Looking for a good design from the process of product design

What is a good product design

Since we're looking for a good product design, let's start by defining what a good product design is.

If you use a word to generalize, I will say good product design is: to design a reasonable goal, to achieve or exceed the goal of the design is a better product design.

So what does a reasonable goal mean? It depends on the goal of the product itself and the problems that are designed to be solved. As an example:

In the Youdao cloud notes of the Android version, assuming that we want to guide users to log in and use the product to enjoy the convenience of the cloud, we can propose such a product design requirements: On the homepage to increase the user to guide the login button to achieve this goal.

Figure 1 Youdao Cloud Note Login interface

At this time, the design goals and objectives to achieve the basis of the following.

The goal of the design: to improve the likelihood of user login.

Goal-reached judgment: the rate of login changes and the user usage of the login button.

Process of product design

In the daily product design, how to ensure the rationality of the design objectives and accessibility? We can guarantee the product design process through the corresponding link.

In short, the rationality and accessibility of design objectives can be guaranteed in the links between "opportunity analysis" and "product definition". Through "Data validation" to determine the completion of the target, and in the subsequent iterations of the product to discover new opportunities, improve the existing design, so as to better achieve the design goals.

Our product design process is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Youdao Cloud Note design process

Opportunity Analysis

Opportunity analysis is the basis of design. There are many ways of opportunity analysis, some product design needs rapid analysis, and some product design needs comprehensive analysis. The designer needs to decide which method to use according to the actual situation. Opportunity Analysis and validation summary, can make subsequent products in design more rule-based, and can gradually form a good design style.

Product definition

A product definition is a definition of a design object. Its role is to define what is to be done for each iteration, and to what extent. The right product definition protects the product from being able to do more valuable things at the moment.

Product Realization

Product implementation is the implementation of the design. In this process, we hope to take small steps to run, in the context of "opportunity analysis", through the rapid introduction of products, the real market reaction to test the design.

Data validation

Data validation is the test of design. Design is good or bad, need to have a certain standard of judgment, and the standard of judgment comes from the related data affected by the design. This section has a special focus, that is, data validation needs to ask why, as well as other data to match the validation, to avoid getting into preconceived misconceptions.

Iterative improvements

Iterative improvement is the perfect way to design. Any good design, is not an overnight, need to continuously optimize, improve, or even overturn. Combined with the previous four steps, it is possible to effectively avoid large deviations from iterative improvements.

Youdao Cloud notes in the iphone version of the handwriting design

Before you start, look at two handwritten notes that I actually shared with the users I found on Sina Weibo, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 User handwritten note instances

Let's look at the actual product design process below.

Opportunity Analysis

We decided to make handwritten products, including the following reasons.

The input on the mobile device. Limited to the screen and the use of the environment, to do fast, without thinking of input is very difficult, "efficient record" is the way the cloud notes the core of the use of one of the ideas, and handwriting can well improve the concept.

The original taste of the handwriting can better express feelings, but also more cordial, so that users in the printed text outside, there is a different way of expression.

Beautiful handwriting itself is also a kind of propaganda and display.

Of course, in addition to these analysis, there are some conventional sense of market analysis, competitive analysis and so on.

Product definition

After the opportunity analysis has been completed, we begin to define a minimized product, at which point we need to decide what kind of handwriting the first version will provide.

The final results are as follows.

The handwritten interface provides a sense of a similar notebook, which makes the user more realistic.

Similar products are basically the thickness of the strokes are fixed, but we provide with flicks, while the stroke thickness can change the real handwriting function, which makes the product has a clear competitive advantage.

Because the touch area of the finger is larger, so handwriting, the effect adopts the style of writing brush.

It is necessary to provide a large enough written area for the product so that the writing can be completed comfortably.

Need to provide users with basic line wrapping, adjusting thickness, backspace, and other action buttons.

On the basis of product definition, the prototype design and interactive design of the product are carried out.

Product Realization

Handwriting calligraphy effect, need technical research and implementation, after a period of research, we have been able to achieve good calligraphy effect, but there is a distance from excellent. It may take months or more if you want to be good enough, which is too long for us.

At this time the product relative to similar products, has been able to provide a better handwriting feel, so we decided to the current results based on the product to market.

Data validation

Product on-line, through the data, we can see the following aspects of the phenomenon.

Of the few new note types we offer, in addition to text notes, handwritten notes exceed album notes and photo notes (as shown in Figure 4), becoming the second most common type of note that users use.

Figure 4 Different types of "new notes" labels

The average number of new notes created by the user increases by a certain margin.

The user retention rate for handwriting is relatively higher than that of the average user.

Iterative improvements

After data validation, we have done several iterations to improve the content, as shown in table 1.

Table 1 Comparison of improved content and reasons for improvement

After these iterations, there has been a noticeable improvement in the interface and writing effects (as shown in Figure 5), where different improvement points have different effects on the data:

Increase the proportion of users who use handwriting to create new notes;

An increase in the average number of new note bars;

Increase in user retention rates.

Figure 5 Comparison of handwritten effects before and after iterations

Future

In the design of handwriting products, we still have a lot to improve, it is worth improving, we should improve the place. We will also continue to improve the product, and loyal users will witness these changes occur.

Conclusion

In our eyes, the purpose of product design is to make life better, hope that our products can make more and more people feel the beauty of life and convenience.

Article: By the programmer feeds, reprint please indicate the source.