From the initial spark of an idea to the final product in the hands of users, the engineering design process is dynamic and iterative. One with challenges for sure, but also creative breakthroughs, and moments of inspiration.
Here are some tips for you.
Get Inside Your Users’ Heads
You’re designing for real people with real needs and so getting into your users’ minds helps you create stuff they’ll actually want to use. Try to have conversations with them, observe how they do things, and ask them what bugs them about existing solutions. It’s also a good idea to create user personas to represent different types of users.
Say you’re designing a new fitness app for seniors. Instead of just guessing what features they might want, go to places like senior centers and strike up conversations. Maybe even shadow a personal trainer for a day. Then, create personas like “Gym Greg” or “Yoga-loving Lucy” to represent different types of users. Armed with this information, chances are you design an app that they find really helpful.
Build, Break, Repeat
Nobody ever got anywhere by just sitting around thinking. Building stuff—then breaking it, fixing it, and breaking it again—is how you make sure your design actually works in the real world.
Use what you have —Legos, cardboard, whatever—to whip up quick prototypes of your design ideas. Then get your prototypes out there to real users and really listen to what they do and say. Remember, your first idea probably won’t be your best. Be ready to toss out what doesn’t work and try something new.
Say you’re designing a new travel backpack. Instead of spending months perfecting your design on paper, grab some old backpacks, scissors, and duct tape, and start hacking away. Test your makeshift creations by loading them up with stuff and hitting the road. Pay attention to what’s comfortable, what’s annoying, and what falls apart. Then, go back to the drawing board (or the duct tape) and make improvements based on what you learned.
Team Up
Bringing together a team with different skills and perspectives can take almost any design from good to great.
Really, it’s generally a good idea to get a crew together with a mix of skills—engineers, designers, marketers, keep the lines of communication open and get everybody involved in brainstorming, problem-solving, and decision-making.
Say you’re cooking up a new smartphone app. Why not round up your tech-savvy engineer friends, your artsy designer buddies, and maybe even a few marketing whizzes? Bounce ideas off each other as well as solve problems together and chances are you turn in a killer app that people actually find useful.
Really, engineering design is all about getting creative, working together, and keeping the end-users in mind. Try out these tips!