The Iterative Design Process
How the iterative design process works: investigating user needs, writing a specification, generating ideas, developing and testing prototypes, and refining a design through repeated cycles.
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Designing goes round in loops
Good designers rarely get a product right the first time, and they do not expect to. Instead they work in a repeating cycle: they investigate the problem, come up with ideas, make a rough version, test it, learn what is wrong, and go round again with an improved design. This is called the iterative design process, and each loop brings the product closer to something that truly works. Along the way designers set out clear requirements in a specification, keep the people who will use the product at the centre of their thinking, and use models and prototypes to try ideas out cheaply. This module walks through that cycle so you can describe how a real design is developed, tested and refined rather than simply invented.
Design process words
Learn these five terms before you follow the design cycle.
Match each design term to its meaning
- design context
- the client
- ergonomics
- anthropometrics
- evaluation
- the situation or problem a product must address
- the person or group who wants the product made
- designing products to fit how people use them
- using body measurements to size a product
- judging how well a design meets its specification
Iterative against linear design
A design can be developed in a loop or in a straight line. The loop wins for a reason.
Which design strategy?
Before designing a new kettle, a designer interviews the people who will use it about what they need. Which design strategy is this?
- User-centred design
- Systems thinking
- Mass production
- Linear design
Why a prototype is worth it
A prototype is a rough working version of an idea, and it is one of the most useful tools a designer has. Making one is far cheaper than making the final product, so a flaw discovered in a prototype costs almost nothing to fix, while the same flaw found after manufacturing could be a disaster. A prototype also lets real users hold the idea, try it and say what does not work, which no drawing on its own can do. That is why a good designer builds, tests and rebuilds rather than committing to a first idea. When you describe developing a design, always mention modelling and testing, not just sketching.
Pick the true facts about designing
Select every statement about the design process that is true.
- Iterative design repeats a cycle of making and testing
- A specification is a list of requirements a design must meet
- A prototype is an early model used to test a design
- User-centred design ignores what users want
- The design process is always a single straight line
Order one loop of the design cycle
Put the stages of one loop of the iterative design cycle in a sensible order.
- Investigate the context and user needs
- Write a specification
- Generate design ideas
- Make and test a prototype
- Evaluate and refine
Complete the design process facts
Repeating a cycle of making and testing to improve a design is _____ design. A list of the requirements a design must meet is a _____. An early model made to test a design is a _____. Designing around the needs of the people who will use a product is _____ design.
Learning to cook a new dish
Think about the first time you try to cook a dish you have never made. You do not get it perfect at once. You make it, you taste it, you decide it needs a little more salt or a little less time in the pan, and you make it again a bit better. Each attempt teaches you something the one before could not, and after a few tries you have a version worth serving to friends. Designing a product works in just this loop. You make a rough version, try it out, learn what is wrong, and go round again, each time a little closer to right. The going round, rather than expecting it to be perfect the first time, is the whole point of how designers work.
Tap the parts of the design cycle
Tap every item below that is a genuine part of the design cycle.
- writing a specification
- making a prototype
- evaluating against the specification
- posting the finished advert
The design process run
Answer each one correctly to keep your lives. Choose the best answer.
Make the design decision
Read each situation and choose the best move for the designer.
- Your first prototype fails a user test. What should you do?
- You are unsure which features the product should include. What is the best first step?
- A design meets some points on the specification but not others. What should you do next?
Build a design process point
Choose the word for each gap to complete one accurate point about designing.
Explain the iterative design process
A friend thinks designing means getting it right the first time. Explain clearly how the iterative design process really works.
- Explain what iterative design means and how it differs from a linear approach
- Explain what a specification is and why it matters
- Explain what user-centred design is
- Explain the role of prototypes and testing
- Explain why designs are refined again and again