The eagerness in putting into practice all methodologies and frameworks considered the most current ones in the product community, may end up deviating us from the actual goal of our work: to create value. In this sense, how Cynefin can help us with this challenge? 

What Is Cynefin? 

Cynefin is a conceptual framework created at IBM (1999) to solve an issue of how decisions were made at the company. It is not a tool per se, but a model to organize our minds, offering clearer and more objective ways of thinking about each problem we face. 

Applying the framework on a daily basis to Product Owners, Cynefin helps with the challenge of handling the flood of ideas, issues, and processes. This way, it is possible to maximize the value of each delivery without feeling lost among so many techniques that come up every year. 

The foundation of the model is the division of issues into four main quadrants: obvious things; complicated things; complex things; and chaotic things. There are other nuances as well but, in this article, we will focus on the four main quadrants that can help solve the most latent issues when it comes to the development of digital products. 

Source: https://cdn.cognitive-edge.com/

1. Obvious Things 

When we talk about the quadrant of obvious things, we refer to those that are easy to understand and stable, that is, those that don’t change constantly. The cause-and-effect relationships are simple to understand in this type of issue: when making the right decision, we know what will happen, because the answer is always the same. For this reason, it is easy to establish a best practice to solve this type of issue, which has a single solution. 

Evidently, we face situations where the person responsible for this issue still does not know the ideal way to resolve it, but there is such a way and it is obvious for those who master the topic addressed. This is the case of industrial processes, such as in a soda manufacturer, for example. Each part of the process is known and can be repeated easily. 

2. Complicated Things 

If we don’t master our issue but know what we need to search to solve it, we are talking about the quadrant of complicated things. In this area, we put issues with cause-and-effect relationship that we don’t master and, for this reason, need to be analyzed by an expert on the topic. 

Differently from obvious things, there is no single way for us to achieve the desired result; therefore, issues from the complicated quadrant don’t have a single path to follow, but good practices that can serve as inspiration to achieve the goal. It is like in medical procedures, where each case is assessed according to the patient and an acquired knowledge will be applied. 

3. Complex Things 

Complex things are those where the cause-and-effect relationships can only be studied in hindsight. At some point after the event, it may seem obvious, but still wouldn’t be a result that could be predicted beforehand. For this reason, there are no good practices to resolve complex causes; it is necessary to learn patterns along the way to solve this type of issue. 

We can have some knowledge on isolate aspects, but the interaction between parts of the problem will only be understood when we fit each one of these independent variables. When we don’t know exactly what to look for, it is nearly impossible to find references in the topic. This is what happens in studies about climate change or when we face a new disease. The previous results do not guarantee the future results. 

4. Chaotic Things 

On the fourth quadrant, we have the chaotic things, related to events that are so sudden they don’t allow us to understand the scenario before making the decision. It is any completely unforeseen and urgent situation, when we are more concerned with saving lives, for example. 

This is what happens in natural catastrophes or terrorist attacks where, even with specialists on the topic and recommended practices, those who own this knowledge are not available at the exact time the event occurs. For this reason, the people involved need to make the first emergency decisions, trying to contain the situation immediately.

The Adequate Responses 

We are already used to the idea that different issues require different solutions. Proof of it is that we usually suspect when someone presents a simple or obvious solution to an issue we consider complex. Cynefin facilitates organizing, indicating how we should behave when we face the situations from each quadrant: 

• For simple things: first we notice, second we categorize the issue, and then we respond according to the best practice established; 
• For complicated things: after noticing, it is necessary to analyze the issue to select the most applicable good practice; 
• In complex cases, the act of noticing is no longer the first action to be taken, giving way to exploring. In general, complex problems need Product Experimentation, because we need first collect information and then look at pre-existing patterns, before noticing exactly what we will need to analyze; 
• In chaotic events, action takes the lead position. First we take an action to make sure we are not at risk, and then we notice what happened and organize a better response. 

Applying Cynefin in Developing Digital Products 

In the Development of digital products, it is very rare work with obvious or chaotic scenarios. For this reason, we will focus on the Complicated and Complex quadrants. 

Cynefin and Ideation 

In the beginning of the creation of a digital product, we are in a more complex scenario. We don’t know if our idea makes sense, if this is truly what we should be creating to solve the users’ point pains. At the ends, between the complex and chaotic quadrants, we want to have less uncertainty, we aren’t concerned yet with delivering the product. 

At this moment, it doesn’t make sense to discuss productivity and efficiency, we need to talk about learning. Bringing to the reality of a startup, for example, this is the phase when we want to validate the issue and its options of solution. This is why it is so relevant to apply Design Thinking tools, favoring learning, and lean on innovation and disruption theories. Methods related to innovation, creativity and learning are very useful in this phase.

Cynefin and Validation 

As we move towards a less complex and more complicated scenario, we achieve the moment of validating the product-market fit. In other words: evolving aspects of the product that make it fit the market we want to reach. Here, it makes sense to use methods that are no longer as open, but still absorb changes and adaptations, supporting learning about the experiments we are conducting. 

It is the case for us to use Scrum or other Agile Methods. It is important to remember that we probably wouldn’t be able to use these methods in previous phases, because when we don’t know where to go, our efforts to structure work will probably not bring the result expected. 

Cynefin and Fine-Tuning 

Once the complicated field is achieved, it is time to use more analytical methods, which will allow refining the solution. Only then we will get truly concerned with scale and support of the app, system or platform. We go from a Product Experimentation mindset to focus on a System Analysis or Software Architecture mindset, where we look for best practices to handle defined issues. 

However, we know that currently products never achieve stability. Even after achieving scale, and having the feeling that some parts are stable (complicated domain), new ideas, challenges and business opportunities will continue to arise to enhance it, taking us back to the complex universe. 

Cynefin and Context 

Using Cynefin to organize the issues we need to solve does not mean trying to fit our entire product into a single quadrant. Some parts of our solution may be complex and others may even be obvious. 

Also, when we talk about the Development of Digital Products, we have different perspectives about the same issue – some parts may be simple from the business standpoint, but complex from the technical or usability standpoint, and vice-versa. 

Cynefin is also contextual. That is, a situation that is obvious to one person may be complicated to another person. When we work with a field of knowledge that is completely different from what we are used to, an issue may have a simple solution, but we don’t know it yet – it is not in our repertoire. In this case, we need to resort to a specialist who helps us create an analysis for making decisions. 

How To Apply Cynefin On The Product Routine 

The discovery work starts with an input: an issue, a difficulty, an idea, etc. From then on, the product team must try to frame the situation in Cynefin, to be able to select the most adequate tools. This is roughly divided into: 

• High uncertainty of value, business, usability or feasibility – methods that focus on learning; 
• Medium uncertainty of value, business, usability or feasibility – methods that focus on Product Experimentation; 
• Low uncertainty of value, business, usability or feasibility – methods that focus on analysis, supported by best practices; 

The techniques to be used greatly depend on your context and on what you already have on your toolbox (background). On the table below, we classify some tools to help materialize this proposal: 

For example, if we are in a scenario where we want to solve a user’s issue, but do not have in-depth knowledge about it and don’t know what the best solution is to resolve it, our value risk fits the Complex quadrant from Cynefin. For these cases, therefore, Product Owner (PO) and Designer will need to choose techniques that favor, first and foremost, learning, such as qualitative in-depth surveys (interviews, observation). 

The Best Method For Each Phase 

The main goal for using Cynefin in decision making is enabling the product person to understand not only the best methodology for each phase but also have peace of mind about why applying or not applying each tool. It is important for us to be aware of the context and perspective we are working at; otherwise, we may make completely unproductive efforts. 

Without this thinking structure, we risk applying theories and frameworks only because they are trendy: something that makes us, product people, suffer greatly is the glamorization of some tools, believing that there is a separation between innovative methods and outdated practices that no one else should do. The idea of Cynefin is precisely to bring this rationale that there are no glamorous tools but different techniques for every type of situation. 

Are you unsure about which techniques to use in the creation of your Digital Product? Contact us, and our team of specialists will help you!

O post Using Cynefin to Create Digital Products apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

Its main healthcare software is an electromyography sensor that quantifies information from muscle data. The sensor captures the electrical activity of the muscles, both contraction and relaxation, and presents such data to the health professional.  

To boost innovation to its product, in 2019, Miotec joined forces with SoftDesign to create Mioflux, a piece of equipment connected to the electromyography sensor capable of measuring urinary volume and flow. The goal is to support pelvic physiotherapists in the treatment of children with urinary difficulties, people in the postoperative period, and adults with voiding disorders.  

We spoke with Fabiano Ergoni, CEO & Founder of Miotec, to learn more about the challenges and achievements of this project. Watch the video below and learn about the history of Mioflux. Don’t forget to turn on the subtitles.

Why work with SoftDesign? 

Miotec had an achilles heel: talent retention. The company set up internal hardware and healthcare software teams to develop its equipment. However, after a few months, the professionals ended up leaving the company and taking their knowledge about the products away. 

Fabiano Ergoni, CEO and Founder of Miotec, understood that this problem should not be his and that, as an entrepreneur, he needed to dedicate himself to business objectives and to the launch of new products. When talking to SoftDesign, he felt safe with the company’s transparency:  

“Osmar (A. M. Pedrozo – SoftDesign’s CEO) was able to listen to me and understand my vision of the future for Miotec. He didn’t want to sell me a ready-made product, he offered me a solution that could be expanded in the future, and warned me about the importance of making a conscious investment”.  

A Creative Planning Process 

With the partnership established, the first step was to start Product Inception a creative process that SoftDesign has been carrying out since 2016. Its purpose is to define the objectives of the project, plan the software development, and define the necessary investment.  

Initially, the idea of Mioflux was quite broad: a healthcare software that could receive several applications and serve the most different types of hardware. But, through market research carried out with health professionals, it was possible to understand the actual pains and needs of the personas.   

In this way, technical and design requirements were prioritized for the first MVP (Minimum Viable Product). SoftDesign’s team of Designers created the product prototypes, focusing on an easy and intuitive interface. The Product Manager, in partnership with the development team, focused on backlog estimates and release strategy. 

Focus on Healthcare Software Development 

While the Miotec team worked on the hardware, the SoftDesign team developed the healthcare software. A communication protocol was created in partnership, so the information transaction had the best performance.  

The SoftDesign team opted for development with Electron, a multiplatform web technology; and used  React to create the interfaces. The visualization of the graphs was done in  D3.js, and its creation in real-time uses HTML5 associated with Canvas. The database chosen was NeDB, as it is lightweight and allows working with documents (exams).  

Following the Agile Method, fortnightly meetings were held, in the sprint deliveries, for alignments and route corrections. Through the Jira tool, everyone was able to monitor the evolution and speed of work daily. According to Fabiano:  

“All of this provided transparency, both for Soft’s managers and for us, the project’s investors. So it was possible to fix problems quickly, and we achieved our goal. The product is already on the market and we have received many compliments”.  

The Future of Mioflux 

The Mioflux is a kind of scale, with a measuring cup, connected to the electromyography sensor (hardware). When the patient urinates in this equipment, it measures the time for the first drop to fall, the volume, and the urinary flow; and transmits this data to the system (software).   

With this information, the physiotherapist prescribes the appropriate treatment, which can often be performed with the aid of Mioflux. This is because the equipment also has a visual biofeedback: a screen with colored circles that the patient can follow to learn to relax or contract the pelvic muscle.  

Hundreds of physiotherapists already have the equipment in their offices. In a constant dialogue with users, Miotec receives feedback and works on the evolution of the product.  

The next step is to extend home care, as many people are not comfortable urinating in clinics. With that in mind, an application will be developed soon, which will enable the sending of information between the patient and the healthcare professional.  

We will continue working together with Miotec to support the implementation of its manifesto: taking care of subjectivity through technology.   

Let’s develop your digital product? Fill out the form below.

O post Mioflux: a healthcare software for Miotec apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

Lite Apps are lighter versions of apps and are common in well-known apps like Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Spotify, TikTok and Uber. They have similar functions and deliver an application with changes in design and features to the end user; however, the more simplified version does not impact the essential functionalities of the apps. The official version of the Facebook app, for example, is 290 MB, while Facebook Lite is 1.6 MB. 

With that in mind, when programming and coding new Android and iOS applications, the mobile developer must seek a balance between memory, processor performance, and battery life; without forgetting to consider the user journey. Creating a version with as few resources as possible, without compromising the experience, can be the secret of success in meeting diverse needs, arising from smartphones ranging from the most basic models to the most powerful. 

The good side 

According to Maurício Freitas, Mobile Developer at SoftDesign, the main goal of this version is to facilitate the use of hardware. Therefore, among the benefits of Lite Apps, are the reduction in the number of resources required and the creation of applications compatible with previous versions of the operating systems of current phones. “In relation to the official app, the Lite version becomes a lighter option, which can also be used on older devices. The Lite version has all the basic functions of a given application, with some features being more limited precisely so as not to require too much hardware”, he explains. 

Freitas points out that at SoftDesign, the application development process always takes hardware performance into account. When it is necessary to insert photos, for example, the preference is for vector formats and not for JPG versions, since the objective is to reduce the space occupied by the application on the end user’s device. “Over the years and with the expansion of hardware in cell phones, this kind of concern is often left aside by some developers. However, we need to be careful when developing applications that require more hardware and software resources, since even in a powerful and current device it is possible to see negative impacts on smartphone performance, in addition to excessive consumption of mobile data”. 

Care should be taken when developing apps for Android and iOS. However, each platform has its guidelines. For the mobile developer, both should consume as little hardware and software resources as possible. “When the user has a smartphone with low memory, this routine of removing and changing applications is constant, whether on an Android or iOS operating system, as there is no space for downloads. Then the questions begin: which app should I delete? What do I use less or what will free up more space? In these cases, downloading the Lite versions can be a satisfactory solution”, he says. 

The downside 

One of the main limitations of Lite Apps is that most of them are only available for the Android operating system. That is, in this context and for these specific users, it will be easier to find lighter versions of official applications. According to Freitas, part of this is due to the lack of acceptance by users of Lite apps in the Apple Store. This was one of the reasons for discontinuing Facebook Lite for iOS, for example. 

Another negative point of Lite Apps is that some features found in official apps may not be available in lighter and simplified versions. This may be the case with some applications that include mobility activities, as to make the app lighter, maps and routes can be removed, preventing the tracking of information in real time. Uber Lite, for example, which has only 5 MB, can be downloaded and used without Wi-Fi and works on most devices with the Android operating system. However, its functionality is reduced. 

If the complete user experience and interface design are crucial to you, using Lite Apps may not be the best option overall, especially when having all the features and functions available are non-negotiable factors. Keep in mind that these lighter and simplified versions are more utilitarian and serve to solve specific problems for users who have older devices, with lower performance and memory. 

Need help developing a lighter and more democratic app? 

At SoftDesign, we build optimized applications and systems that consider the experience and needs of users. We work in the development of apps for startups to test ideas and in the construction of robust apps for well-established companies. 

In addition, we work with multidisciplinary teams, guided by Agile Methods, which can help you plan a more sustainable and collaborative business model, through our Product Conception service. Fill out the form below, so we can talk about creating your app. 

O post Lite Apps: Lightness and Adaptation For Smartphones  apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

For Ash Maurya, author of the book Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works, before investing months or years of effort into creating a product, the first step should be to validate whether developing it really makes sense. That is, if the proposed solution to solve the problem meets the expectations of the stakeholders – in this case, customers and users. To achieve this, it is essential to raise questions about what the problem is.

Unraveling the Concept

The first objective of the validation phase of a digital solution is to achieve Problem Solution Fit. Product experimentation and the observation of metrics are key factors supporting this journey, as they can prove that the product hypothesis solves a relevant problem for a certain group of people. By reaching this point, it becomes easier to meet potential users, and analyze whether the digital product is technically and economically viable.

In the book “The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company“, Steve Blank and Bob Dorf point out that the customer discovery process helps in finding Problem-Solution Fit. This is why questions like: “Did we find a problem that many people want to be solved?” and “Does our solution convincingly solve this problem?” are so important. They help determine whether the value proposition matches the target audience that the digital solution plans to reach.

For the authors, “Problem Solution Fit is only achieved when the revenue model, prices, and acquisition efforts match the needs of customers”. To achieve this, it is necessary to validate hypotheses through interviews, surveys, and tests with prototypes, among others.

It is important to emphasize that many of these strategies can be tested even before the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Remember that your main mission is to find out if the specific solution is capable of solving a problem to such an extent that the customer will be convinced that he will have to pay for it.

A Challenge for Startups and Companies

As we mentioned, one of the main uncertainties of a startup is validating the real existence of an opportunity, and whether the proposed solution is applicable to the identified problem. However, it is important to emphasize that internal systems of medium and large companies also need to achieve Problem Solution Fit.

Often, a person in a management position proposes a digital solution based on the belief that it will make work easier or increase profits. Developing this, without conducting research with internal users, or working on a validation step, can result in spending time and money. Remember: customers and users don’t behave according to your business plan.

Problem Solution Fit X Product-Market Fit

The second objective of the validation phase of a digital solution is to find Product-Market Fit. After proving that the solution actually solves a real problem, we need to validate its acceptance and performance in the market.​ For this, it is necessary to have the Business Model defined and part of the MVP built, to collect feedback from the first users.

That is, Problem Solution Fit precedes Product-Market Fit and proposes to analyze and understand a problem that can affect the positioning and differentiators of a product in the market. Product-Market Fit is the process of finding a group of customers and a market that reacts positively to your product.

Problem-Solution Fit Canvas

Created by Daria Nepriakhina, the Problem-Solution Fit Canvas is based on Lean Startup principles. Its purpose is to help entrepreneurs, marketers, and innovation leaders to identify behavioral patterns. “This model helps to find solutions with greater chances of future adoption, in addition to reducing the time spent on tests”, Daria highlights.

The Problem Solution Fit Canvas is a tool that transforms a problem into a solution, taking into account the customer’s behavior and the surrounding context. According to Daria, with this model it is possible to analyze problem-solving in-depth, thus increasing the chances of finding Problem-Solution Fit and Product-Market Fit.

The structure of the canvas consists of four pillars:

• Customer State Fit: ensure that you understand who your target audience is, what their limitations are, and what solutions are already available in the market.
• Problem-Behavior Fit: helps filter information and identify the most urgent and frequent problems, understanding the reasons behind them. This is the right time to ask yourself: is this behavior a problem worth solving?
• Communication-Channel Fit: this helps improve your communication through more emotional messages that resonate with customers in the right channels.
• Solution Guess: translates and validates all collected data, solving a real problem by identifying a standard behavior among the target audience.

Solutions to Your Problems

Finding the Problem Solution Fit may not be an easy task. At SoftDesign, the Product Conception service helps in defining the target audience, the value proposition, and the strategic planning of new products.

While in the Product Experimentation service, our multidisciplinary team works on the development of MVPs, which allow for testing hypotheses and validating business ideas. Thus, you reduce risks and save financial resources before going into the development stage.

Need help finding solutions and creating products that meet user needs? Fill out the form below and chat with our team of experts.

O post Problem Solution Fit: how to achieve it? apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

The 5 Stages of Product Marketing

Stage 1: Discover

Stage 2: Strategize

Stage 3: Define

Stage 4: Get Set

Stage 5: Grow

Need help putting this plan into action?

O post The 5 Stages Of Product Marketing apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

But, if there is no secret to it, how can we follow the path of success of so many applications that no longer leave the screen of our cell phones? Nir Eyal explains how it is possible to create true bonds between people and products by turning them into habits in the book Hooked: How to build habit-forming products — from strategies applied consecutively to hook and retain users, through the Hook Model, without requiring a large investment in advertising or more aggressive messages.

Habits and Digital Products

According to cognitive psychology, a habit is an automatic behavior triggered by a situational stimulus. That is, anything we do with little or no conscious thought. Add to that the information that we make an average of 35,000 decisions a day, the vast majority of them in front of a computer, cell phone, or internet-connected device.

With that in mind, before taking any idea off the drawing board, start by understanding the power of knowing your user’s behavior. Make no mistake, we are not talking about big decisions — when you choose to set your alarm clock and get up or hit the snooze button for five more minutes, you have already made your first decision of the day using your cell phone.

Products that become part of our routine were thought of by designers who studied our emotions, motivations, and reactions to connect with internal triggers, not depending on external factors to attract us. This means that when we use a product that really meets our needs, our actions have been planned. For example, the habit of opening Twitter or Instagram when we feel bored.

Hooked: the Hook Model

The model designed by Eyal, also known as the Hook Model, has four stages that aim to lead the user on a journey through the product: trigger, action, variable reward, and investment. It is important to note that these steps are sequential and constant and that habits are built gradually, that is, they are not created overnight as a great idea.

The trigger stage is a behavior trigger and can be external or internal. External triggers are calls to actions, stimuli transmitted by the environment where we are, whether virtual or physical, that communicate to the user what he should do next — such as e-mails, links, advertising, or even application icons and restaurant menus. Internal triggers are those that we cannot see or touch. They are more difficult to identify, and perhaps more valuable and more value-creating.

If you think about it, we usually talk about creating digital products to solve the problems or pains of a group of people. Therefore, internal triggers will usually be bad feelings or discomforts, such as boredom, loneliness, and worry. These emotions, however, are not always rationalized by the user.

The idea is that the product is used not only to relieve or solve pains, but also to replace them with positive feelings and thus begin to create a bond. To assertively create triggers, the first step is to identify the particular frustration or pain point in emotional terms. Never get tired of asking why. Another good place to start is by understanding the impulses behind other already successful habit-building products.

The trigger tells the user what to do, but if he doesn’t act, it is useless. Action is the second stage of Eyal’s model and, in turn, for it to occur, a combination of factors is needed: the user must have motivation, ability and a trigger must be present to activate his behavior. Motivation is the energy for action to happen. While the trigger stimulates the action, the motivation defines the user’s desire to perform it. The ability has to do with how easy it is for the user to act. For this, we use heuristics, which are cognitive shortcuts. The fewer the steps to reach the goal, the greater the acceptance of the product.

After acting, the variable reward is the next level to hook the user. It is the reward we offer the user, solving his problem or satisfying his need. It is called variable reward, as it won’t always be the same type or amount of reward for the same action taken – such as different amounts of likes on published photos, or variation between likes and shares. This helps to keep the user’s expectation on his reward. If they are finite, as in games with a beginning, middle and end, interest tends to last less, or just the time of completing the game.

How to reward the user

There are different types of rewards that can be applied together or depending on the product strategy: 1) tribal – when we feel recognized by a community we care about. This is the case with the number of followers or engagement on Instagram, or up votes for an answer on Stack Overflow; 2) hunting – the type of reward that creates an expectation in the user, such as social media feeds. Since the user doesn’t know when he will find something that interests him among so many ordinary things, he keeps scrolling and scrolling the screen; or 3) ego – a more personal type of gratification, in which there is not necessarily a reward for completing a task, as the satisfaction lies in overcoming personal obstacles.

The last stage of the Hook Model is investment. Before creating mental associations that trigger automatic behaviors, users must invest in the product. Moreover, that investment is not related to financial value. It is much more linked to effort, dedication, or time. Organizing playlists on Spotify is an investment that creates a great connection with the product. Just like creating a LinkedIn resume or advancing through many stages of a game. All this makes us want to continue using the product, as it values our efforts.

The more user data we store, the more committed we tend to be with the product: personal information, music, photos, etc. After a while, it will be much more difficult to switch to a competitor once we have invested time in a certain product.

Building lasting relationships

Based on the initial ideas of our text and the Hook Model, ask yourself: do all these techniques replace a good idea? Of course not! Nevertheless, a good product is much more than a great idea or a disruptive technology. It is, above all, knowledge about user behavior, to the point of creating an involuntary involvement capable of creating habits.

Think about what behaviors you want to turn into habits, how people are currently solving this problem, and why your solution will be beneficial to them. The Hook Model’s goal is to influence customers to use your product on their own, over and over again, without relying on advertisements, promotions, or notifications.

O post Hook Model: Creating Products That Generate Engagement apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

Thus, before approaching the principles of good design, it is important to cite the contribution of the German designer and theorist Gui Bonsiepe (2011, p. 21)*. He defines it from a humanist perspective, understanding it as “the exercise of design activities in order to interpret the needs of social groups and develop viable, emancipatory proposals in the form of material and semiotic artifacts”.

Gui Bonsiepe. Source: https://estacaoq.com.br/2019/2019/01/24/astronauta/.

Less But Better

From this perspective, the field is understood as resource-oriented to the process of identifying and solving demands, as well as to the potential for individual and social development.

With this in mind, and understanding its role as a design tool that permeates the stages from Product Conception to the final realization of a product, understanding the principles of good design is the first step to developing more consistent, viable ideas that have a sense of existence and meet the needs of real people.

Dieter Rams, a German designer known for his contributions to the products of the company Braun and the iconic phrase “less, but better”, was also responsible for defining the Ten Principles of Design. Its purpose was to qualitatively evaluate any design product, be it a physical product or a digital interface product.

Dieter Rams. Source: https://designwanted.com/design/dieter-rams/.

According to Rams, the Ten Principles of Design are:

1 – Is Innovative

The first principle is established from the ability of a product to keep itself in constant evolution and to walk in parallel with technological development. Consequently, good design is characterized as innovative.

2 – Makes a product useful

The second principle is how much this design makes a product useful, being responsible for not only aesthetic criteria, but also functional and psychological ones. Here the emphasis is on its usefulness and the reasons why this product was designed.

3 – Is aesthetic

Even so, it is understood that aesthetic quality is also influential in the acquisition and use of a particular product. While guaranteeing functional quality, the third principle of good design is identified as aesthetic.

4 – Makes a product understandable

In addition, it should also clarify the product’s structure objectively and boost user intuition. Thus, as the fourth principle, design also helps in understanding the product.

5 – Is unobtrusive

The fifth principle is related to ensuring that the product is discreet, insofar as, despite the aesthetic aspect mentioned above, products are not decorative objects and must serve a purpose.

6 – Is honest

The sixth principle is related to its honesty, that is, it should not manipulate the consumer in order to sell something that it is not.

7 – Is long-lasting

Heading in a direction against the discard system and culture currently adopted by society, the seventh principle refers to the timeless potential that a given product has, with it being considered long-lasting.

8 – Is thorough down to the last detail

This long-lasting quality is also linked to the care and precision in details, with no unnecessary information being inserted by chance. Thus, the eighth principle of design is to be thorough down to the last detail.

9 – Is environmentally friendly

Knowing that such principles are intended for applications to physical and digital interface products, Dieter Rams also understands that design is sustainable and plays an important role in caring for the environment, configuring it as the ninth principle.

10 – Is as little as possible

For the last principle, we have the definition of simplicity, understanding that less is more by focusing only on what is essential. Design does not stand out from the purpose of use, but contributes to the purpose being emphatic and providing a unique experience.

Inclusion and diversity are essential

In addition to Dieter Rams’ considerations, it is worth mentioning that good design cannot be achieved without inclusion and diversity. The lack of resources given to this theme not only negatively affects the products – which end up not being suitable for the breadth of the audience to which they would be destined – but also within the institutions themselves. It is necessary to think about this diversity of professionals who bring different perspectives to the support and technological development of new products.

Soon, I will publish a number of articles on the topic of Inclusion and Diversity in Digital Products. Stay tuned!

*Bonsiepe, G. (2011). Design, cultura e sociedade (Design, culture and society). São Paulo, Brazil: Blucher.

O post The Ten Principles of Design apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

Low-Fidelity Prototypes

• Validating basic and initial premises of the product;
• Introducing the idea in a broad manner;
• Containing the main functionalities and user flows;
• Delivering a low degree of aesthetic detail;
• Lack of interaction features – usually not navigable.

High-Fidelity Prototypes

• Faithfully representing the new digital product, both in terms of functionality as well as in aesthetics and behavior;
• Introducing details of operations and their extensions, such as button functionality and possible error returns;
• Containing the possible and different steps taken by users;
• It is usually interactive and navigable.

• Define the final version of the UI design that must be applied to the product;
• Test the understanding of the value proposition of the product with real users, or the understanding of the terminology adopted (UX Writing);
•  If it is interactive, test it with real users understanding the flow and interaction between the user and the product.

Tests with prototypes

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The first article in this series explored the profiles, roles, and expertise needed in a product team. The second article delved into the Product Owner (PO) universe to understand his role in the development journey. To end the series, in the next article we will address the role of Developers and Testers.

Why do we need Designers?

A decade ago, it was rare to see designers working with technology teams to build software. So, what happened since then that made the role of the Designer become so fundamental?

The truth is that the reality in the IT universe has changed a lot in the last decade. Some of these changes are:

• Popularization of technologies;
• The exponential increase in the supply of digital products on the market, and in competition between them;
• Users easily switch from one product to another and reduced overall brand loyalty;
  The growth of social networks and communities of influence leads people to adopt and “cancel” products quickly.

These changes have made users more demanding: today they expect a better experience. People want quick responses, easy access to information, uncomplicated processes, consistency across a brand’s various channels, and a clear and inspirational value proposition.

In the past, in a market with few solutions, Design focused on UX (User Experience) emerged as a differentiator on which very innovative brands relied to seek growth. Today, in a market full of products and demanding customers, design has become essential for a successful product.

Is design’s purpose to make products more beautiful?

Actually, Design is much more than that. Since the discipline began to develop in the so-called Modern Design, from the Bauhaus period, there is a definition that design should be concerned with two inseparable issues: form and function.

Within the concept of form, there is indeed the aesthetic component, where beauty is part of the concerns. However, design is also concerned with function:

• How will the product be used?
• What is it for?
• Does it meet a real need?
• Is it convenient to use?
• Is it satisfying to use?

In other words, Design is not about beautifying a product, but about planning it so that it is both aesthetically and functionally pleasing. For Mira Hennemann, UX/UI Designer at SoftDesign, “design is understood as a project tool that enhances individual and social development, based on the identification and solution of problems; in the same way that it emancipates users from the use of these digital products on a daily basis”.

UI Designer or UX Designer: What do I need?

This very important question leads us to clarify the different areas of Design. The discipline is very broad and includes everything from designing industrial products to creating posts for Instagram, for example. Therefore, it is common not to know exactly what we need.

In a digital product, the subareas of Design that matter most are:

UI Design – is the part that is concerned with creating the interface. In the most common software, the interfaces are screens, but nowadays there are other types, such as voice interfaces. Within this area, we have:

• Colors, Typography and Composition – everything in the interface needs to be thought out in order to convey the message we want because the elements have meaning and impact! A well-known example is an increase in clicks on an e-commerce purchase button, depending on the color of that button.
• Information Architecture – how to organize the elements and the contents in the interface, with hierarchy, structure, etc., so that the user understands what he sees and finds what he needs.
• Interaction Design – focused on user interaction, including issues such as success and error feedback, the possibility to undo actions, etc.
• UI Guidelines – are guides to be followed so that the user can use the product in a specific environment. For example, iPhone and Android users have very different guidelines!

UX Design – is the part concerned about the user’s experience with the product, including:

• Value Proposition – does the product we are going to build solve a real problem for the customer? Does the customer see enough value in this product to use it?
• User – who is our user and how does the product fit into their routine?
• Journey – what is the customer’s path when using the product, from the moment he discovers the product? What touchpoints does he have with the product on this journey and how do those touchpoints affect his satisfaction?
• Onboarding – how are we going to help customers in their first experience with the product?
• Retention – what mechanisms do we need for the customer to continue using our product?
• UX Writing – is concerned with writing explanatory texts and messages displayed to the user.

User Research – is the area dealing with research and data collection, including but not limited to:

• Interviews – a technique for collecting data through a structured conversation with users.
• Observation – a technique for collecting data by observing users in their real environment.
• Usability Testing – a technique for testing and collecting feedback on the product.

It is worth noting that these areas are not completely independent; they interact and influence each other. For example, UI is a part of UX, and UX is not defined without Research. The separation is more for instructive purposes, to help organize all topics of interest.

In addition to these areas, there are still other areas of Design that can be important for a digital product, but that is not part of the product team. For example:

Brand Design – if you are creating a product, you may also need a branding effort, which includes designing the brand’s symbols or logo.

Design of material for product marketing – if you are going to promote your product in the market, you will also need a designer to create advertising material, campaigns, and sales or product presentation materials.

How does a designer affect the product?

The expected result of the Design work is to improve the following product factors:

• Usefulness: Is the product useful and connected to the real needs of users?
• Value: Does the product offer something of value to the customer?
• Findability: Can the user understand the product proposal and find its usefulness?
• Usability: Can the user use the product to achieve his/her purposes?
• Accessibility: Can users with permanent or temporary limitations also access the product’s utilities?
• Reliability: Do people believe in the product, and trust that it will deliver what it promises?
• Desirability: what emotions does the product evoke in those who use it? Do users have positive emotions that make them want the product?

Can the designer work only on the definition of the product?

This is a question we’ve been asked a few times. Why does the Design person need to be part of the team? Why can’t the Design person act just at the beginning, “create the UX”, with the product team then following the definitions throughout the development?

Well, actually, the design doesn’t “create” the UX. What the Design person initially does is propose a solution that he or she believes is adequate. Experience, however, is what the user actually experiences when using the product.

This is where the iterative nature of product development comes into play: a first version is put to use or tested with a small group of users; feedback is collected, and the product is tweaked to improve the experience.

Therefore, the Design person has a continuous role, iterating and continuously evolving the user experience proposition, in addition to creating the UI of new functionalities. According to Pricila Sales, UX Designer at SoftDesign, among the principles and practices of a designer we have strategic performance, which goes far beyond the initial stage of definition. “We continually seek to identify opportunities, as well as to promote the construction of products that allow a good consumer experience and that provide prominence, generating value for the business”, she emphasizes.

How is the daily life of the Design person in the product team?

The Design person works very closely with the Product Management person. This duo works together all the time in activities such as:

• User research and testing;
• Analysis and proposition of solutions;
• Meetings with the team to refine and debate the proposed solutions;
• Testing of solutions, creating prototypes, improving them through validation, and testing with stakeholders and users.

Each planned solution then needs to be detailed, which requires some solitary work in which the Design person will structure:

• Flows, to analyze and propose the interaction;
• High-fidelity prototypes, which represent the UI, with all the details, such as sizes, spacing, colors, messages, etc.

In addition, Designers work closely with the team during the development sprint, actively participating in day-to-day activities to clear up doubts and, mainly, to reconcile the proposed Design with the restrictions and possibilities of technology.

One designer or multiple designers?

To conclude, the last question that we will answer is about the number and specialty of Designers that should compose your product team. In an early-stage product, when only one team is working and you have up to five engineers involved, one design person is likely able to meet the demand. This number is a proportion that is accepted in the market, according to the NN Group’s survey. Also, at this stage the Design person will probably be a generalist, accumulating UI, UX, and Research tasks.

However, as the product evolves, the team will grow and complexity will increase. Therefore, it is normal not only to increase the number of designers but also to start working with people specialized in each area.

Designers at SoftDesign

In our work process, designers participate in the Conception of new products and throughout the life cycle of Development, performing activities focused on UX, UI, and Research. At SoftDesign, our main mission is to deliver products that will be used, loved and that generate value and in order to achieve this, design work is essential.

If you need help creating useful and desirable products, proposing user experiences, and developing successful products, please contact us using the form below. Together, we will connect technology, design, and strategy!

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Namely: in the first article of this series, which you can check out here, we broadly explore all the profiles, roles and knowledge needed in a product team. In addition to the Product Owner, in the next articles we will talk about the role of Designers, Developers and Testers.

Why do we need a Product Person?

When we work in the construction of a digital product, we are dealing with complexity. We start with (1) a vision of where we want to go (usually a little vague), (2) a handful of market information, (3) a certain idea of our customers’ needs, and (4) a limited budget and time. All of this in addition to the mission to deliver maximum value to customers and users.

Amid this complexity, you have to make countless daily decisions about what to do, how to do it and when to do it. The Product Person can then be seen as someone who understands the constraints of the business (money, time, legal, processes, etc.), and acts to prioritize the team’s work strategically, maximizing the value delivered.

Usually, the creators or sponsors of the business believe they can play this role. However, our experience and modern product development methods show that it is best to have someone specific on the team who masters the techniques in the area and has experience in digital products. This does not mean that the role of creators and sponsors is unnecessary: the Product Person will be in frequent touch with them, jointly co-creating the strategic vision – but will also carry out other activities that require more time and focus.

“We can say, from the experience of several cases we have seen, that without a good Product Person, there is a lot of wasted time and money. The allocated team builds a lot of software, but without connection to a larger strategy. In these cases, it is not uncommon to have to throw a lot of things away and start over from scratch, because what was built works, but it doesn’t meet the needs”, Karina Hartmann, Head of Product and Innovation, points out.

What does a Product Person do?

In the market, there are two main nomenclatures for the role of those who work with products: Product Owner (PO) and Product Manager (PM). In some companies, these roles are performed by the same person; in others, they are divided; and there are still those that have only the first role.

At SoftDesign, the Product Person takes on the responsibilities of Product Owner and Product Manager.

As a Product Manager, the main responsibilities are:

• Articulating the product vision;
• Supporting the company in creating a product strategy that is connected to the company’s overall strategy, using knowledge about the market and users as a basis;
• Creating, maintaining and communicating a product roadmap – which is a visual description that shows how the product will evolve over time – that represents this strategy;
• Aligning the roadmap with the company’s constraints (money, time, etc.);
• Thinking of ways to reduce risks and uncertainties as early as possible through testing, experimentation or research;
• Feeding the roadmap based on product metrics;
• Interacting with other areas that need to be coordinated (sales, marketing, support, operations) to align processes, pass on knowledge, among other actions.

As Product Owner, which is a role of the Scrum method, the main responsibilities are:

• Prioritizing the work that will be done by the team in each Sprint in order to deliver maximum results and achieve the roadmap’s objectives;
• Identifying solution options for each roadmap objective, choosing the best one based on testing, research or other data sources;
• Refining each solution chosen, writing the user stories that will be the basis for development.

From the list above, we can see that this is not simple work. To achieve this, it is necessary to understand the various stakeholders in the product and integrate their views into a cohesive strategy.

Bruna Ricardo, one of SoftDesign’s Product People, values this aspect a lot. For her, her main challenge in a digital product team is to strategically connect all the ends, considering the different objectives of each stakeholder. “The main challenge of my role is to move between different scenarios, connecting stakeholders: customer, development team, and end user. I need to bring everyone into the same world and make these people happy with what is being developed”, she says.

Moreover, for Daniel Olsson, who also works with products at SoftDesign, “the presence of the Product Owner is crucial because, while the company assumes the role of caring about the business, the PO focuses on the product, managing efforts to make it a success. We do this while verifying the user and the market, saving the entrepreneur’s time so that he can focus on strategic and administrative decisions”, he emphasizes.

What is the daily life of a Product Person like?

Working on a team that uses the Scrum method, this person will have to perform the Product Owner’s functions, so in this person’s schedule we will find:

• Participation in Planning; a planning meeting that takes place at the beginning of each Sprint. In it, the PM explains the objective of that work cycle and the team plans what is necessary to achieve it;
• Conducting the Review, when the team collects feedback on what has been done in the Sprint;
• Maintenance, update and prioritization of the backlog, which is the list of everything that needs to be done;
• Daily availability to help the team with questions and decisions.

However, going beyond Scrum, the PO also needs to organize the following in his schedule:

• Frequent conversations with stakeholders, which are the various areas involved in the product, such as Business, Marketing and Sales: the objective is to understand the expectations and constraints that each one brings to the project;
• Market studies, to keep the PO’s understanding up to date on the positioning and differentiators of the product under construction;
• Collecting data about users, including Analytics, and also conducting user surveys with the support of Designers (interviews, observation, usability tests);
• Identification of opportunities based on the data collected;

Analysis of solution ideas, which usually includes the creation of workflows and prototypes, in addition to discussions with the entire team;

• Testing solutions before building, which includes planning and running experiments that reduce the risk of investing in a bad solution;
• Assembling a roadmap and frequently aligning these goals with all those involved, reconciling it with the expectations and constraints of the business and with the frequent changes in the scenario or in the company’s strategy.

Product Person Artifacts. Source: Own image.

What should a Product Person profile look like?

According to Marty Cagan, author of the best-selling book Inspired, the person needs to be very talented as well as smart, creative and persistent. After all, the work requires the ability to navigate from strategic to operational, bringing together business, design and technology. According to Michele Machado, who works with products at SoftDesign, a Product Owner needs to speak eye-to-eye with the stakeholders (discussing what is best for the business) as well as with the technical team (defining what is a priority and possible solutions).

To act in this role, it is not necessary to master the technical part, as would be the case with a person who has been a programmer, for example. In Cagan’s view, it needs to be someone who is curious about solutions and not afraid to participate in discussions about them. This means that technical people, without communication and negotiation skills, are a recipe for failure. “I think that just understanding about technology doesn’t make a product work; it is also necessary to connect ideas and people”, Bruna highlights.

SoftDesign’s Product Owners

In our work process, the profile we call Product Owner accumulates both the strategic vision (Product Management) and the day-to-day operational vision of Scrum. These people participate in the Product Conception and also in the life cycle of Software Development.

At SoftDesign, our main mission is to deliver products that will be used, loved and that generate value. If you need help structuring and validating ideas, understanding audiences and developing successful products, please contact us using the form below. Together, we will connect technology, design and strategy!

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