{
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    "title" : "Design operations guide |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Design operations guide",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-operations/index.json","item" : [
    {"kicker" : "HCD Guide Series","title" :"Design operations guide","deck" : "How to design solutions based on discovery research","summary" : "How to design solutions based on discovery research","date" : "2023-07-24T09:00:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","primary_image" : { "uid" : "hcd-design-operations", "alt" :
  "Web designer and illustrator at work on a computer", "width" :
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  "Alexander Rykov/iStock via Getty Images", "caption" :
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      "filepath" :"guides/hcd/design-operations/_index.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/hcd/design-operations/_index.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/hcd/design-operations/_index.md","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-operations/","weight" : "5","content" :"\u003ch2 id=\"get-started-with-design\"\u003eGet started with design\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHuman-centered design generally has four phases: discover, design, deliver, and measure. This guide focuses on the operational components of the second phase, design, and should be used in conjunction with its \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/\"\u003ecompanion design concepts guide\u003c/a\u003e. Design happens after discovery research, when you take all that you’ve learned, and use it to create something that improves people’s experiences with a product, process, or system.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n        src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/hcd-design-operations-1.png\"alt=\"Four circles indicate the four phases of Human Centered Design: discovery, design, delivery, and measurement. Arrows connect these circles to indicate that the process is also cyclical, and steps need to be repeated at different phases. The design phase is highlighted.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis guide explains \u003cem\u003ehow\u003c/em\u003e to go about the work of design, while the concept guide explains \u003cem\u003ewhy\u003c/em\u003e we do design. Together, the two will give you an orientation to HCD, and walk you through the workflow to move a project from research insights towards product development.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n      \n    \n  \n\n\n\n  \n\u003cdiv class=\"dg-featured-resource\"\u003e\n    \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/\" class=\"dg-featured-resource__body\"\u003e\n      \u003cdiv class=\"dg-featured-resource__text\"\u003e\n        \u003cp class=\"dg-featured-resource__kicker\"\u003eHCD Guide Series\u003c/p\u003e\n        \n          \u003ch2 class=\"dg-featured-resource__text-title\"\u003eDesign concepts guide\u003c/h2\u003e\n        \n        \n          \u003cp class=\"dg-featured-resource__text-description\"\u003eSelect methods for designing products, services, and systems\u003c/p\u003e\n        \n      \u003c/div\u003e\n      \n        \u003cdiv class=\"dg-featured-resource__image\"\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n      \n    \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"participants\"\u003eParticipants\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParticipants are the people for and with whom design teams work, because they participate in the use of the products, services, and systems we design. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThinking of participants as \u0026ldquo;users\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;customers\u0026rdquo; sidelines them into simply receiving products, services, and systems. In contrast, “participants” are equal to the design team and the leadership stakeholders, and the project is driven primarily by participants\u0026rsquo; input. While designers create prototypes and solutions, they can only create and refine them through continued collaboration with the participants throughout the design process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease see the \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/design-concepts/\"\u003eHCD Design Concepts Guide\u003c/a\u003e for more details on the reasoning behind this terminology.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiving participants an active role in the life cycle of our work is sometimes called participatory design. You can \u003ca href=\"https://lab.opm.gov/class-sign-up/\"\u003etake a class from the Lab at OPM\u003c/a\u003e to learn more about this practice.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"team-structure\"\u003eTeam structure\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMap your team\u0026rsquo;s skills, resources, and assets to the requirements of your proposed designs, and recruit any needed technical expertise, such as engineering, social work, or graphic design, as soon as possible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"set-expectations\"\u003eSet expectations\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSetting expectations is one of the hardest parts of the design phase. Since you are making something that is not yet known, estimating time and personnel needs is by definition difficult. On the other hand, your design team will need to make some sort of time and personnel estimation for supervisors, partners, and other stakeholders to get approval to start the design phase. The following illustration of the design phase work, and the accompanying framework, will help you envision the work that will occur in the design phase, to help your planning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n        src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/hcd-design-operations-2.png\"alt=\"A timeline of the different phases of design, with sections for research outputs, existing designs, gathering references, iterating, testing, and piloting.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/hcd-design-operations-2.svg\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eClick to enlarge the above image\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"initial-project-timeline\"\u003eInitial project timeline\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach design phase differs depending on the nature of the thing you’re designing, the bandwidth and expertise of the team, access to the participants and stakeholders, and the scope of the project itself. If necessary, create a rough map of each of these parameters to understand your timeline.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou’ll need to answer the following questions in your timeline:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat sort of access do you have to stakeholders and participants?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat is the nature of your opportunity spaces? Are they big and conceptual? Or smaller and tactical?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo you have a team with many conceptual skills and emotional intelligence? Or is your team heavier on technical knowledge?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe timeline you map at this stage is simply a best estimation of how much time your project will need, based on what you know at this early stage. You can use this estimation to set expectations with your supervisor, stakeholders, and teammates. Hint from a design professional: A good rule for estimating project timelines is to take the total amount of time you think the project will take and then add 20%. This extra padding allows you to absorb the inevitable bumps in the road that come along with creating new products, services, and systems in our complex, multi-faceting work environment.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
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