Before designing, I take the time to deeply understand the challenge at hand. This involves engaging with stakeholders to define the goals, the context, and the expectations of the product or feature. Whether it’s addressing a user pain point or fulfilling a specific business task, I ensure clarity on the "why" behind the initiative.

Once the problem is defined from a business perspective, I shift my focus to the users. I conduct research to understand their behaviors, needs, and pain points. This may include:

• User interviews – to gather qualitative insights

• Surveys – to validate assumptions with quantitative data

• Usability testing – to evaluate existing solutions

• Feedback analysis – reviewing past user comments and complaints

This phase allows me to gain a holistic understanding of the problem from both the business and user perspectives.

To ensure alignment among stakeholders, I may need to create user personas and customer journey maps based on my research. These artifacts help illustrate the user experience, highlighting key pain points and opportunities for improvement. It helps ensure that all stakeholders are aligned on who the users are and what problem(s) we’re solving.

With a solid understanding of the problem, I begin ideating possible solutions. My process includes:

• Sketching & low-fidelity wireframes – quick visualizations of ideas

• Stakeholder alignment – presenting early concepts to ensure they align with business objectives and user needs

• Iterative feedback loops – refining ideas before investing in high-fidelity designs

Once a direction is validated, I move on to creating high-fidelity wireframes and interactive prototypes using industry-standard tools. This phase allows for a more realistic representation of the final product, enabling deeper usability testing.

Depending on the scale of the product and available resources, I conduct different types of testing to validate the design and implementation. These include:

• Usability Testing – conducted before and/or after development to assess user experience

• Quality Assurance (QA) Testing – performed after development to ensure functionality and design integrity

• A/B Testing – sometimes conducted after development to measure the impact of changes on the business goals, e.g., sign-ups, feature adoption, and conversions

• *Hypothesis Testing – if research findings are inconclusive, I sometimes launch a lightweight version of the solution to validate assumptions before full-scale development

By integrating testing at different stages, I ensure that solutions are not only functional but also effective in meeting user needs and business objectives.

Once the design is finalized, I collaborate closely with developers to ensure a smooth implementation. I maintain an open feedback loop, addressing any design challenges that arise during development.

Even post-launch, I continue monitoring performance, gathering user feedback, and iterating on the product to drive continuous improvement.