Definition: How to Navigate the Bumps on the Road
“Life is a journey, not a destination,” a quote attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson has a role to play in product design. When we design, we keep our eye on the end-person using the product with the goal to create a meaningful user experience. But what about the meaningful client experience and the journey that brings us to the finish line?
The Definition phase, which encompasses Feasibility & Architecture, is an integral and crucial part of Spanner’s process. For every project we clarify the vision and align teams to execute a product roadmap. Progress is rarely a straight line, and our development journey takes us on twists and turns that we face collectively in a collaborative process, navigating through all aspects of product evolution together. Each step on the pathway forward marks progress and finds discoveries that we carry with us.
Finding the most efficient route from one milestone to the next requires knowledge and experience and the right gear before setting off. We first need to ensure the team shares a comprehensive understanding of the objectives to avoid backtracking. In this Definition phase, we circle the wagons and bring all stakeholders together in conversation, healthy debate, technical investigations, and requirements confirmation. What emerges from this phase is our compass to maintain a shared orientation that allows us to invite others on our journey. These stakeholders, colleagues, funders, experts, and vendors, all contribute to getting us where we are headed, and just as important, we also learn along the way.
We see key value in mapping a route, bringing all hands on deck to collectively set a pathway forward before setting off. Our process is supportive, we set checkpoints along our roadmap, we navigate possible challenges down the line, smooth bumps in the road by filling in key missing pieces and realign before deep diving into detailed product development. When we head off the beaten path we may find more bumps, but we innovate and navigate together and learn about new opportunities and alternative solutions. Those learnings continue long after we’ve reached our destination and might inspire future new journeys.
The founding principle of our product design firm is, “People first, product second.” Spanner meets clients where they are on their journey and provides direction. Good company on a journey makes the way seem shorter and more memorable.
Marco Berkhout is Spanner's Principal Product Designer and East Coast Lead.
With more than 25 years in product design consulting, Marco is passionate about changing the world: "We have the power to engineer for good. Engineers play a critical role in making sustainability a part of everyday life, planning for the future when designing for the present." Originally from The Netherlands, Marco resides with his wife and two young sons outside of Boston.
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