meet the fundamental business objectives, Lean UX provides a closed-loop method for defining and measuring value.
User-centered design (UCD) is a collection of processes which focus on putting users at the center of product design and development. You develop your digital product taking into account your user’s requirements, objectives and feedback.
The Essential Elements of User-Centered Design
““The difference between User-centered design and Human-centered designUser-centered design is very often used interchangeably with human-centered design, but there is a difference in that it is a subset of it. Simply put, all users are humans, but not all humans will be your users (you wish!). Thus, user-centered design requires deeper analysis of users – your target audience. It is not only about general characteristics of a person; it is about particular habits and preferences of target users to come up with right solutions for specific problems.
User-centered design takes into account age, gender, social status, education and professional background, influential factors, product usage expectations and demands and many other important things that may vary for different segments. What is critical for some may be irrelevant for others. User-centered design is about deep research on users’ habits, from their interactions with the product to their vision of how the product should look like and behave."
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The framework requires both divergent and convergent thinking—start broad and then narrow. Engage with users to uncover as many problems as possible, then narrow your focus on one of these problems. Brainstorm as many solutions as possible, then narrow your focus on one or two that you prototype and test.
In the HCD process, failure is a learning experience: An opportunity to discover what works and what doesn’t. It’s also important to embrace ambiguity. You need to be comfortable knowing that you might not understand the problem yet — or its solution — and that’s OK.
There are many different categorizations of the phases of HCD, but here’s a handy guide:
This framework work good to solve user problems and business problems.
HEART is a design framework used by Google to measure and improve the user experience of a product or service. HEART stands for:
Happiness: This metric assesses user satisfaction and overall happiness with the product. It often involves surveying users to gauge their level of contentment. Engagement: Engagement measures the level of user interaction and involvement with the product. It can include metrics like the number of sessions, time spent, or specific actions taken within the product. Adoption: Adoption tracks how many users are taking up the product or feature. It helps to understand if users are actually using what you've built. Retention: Retention measures whether users continue to use the product over time. It assesses user stickiness and how well the product retains its user base. Task Success: Task success is about how well users can complete the tasks they came to the product for. This can involve tracking success rates, error rates, and time taken to complete specific tasks.
The HEART framework is used to evaluate the user experience and guide product improvements. It's a user-centric approach to product development.
When should you use the HEART model?
The HEART framework is a valuable tool for assessing and improving the user experience of a product. Here are some situations where you should consider using the HEART framework:
The HEART model works for any size project or team. Use it whenever you want to ensure you’re making your customers happy and providing them with real value at the product.
There are many options and this is only a part of those that designers use in their teams. To understand which one suits you best:
✅ Assess with your team what you plan to work on ✅ Understand what needs you will be solving (business or user and which ones) ✅ Do not hold back in diversity, as I have already written, these are not rules but only a recommendation to improve cooperation with the team and free to choose the path you will take in your project.
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