Scope and Research

At the outset of a project, it’s important that the team and UX designer understand the scope of what they are trying to achieve. For an agency or consultancy, this includes defining the terms of the project such as timeline and budget. In an agile sprint, this is prioritizing the user stories to focus on. Scoping is about creating the sandbox within which the UX designer will work, defining the problem that is being solved, and the measures of success. Clear scope upfront will lead to better outcomes at the end of the work.

The scoping phase often continues into the project’s initial research, as interviews with key internal stakeholders, competitor research and user research will often reveal that tweaks and adjustments are needed to broaden the initial scope of the project. During the research phase, the UX designer will start to define project requirements and metrics or key performance indicators. The research will also build a clear picture of user needs and goals, and start to deliver answers to questions like: Who are we designing for? and What are their behaviors, needs and goals?

Research with internal stakeholders and end users is a crucial piece of the UX process in order to understand their perspectives and needs.

Must haves for this phase: