The Design Process

1
The Design Process

• Notes created by J. V. Walton
• for SYS364
• Systems Analysis Design

2
A Universal Design Process

• Before we begin learning to design business
  information processing systems, we are first
  going to study The Design Process, a way of
  designing anything!
• From bridges and buildings to aprons or
  fashionable garments to menus or recipes to
  rocket systems...
• And even Business Information Processing Systems !

3
The Design Process

• This methodology, taught to visual Design
  students in the School of Communication Arts, is
  another cyclic methodology, like so many in our
  IP world
• It is not formally a part of the SYS364
  curriculum, but will be helpful in our
  exploration of the Design phase of the SDLC
• It is a universal Design Process, used by many
  engineering and creative industries
• Remember that Design is always one of the
  preliminaries to construction

4
Another 5-Phase Cycle!

• In this universal Design Process, the following
  five phases are recommended
• 1. Acceptance
• 2. Exploration
• 3. Ideation
• 4. Selection
• 5. Implementation

5
Strengths of the Design Process

• It is universal, once learned can be applied to
  a variety of challenges
• Can be used for Problem Solving as well as
  Design Challenges
• Not only provides good designs (or problem
  solutions) but also provides assurance that the
  design (or solution) is the best that could have
  been achieved

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Acceptance Phase

• This first phase is about accepting or adopting
  the challenge (by person or team)
• The symptoms that this phase has been done
• the project has a name (a working title, not
  necessarily its final name)
• a date/time has been set for design completion
  (or problem solution)
• time has been set aside (allocated) for the work
• files (document or computer) have been set up to
  store relevant documents
• a journal or diary has been created or adapted as
  a place to record progress

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Acceptance Phase - continued

• For any design project (or problem solution), it
  will be practically impossible to prevent
  premature ideation however, it will be
  impossible to capitalize on any fresh and great
  ideas if the Acceptance phase has not been
  completed!
• The Acceptance Phase really must come first!

8
Exploration Phase

• This second phase has three sections
• Research
• Analysis
• Definition
• However, they constitute a single phase, because
  the next phases will prove useless until all
  three are done!
• It is usually desirable to do further Research
  after some Analysis of prior research reveals the
  need for more information
• Definition will also usually prompt more R A

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Exploration Phase - continued

• The symptoms that Exploration is complete are
  that the following Definitions have been
  collected and documented
• objectives for the design (or solution) and their
  relative importance, and the priorities of the
  person funding the design
• criteria by which achieving these objectives will
  be assessed (preferably measurable criteria!)
• the nature of the designs or solutions for
  similar or related products
• the entire life cycle of the product being
  designed
• a solid profile of the end users of the product

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Exploration Phase - continued

• More necessary symptoms of completion of this
  phase are the following definitions
• sketchy profiles of other users of the product
  throughout its life cycle
• constraints on the product and on the project to
  create the product
• resources available for the product and for the
  project to create the product
• Note that constraints do not limit design
  possibilities, they illuminate them!

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Exploration Phase - continued

• Establishing all these Definitions will obviously
  entail doing a lot of Research, and proper
  Analysis of the findings
• It is dangerous to proceed to the next phases
  until these Definitions are achieved, and well
  documented
• In particular, the criteria defined for achieving
  the objectives will be essential for the fourth
  Selection phase of the Design Process

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The Ideation Phase

• A lot of people think that this third phase of
  the Design Process is the only creative phase
  of design, and that it is only possible for
  people with an inborn talent for creativity
• They are wrong !
• Ideation usually involves lateral thinking, as
  well as the linear thinking which is reinforced
  by most of our schooling
• However, it isnt difficult, its fun! And easy
  for all of us, once we unlearn unnatural
  inhibitions!

13
Ideation Phase - continued

• The watchword for this phase is bulk!
• Quantity, not Quality (that comes later)
• There are a lot of techniques for coming up with
  ideas, and well discuss them as the semester
  unfolds
• One lovely technique is brainstorming which
  involves collecting other peoples bright ideas
  in a wild session of uncensored cerebral
  popcorn
• Since you will be responsible for the Selection
  phase, it is not cheating to use others ideas
  during Ideation!

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Ideation Phase - continued

• Another technique is conversation, with others,
  or with yourself, or with imaginary Martians!
• Or you can use a dictionary or thesaurus to
  explore each word of your definitions of
  objectives, its alternatives and opposites
• A very useful technique is called Immersion and
  Incubation, where you alternate between intense
  concentration on your objectives and leaving the
  problem alone (for your subconscious mind to
  process) (Yes, It will !! )

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Ideation Phase - continued

• Whatever techniques you use (bottom up, top down,
  sideways, personal or shared) to come up with
  ideas, the most important reminder is to record
  and file all of them
• Too many ideas is an absolute impossibility
• An irrelevant idea may prompt a relevant one
• A partial solution may combine with others or
  stimulate the production of others
• Never be without pencil and paper to record the
  latest idea (even when asleep)

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Ideation Phase - continued

• Some people like to work on huge pieces of paper
  (or rolls of shelf paper) because they find that
  each idea may spawn several others and its handy
  to record each as it occurs
• Some people like to work on tiny indexing slips
  of paper, so that they can shuffle and sort, and
  lay them out around them to inspire new ideas
• Do whatever works for you at the moment!
• But record every idea!
• There is no symptom for the completion of this
  phase--it probably wont ever really end!

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The Selection Phase

• This fourth phase sounds like the dull and
  mechanical phase of the Design Process
• However, its just as creative as any of the
  other phases, and usually stretches your
  imagination
• Its also the phase which makes the design (or
  the problem solution) your very own (or your
  teams very own)
• All thats involved is evaluating each of the
  ideas recorded during Ideation according to the
  criteria for evaluation you recorded during
  Exploration

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Selection Phase - continued

• Sometimes, youll want to list the criteria, with
  priority weighting factors, and build a matrix of
  all your ideas versus all the criteria, and use a
  spreadsheet to calculate scores for each idea
• More often, youll find you need to combine
  ideas, and this will send you back into Ideation
  to create the missing pieces
• The symptom of a completed Selection Phase is
  your chosen design (or solution) together with
  your verifiable reasons for choosing it

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The Implementation Phase

• Remember that were talking Design here, not
  construction! Specifying, not building.
• Implementing a design simply means adequately
  documenting it for the people who will construct
  from your specifications (even if that means
  yourself)
• Implementation varies all over the map depending
  on the nature of the product being designed --
  for an IP System Design, its the DFDs and Data
  Dictionary, and specifications for all the
  input/output documents and screens, and for all
  the programs and procedures

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Implementation Phase - continued

• For other kinds of Design challenges or Problem
  solutions, implementation may mean other kinds of
  specifications (blueprints, material lists)
• Whatever, the challenge, the symptom of a
  completed Implementation Phase is a complete set
  of specifications ready for constructors to
  proceed

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Two Warnings

• Like all of the Cyclic Methodologies, this one
  has no guarantees that work on one phase wont
  necessitate extra work on a prior phase
• And it is recognized that some premature work
  may be done on a phase before prior phases are
  totally complete, however,
• 1. Premature Selection will prevent good
  Exploration and Ideation
• 2. No design project can succeed if Acceptance
  doesnt come first

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Post-Implementation Activities

• Never scrap all your files once youve chosen and
  implemented the design, and turned the specs
  over to the constructors
• Some of your research may be relevant to other
  projects you encounter later file by topic
• Your diaries and journals may help you estimate
  future projects (and predict bottlenecks!)
• Raw ideation scribbling may prove useful for
  other projects compress (if possible) and file
• Only discard what is truly useless, but re-file
  every potentially useful document

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The Design Process

• Accept the Challenge
• Explore (Research, Analyze, Define)
• Ideate ( a lot! Any how at all! )
• Select (using previously defined criteria)
• Implement (Get ready for construction)

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The Design Process

• Three important facts about this methodology
• it works! On many different kinds of design
  projects (or problem solving challenges)
• anyone can achieve good results with it, because
  it blends solo and social activities, linear and
  lateral thinking
• the resulting designs are verifiably the best
  possible (You not only know youre right, you
  know exactly why youre right!)