Designing software can be an exhilarating and satisfying experience. But, it can also be a horrifyingly chaotic and frustrating endeavor. There will be many challenges as we work toward simplifying all the complexities of our product. There will be many opinions to consider and compare. Though unfortunate, some of our co-workers may attempt to bully us into accepting their point of view over another. There will also be times when there is a complete lack of opinion. Sometimes no one can see what he or she considers to be the obviously correct solution. And, occasionally, the vision of the product can be so ambiguous that it leaves us without a clue as to what it is we're supposed to be designing.

The best defense against all these situations is a well-defined and evangelized design process. This process will allow us to contain some of the bedlam and confusion that naturally occurs when creating software. The only sure way to succeed is by working together to solve a defined set of problems in a logically directed order.

The first key to employing and maintaining a healthy design process is to possess an understanding of what steps are needed for the project we are working on. We will need to figure out what techniques will help us get the information we are looking for. We will also need to know how to gauge when the time is right to move from one step to the next. It will be important to remain flexible as we assess each new project. To be successful, we will need to tailor the design process for each new product. Documenting and distributing the design process we intend to use will help set expectations. It will also aid our attempt to generate accurate delivery date estimates that project managers and clients will be expecting us to deliver.

This chapter will cover the following topics: