Unsure about where or how to start the product design process? Dick Powell gives you some tips on where to begin
Set up a core team, including a representative each from your marketing and technical departments (one of whom could be the project manager or you could appoint a separate project manager), to work alongside the designers. The leader of this team should be the product champion within the organisation. Have this team report to senior management at major milestones.
Build a 'bridge' or 'receiver' within the organisation to capture innovative ideas. Typically there are more factors within a company conspiring to kill good ideas, than there are working to make them happen.
Put your trust in the design team, most especially on questions of style, aesthetics, colour, and usability. Build respect for their intuition and insights.
Get the team in front of real users of your product so that they can learn from them. Avoid an over-reliance on formal research findings.
Spell out responsibilities within the team - in particular, defuse potential frictions between designers and engineers (who often tread on each other’s toes) by clarifying who is responsible for what at different times.
Manage changes and modifications by consulting the designers, at the very least, and preferably by having them make the changes in line with your requirements.
Be very clear and precise about deliverables at the end of each design phase, especially regarding the level of technical resolution.