Understand

The first stage of the design process is to develop  a deep understanding of the target audience/customer/consumer and their unique perspective to identify and address the problem at hand. 

To do this, design thinkers are encouraged to cast aside all assumptions (because assumptions can stifle innovation!) about the problem, the consumers, and the world at large. 

This allows them to objectively consider any and all possibilities about the customers and their needs.

What are the end users' requirements?

Now you can see who it's for and how they will benefit, it's time to think about what they need for the app to be successful for them. We call this requirements. 

Requirements are the important features or considerations that your project needs to include. In other words what it needs to do or be.

Because apps are interactive we need to make sure we think about two important types of requirements:

• Usability requirements are about how easy and enjoyable it is for users to use the app. They are how people use it 

• Design requirements are the specific features and functions the app must have and what the app should include to work properly.

These are broad statements, no more than 5 or 6. We write these as bullet points. 

What are the specifications?

Specifications provide more detailed, technical lists of how you plan to meet the requirements. In other words, how exactly it is going to do it. 

They work as a really good checklist for your designs.

Specifications should:

• List the specific features (the specifications) you plan to use to achieve this requirement

• Be clear, concise, and measurable

• Bullet points are recommended.