Research & Design

You wouldn’t publish a research paper based on an n of 1, so why design software that way?

As software enters a stage in which design is constrained less by technical limitations than by imagination, it is increasingly important to involve users throughout the software design process. Beacon 16′s research and design process employs ethnographic research, user modeling, and interaction design techniques to address directly the needs and goals of your users.

Here’s how it typically works:

Project Launch

At the start of a project, we meet with our clients to learn their high-level goals and establish a product vision, both of which frame the research phase.

Ethnographic Research

Beacon 16′s researchers and designers meet with potential users for contextual interviews, a technique which combines open-ended interviewing with observation of the user’s behaviors in the applicable setting, like an office, lab, clinic, or home.

Analysis & Modeling

Using interview transcripts, we extract users’ observed tasks and activities and synthesize our research findings into useful artifacts: mental models, behavioral dimensions, and competitive analyses. Our research also drives the creation of personas, composite sketches of likely users based on the patterns which emerge from interview subjects. With these artifacts, project sponsors, designers, and developers develop empathy toward users based on a common understanding of their motivations, behaviors, and obstacles. We also identify the pain points in users’ workflows where the software project can be most helpful.

Scenarios & Requirements

During the design phase, we leverage these models to develop scenarios, which describe how the personas will interact with the application in the most typical circumstances. The storytelling nature of scenarios makes it easy for everyone involved to develop a common picture in their mind of how the software will work. From our scenarios, we extract user requirements and business requirements which feed into the interaction design process.

Interaction Design

Only once we have a thorough understanding of our users, their tasks, goals, and difficulties, and the types of interactions we want to support in the software, can we begin interaction design. With our client’s regular feedback, we develop and iterate of a suite of design materials — wireframes, mockups, prototypes — that define the visual and interactive components of the user experience. We frequently present our paper-based designs to potential users to inform further refinements. The final software requirements and user interface designs resulting from this process minimize risks in the implementation phase and increase the likelihood of project success.