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Product Design Basics
Product Design Basics
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Overview

In our agile, complex world, no matter what your role or what you're being tasked to deliver, you will likely need to incorporate more techniques from product design moving forward.

This oft ill-defined role is growing in popularity, and typically combines capabilities in technology, UX design, Business Analysis, Marketing and more. Yes, that is a lot! And a lot is expected from product designers who are being challenged to uncover customer needs, navigate business goals, understand market trends, and lead teams to design commercially viable products.  

Think about the work you're doing now — and consider your outputs as a 'product'. How can you incorporate these broad product designer skills to deliver improved customer experiences in a way that also delivers business value? This Playbook won't deliver on all your needs, but it's a strong starting point for what is a complex and broad domain. 

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This Playbook includes the following sections, select a heading to jump to that section.
ANSWER THE RIGHT QUESTION
One of the key challenges for Product Designers is ensuring they are addressing problems and pain points that matter.
Framestorming
Rather than responding to the question as defined by your stakeholders / management — take a moment to question the question and ensure you're on the right track.
Find out more about Framestorming and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Design Thinking
You had to expect this one here right? Click through to explore the other models wrapped into this human-centric approach to innovation.
Find out more about Design Thinking and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Amazon's Working Backwards
Amazon's approach of starting with a press release and FAQ to succinctly and clearly communicate the value proposition has served them well. Consider what this might look like in your world.
Find out more about Amazon's Working Backwards and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
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UNDERSTAND THE MARKET
You're not releasing your products in a vacuum, explore and analyse the competition using these approaches.
Porter's Five Forces
Rather than rely on impressions, use this classic management accounting model to analyse the competition and market forces.
Find out more about Porter's Five Forces and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Value Proposition
This simple way to capture your Value Proposition is essentially a way to state your product hypothesis — the current belief you have about the problem you're solving for that is at the heart of your work.
Find out more about Value Proposition and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Personas
Part of human-centered design approach, Personas combine well with Empathy Maps and Journey Maps to better understand your audience needs.
Find out more about Personas and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Jobs To Be Done
Not convinced about Personas? Use this approach as an alternative or in combination.
Find out more about Jobs To Be Done and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
4Ps of Marketing
A simple but fundamental marketing model to ensure you're thinking towards how your product will fit into the market.
Find out more about 4Ps of Marketing and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
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PRIORITISE
Part of the art of Product Design is choosing what you don't do and where you invest your resources as a result.
RICE Score
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A popular model with Product Designers to explore priorities and choose the way forward.
Find out more about RICE Score and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Impact Effort Matrix
A simpler approach than RICE that can act as your daily guide.
Find out more about Impact Effort Matrix and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Paradox of Choice
You're not just prioritising to get work done, you're simplifying the customer experience. Remember that less is often more.
Find out more about Paradox of Choice and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Kanban
A powerful approach to work with teams often implemented as part of Agile Methodology.
Find out more about Kanban and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
MoSCoW Method
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A great way to gather requirements for a product.
Find out more about MoSCoW Method and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
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DESIGN & ITERATE.
Start building, experimenting, and learning.
Kano Model
Finding the sweet spot for your product and your investment in it can be hard. This model can help.
Find out more about Kano Model and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
BCG Growth-Share Matrix
Have a line of products or offers to consider? Then this BCG framework might be the way to analyse and prioritise them.
Find out more about BCG Growth-Share Matrix and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Lean Startup
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Eric Ries' Lean Startup model provides a way forward for startups and product design alike.
Find out more about Lean Startup and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Split Testing & A/B Testing
Want to create a business case and/or have a better understanding of the impact of your work? Then Split Test.
Find out more about Split Testing & A/B Testing and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Musk's 5 Step Design Process
Musk's approach to innovating rocket ship design can be applied more broadly.
Find out more about Musk's 5 Step Design Process and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Patil's Project Principles
Obama's Chief Data Scientist's project principles is a great reminder to keep delivering and iterating value.
Find out more about Patil's Project Principles and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Prototypes
You're going to have to Prototype and experiment your way forward.
Find out more about Prototypes and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Minimum Viable Product
The MVP is at the heart of most product designers work these days, and is featured in the Lean Startup.
Find out more about Minimum Viable Product and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
Riskiest Assumption Test
Before you totally commit to MVP, take a moment to consider its distant cousin — the RAT.
Find out more about Riskiest Assumption Test and add it to your Latticework of Mental Models here.
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