{
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    "title" : "Design phase principles |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Design phase principles",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/design-phase-principles/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Design phase principles","summary" : "The following section should help you contextualize key design phase principles","date" : "2023-07-24T09:00:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","primary_image" : { "uid" : "hcd-design-concepts", "alt" :
  "A woman sits on top of a lightbulb surrounded by gears, graphs, and computers", "width" :
  "1200", "height" :
  "630", "credit" :
  "UnitoneVector/iStock via Getty Images", "caption" :
  "", "format" :
  "png" },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"design-phase-principles.md",
      
      "filepath" :"guides/hcd/design-concepts/design-phase-principles.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/hcd/design-concepts/design-phase-principles.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/hcd/design-concepts/design-phase-principles.md","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/design-phase-principles/","content" :"\u003ch2 id=\"why-have-design-phase-principles\"\u003eWhy have design phase principles\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDesign phase principles allow designers and design teams to constantly align our designs to the needs and desires of their audience. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs teams create and iterate during the design phase, they run the risk of losing touch with the urgency of the needs and values expressed by participants during the discovery phase. Having a set of guiding principles gives design teams the parameters they need to constantly reference participants\u0026rsquo; needs and perspectives as the design phase proceeds.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"global-principles\"\u003eGlobal principles\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGlobal design phase principles are a high-level means of defining design phase work, agnostic of project type. They are applicable across the fields for which we design in the public sector, and can help teams maintain focus on their main objective throughout a multi-parted, challenging design process. These principles can be derived from the opportunity spaces identified at the end of the discovery phase. They encompass the main learnings from the participants in the discovery phase; they are not tactical rules and guidance for the team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBelow, find a sample set of global design principles. These principles, alongside those that you might create for your specific project, will help ensure that the designed product, service, or solution that your team develops embodies the perspectives and needs of your current and potential participants. These will be explained in detail in the following sections.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003carticle\n  class=\"dg-note \"\n\u003e\n  \u003ch4 class=\"dg-note__heading\"\u003e\n    \u003csvg\n      class=\"dg-note__icon usa-icon dg-icon dg-icon--large\"\n      aria-hidden=\"true\"\n      focusable=\"false\"\n    \u003e\n      \u003cuse xlink:href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/uswds/img/sprite.svg#notifications\"\u003e\u003c/use\u003e\n    \u003c/svg\u003e\n    \n      Note\n    \n  \u003c/h4\u003e\n  \u003ch2 id=\"key-principles\"\u003eKey principles\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cbr/\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/simple-is-hard/\"\u003eSimple is hard\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/teamwork/\"\u003eTeamwork\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo solitary geniuses\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn their shoes\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/design-for-humans/\"\u003eDesign for humans\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConsider potential change\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eValue new participants\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/design-at-scale/\"\u003eDesign at scale\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlan for long-term use\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublic sector design\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/design-for-change/\"\u003eDesign for change\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWait for the right opportunity\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDesigns have a life cycle\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"project-level-principles\"\u003eProject-level principles\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to global design principles, individual teams should create a set of guiding principles tailored to the specific project on which they’re working. For example, if the design idea is to create a knowledge-sharing repository for a department, a project-level principle could be to design the repository’s submission structure on how the department members want to submit articles and notes, rather than how it would be easiest to build from a technical standpoint.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}