"Why, What, How" is a framework used to guide the design process and ensure that design decisions are based on user needs and insights.
The framework helps the project team to answer three fundamental questions:
✦ Why are we designing this solution? This question focuses on the project's goals and objectives, and it helps to establish the project's purpose and the problem it is trying to solve.
✦ What are we designing? This question focuses on the product's features and functionality, and it helps to ensure that the design solution aligns with the project's goals and objectives.
✦ How are we designing it? This question focuses on the design process and the methods and tools used to develop the solution. It helps to ensure that the design process is user-centered and that the design solution meets the user's needs and preferences.
The "Why, What, How" framework encourages the project team to think deeply about the problem at hand, the users' needs and preferences, and the design solution's effectiveness. By answering these questions, the project team can develop a shared understanding of the project's goals and objectives and ensure that the design solution is relevant, effective, and user-centered.
Why: The goal of the project is to improve the productivity and efficiency of employees in a large corporation by streamlining the process of submitting and approving expense reports.
What: We are designing an expense reporting system that allows employees to easily submit expenses and managers to quickly approve or reject them. The system will also include features to track expenses and generate reports for accounting purposes.
How: We will use a user-centered design approach, starting with user research to understand the pain points and challenges employees and managers face when submitting and approving expense reports. We will create user personas to represent the different roles involved in the process, and we will use journey mapping to visualize the user experience and identify opportunities for improvement.
Based on our research and insights, we will design a system that is easy to use, intuitive, and efficient. We will use a design thinking approach, including ideation and prototyping, to generate and test different design solutions. We will also involve employees and managers in the design process, gathering feedback and iterating on the design to ensure that it meets their needs and preferences.
Once the design is finalized, we will implement the system using agile development methods, conducting user testing and refining the design as needed. We will measure the success of the system using KPIs such as employee satisfaction, time saved in the expense reporting process, and reduction in errors and omissions in expense reports. By focusing on the "Why, What, How" framework, we can ensure that our design solution is user-centered, effective, and aligned with the project's goals and objectives.
—