Those days are gone when the design was a secondary element to the production of a good software solution. Amateur developers are taught to jump directly to coding as soon as they gather requirements. They don’t give software design the importance it needs and that is why they often lose potential customers when they find better options. This technique may work well in individual projects but on a large scale or even mid-level project it will only result in chaos.
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” -Steve Jobs
But it’s not like developers don’t know what design is. They’ve just been giving other factors like features more importance. But as the industry changes,Guest Posting companies are focusing more on design than on features. Before we discuss the importance of design let’s first look at the two types of designs.
Conceptual Design
Conceptual design in easy words is mind mapping. Initially, developers lay out the plan conceptually in this phase in a non-technical manner. Different companies adopt different techniques in this phase. Most often the standard techniques being followed are flow charts, CRC diagrams, Component Diagrams, Wireframes, etc.
Upon completion of the conceptual design, You get a rough idea of the structure of your software. This essentially will enable you to understand the flow. Once you understand the flow the design is a lot easier for you.
Simple cardboard models, role-playing, or clickable digital prototypes are used to prototype user stories. You understand better through this visual representation. This approach focuses on eliminating mistakes and highlighting possibilities for further development. Alternative business models are created and their prototypes are designed if needed, to uncover where value is added, costs occur, and efficiencies or new revenue streams lie in wait.
Technical Design
In the first phase, you figured out how things were going to be done generally, in this phase, the design shifts to the technical side of things. A technical blueprint is developed that will guide the implementation of the software. The assembly of the software down to each module is started. Developers design many softwares and are very experienced but can get overwhelmed if they don’t follow a set system.
Adaptability
With years of experience in the industry, we have seen technologies come and go. No company can predict the future but they can ensure that the software they build adapts to new requirements, new technology, and new trends. This adds value to your design and makes it robust for years to come.
Automation
During the technical design phase developers should integrate mechanisms to enable automation. This automation later benefits the design by making it a more manageable and efficient system. A hidden benefit of automation is the reduction of the future cost incurred if you need to have the software redesigned or managed.
Reference Architecture
The technical blueprint defines an architecture to assemble your software. Whenever the team decides on architecture, you can always have it referenced. A reference architecture gives you proof that the proposed software design is valid and functioning. Companies that provide a reference architecture ensure that the customer understands that while their design will be unique, a similar design is working for another solution as well.
What Tools do we Use
Some of the common tools that we have been using for years have helped us create better designs for our customers. While looking for a team ensure that they are using some of the following design tools.
Sketch
Sketch is a design platform used to create diagrams, wireframes, and prototypes. It is primarily used for user interface and user experience design of websites and mobile apps. Mastering a tool like Sketch is critical for any designer that will be working on your project.
Design using Sketch
Moqups
Moqups is a similar tool to Sketch. While Sketch is geared towards MacOS, Moqups is web based and OS agnostic. Sketch has more functionality however Moqups can be a good alternative if your designer does not use a Mac computer.
Design using Moqups
InVision
It is a tool that is developed for designers by designers. It is a quick design tool as compared to other design options. Designers create quick mockups for their design and when complete, they share them with you and the remaining team directly.
Design using InVision Studio
Figma
You might have heard about the popular tool Sketch. Well, Figma is essentially just all of Sketch’s features but on the Cloud. The benefit of using Figma over Sketch is that it offers Team collaboration which designers had been asking Sketch for a long time.
Team Collaboration in Design using Figma
Zeplin
Zeplin is a collaboration tool for UI designers and front end developers. It goes beyond the design workflow and helps teams with the design hand-off. It is a web app, so it is pretty much a stand-alone app. This thus enables our designers to access it from anywhere around the world.
Team Collaboration using Zeplin
Some other common tools like Adobe Illustrator, etc. can also be used just to make sure the team uses some good tools to ensure your design is the best possible.
Why is Software Design Important?
“There’s a saying in the software design industry: Good, fast, cheap. Pick two.”
The software industry is very competitive. Each company has some sort of edge over the other. But no matter what methodology a software project follows, no matter what edge a software company has, each successful project has one thing in common: A Good Design, UI & UX both. There was a time where a company could rely on a superior product’s features and functions to coast for a year or more before competitors could catch up. But nowadays, companies are gaining a competitive advantage based on good designs alone.
Good design enables your project to have a few of the following qualities. These qualities ensure that your project is complete and enables you to have long term benefits from your software system.
Maintainability
A good design will make it easier for you to have your software maintained. A software’s design defines the ease your system will have when introducing new features. It should be able to integrate changes without changing the existing code.
Something to note here, extra features added to the