The Design Process
Notes created by J. V. Walton
for SYS364
Systems Analysis & Design
A Universal Design Process

Before we begin learning to design business
information processing systems, we are first
going to study “The Design Process”, a way
of designing anything!
 From
bridges and buildings to aprons or
fashionable garments to menus or recipes to
rocket systems...
 And even Business Information Processing
Systems !
The Design Process




This methodology, taught to visual Design
students in the School of Communication
Arts, is another cyclic methodology, like so
many in our IP world
It is not formally a part of the SYS364
curriculum, but will be helpful in our
exploration of the Design phase of the SDLC
It is a “universal” Design Process, used by
many engineering and creative industries
Remember that Design is always one of the
preliminaries to construction
Another 5-Phase Cycle!

In this universal Design Process, the
following five phases are recommended:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Acceptance
Exploration
Ideation
Selection
Implementation
Strengths of the Design Process



It is “universal”, once learned can be applied to
a variety of challenges
Can be used for “Problem Solving” as well as
Design Challenges
Not only provides “good” designs (or problem
solutions) but also provides assurance that
the design (or solution) is the best that could
have been achieved
Acceptance Phase


This first phase is about accepting or “adopting”
the challenge (by person or team)
The symptoms that this phase has been done:
 the
project has a name (a “working title”, not
necessarily its final name)
 a date/time has been set for design completion (or
problem solution)
 time has been set aside (allocated) for the work
 files (document or computer) have been set up to
store relevant documents
 a journal or diary has been created or adapted as
a place to record progress
Acceptance Phase - continued


For any design project (or problem solution), it
will be practically impossible to prevent
premature ideation; however, it will be
impossible to capitalize on any fresh and great
ideas if the Acceptance phase has not been
completed!
The Acceptance Phase really must come first!
Exploration Phase

This second phase has three sections:
 Research
 Analysis
 Definition



However, they constitute a single phase,
because the next phases will prove useless
until all three are done!
It is usually desirable to do further Research
after some Analysis of prior research reveals
the need for more information
Definition will also usually prompt more R & A
Exploration Phase - continued

The symptoms that Exploration is complete are
that the following Definitions have been
collected and documented:
 objectives
for the design (or solution) and their
relative importance, and the priorities of the
person funding the design
 criteria by which achieving these objectives will be
assessed (preferably measurable criteria!)
 the nature of the designs or solutions for similar
or related products
 the entire life cycle of the product being designed
 a solid profile of the end users of the product
Exploration Phase - continued

More necessary symptoms of completion of this
phase are the following definitions:
 sketchy
profiles of other users of the product
throughout its life cycle
 constraints on the product and on the project to
create the product
 resources available for the product and for the
project to create the product

Note that constraints do not limit design
possibilities, they illuminate them!
Exploration Phase - continued



Establishing all these Definitions will obviously
entail doing a lot of Research, and proper
Analysis of the findings
It is dangerous to proceed to the next phases
until these Definitions are achieved, and well
documented
In particular, the criteria defined for achieving
the objectives will be essential for the fourth
Selection phase of the Design Process
The Ideation Phase




A lot of people think that this third phase of the
Design Process is the only “creative” phase of
design, and that it is only possible for people
with an inborn talent for creativity
They are wrong !
Ideation usually involves “lateral” thinking, as
well as the “linear” thinking which is reinforced
by most of our schooling
However, it isn’t difficult, it’s fun! And easy for all
of us, once we unlearn unnatural inhibitions!
Ideation Phase - continued





The watchword for this phase is bulk!
Quantity, not Quality (that comes later)
There are a lot of techniques for coming up with
ideas, and we’ll discuss them as the semester
unfolds
One lovely technique is “brainstorming” which
involves collecting other people’s bright ideas in
a wild session of uncensored “cerebral popcorn”
Since you will be responsible for the Selection
phase, it is not “cheating” to use others’ ideas
during Ideation!
Ideation Phase - continued



Another technique is conversation, with others, or
with yourself, or with imaginary Martians!
Or you can use a dictionary or thesaurus to
explore each word of your definitions of
objectives, its alternatives and opposites
A very useful technique is called “Immersion and
Incubation”, where you alternate between
intense concentration on your objectives and
leaving the problem alone (for your subconscious
mind to process) (Yes, It will !! )
Ideation Phase - continued





Whatever techniques you use (bottom up, top
down, sideways, personal or shared) to come up
with ideas, the most important reminder is to
record and file all of them
Too many ideas is an absolute impossibility
An irrelevant idea may prompt a relevant one
A partial solution may combine with others or
stimulate the production of others
Never be without pencil and paper to record the
latest idea (even when asleep)
Ideation Phase - continued





Some people like to work on huge pieces of
paper (or rolls of shelf paper) because they find
that each idea may spawn several others and it’s
handy to record each as it occurs
Some people like to work on tiny “indexing slips”
of paper, so that they can shuffle and sort, and
lay them out around them to inspire new ideas
Do whatever works for you at the moment!
But record every idea!
There is no “symptom” for the completion of this
phase--it probably won’t ever really end!
The Selection Phase




This fourth phase sounds like the dull and
mechanical phase of the Design Process
However, it’s just as creative as any of the other
phases, and usually stretches your imagination
It’s also the phase which makes the design (or
the problem solution) your very own (or your
team’s very own)
All that’s involved is evaluating each of the ideas
recorded during Ideation according to the criteria
for evaluation you recorded during Exploration
Selection Phase - continued



Sometimes, you’ll want to list the criteria, with
priority weighting factors, and build a matrix of
all your ideas versus all the criteria, and use a
spreadsheet to calculate scores for each idea
More often, you’ll find you need to combine
ideas, and this will send you back into Ideation
to create the missing pieces
The “symptom” of a completed Selection Phase
is your chosen design (or solution) together with
your verifiable reasons for choosing it
The Implementation Phase



Remember that we’re talking Design here, not
construction! Specifying, not building.
Implementing a design simply means adequately
documenting it for the people who will construct
from your specifications (even if that means
yourself)
Implementation varies all over the map
depending on the nature of the product being
designed -- for an IP System Design, it’s the
DFDs and Data Dictionary, and specifications for
all the input/output documents and screens, and
for all the programs and procedures
Implementation Phase - continued


For other kinds of Design challenges or
Problem solutions, implementation may
mean other kinds of specifications
(blueprints, material lists…)
Whatever, the challenge, the symptom of
a completed Implementation Phase is a
complete set of specifications ready for
constructors to proceed
Two Warnings:


Like all of the Cyclic Methodologies, this one
has no guarantees that work on one phase
won’t necessitate extra work on a prior phase
And it is recognized that some “premature”
work may be done on a phase before prior
phases are totally complete, however,
 1.
Premature “Selection” will prevent good
Exploration and Ideation
 2. No design project can succeed if
Acceptance doesn’t come first
Post-Implementation Activities





Never scrap all your files once you’ve chosen and
implemented the design, and turned the spec’s
over to the constructors
Some of your research may be relevant to other
projects you encounter later; file by topic
Your diaries and journals may help you estimate
future projects (and predict bottlenecks!)
Raw ideation scribbling may prove useful for other
projects; compress (if possible) and file
Only discard what is truly useless, but re-file every
potentially useful document
The Design Process:





Accept the Challenge
Explore (Research, Analyze, Define)
Ideate ( a lot! Any how at all! )
Select (using previously defined criteria)
Implement (Get ready for construction)
The Design Process

Three important facts about this methodology:
it
works! On many different kinds of design
projects (or problem solving challenges)
anyone can achieve good results with it,
because it blends solo and social activities,
linear and lateral thinking
the resulting designs are verifiably the best
possible (You not only know you’re right,
you know exactly why you’re right!)