Software Design

Designing software or websites is not easy a task. It requires a lot of knowledge from the designer. There are three ways to designing well structure software or websites: simulation, contextual or goal driven design.

Even though the use of simulation is very popular on technology fields nowadays, when designing software or websites it poses a series of handicaps that make it not a good option to choose. Once the product is placed on the field, it might not satisfy the users’ needs and it might have to be restructured accordingly demanding investing more time on the design.

It order to avoid what described before, the designer can use contextual design. This kind of design can be observed on Norman’s site, where he explains how different product were and are designed using this approach and presenting at the time, and evaluation of the products by describing how their characteristics fit the design. This option allows the designer to be immerse in the field where the product will be used and observe how the process works so he can establish the needs and requirements the product will satisfy. It will be as having a suit tailored to fit.

Besides last option, it is also possible to use a goal driven design. This kind of designing is good because it gives the designer a look of what the final product will look like when it is finished. It is like designing from back to front. However, it lets the designer know where he is heading to.

The three tools described before have as their final goal to produce products what satisfy their customer needs. Thus, it is necessary for the designer to know how the three of them work and to use the one that best fits his situation. The recommendation is to use the three of them on a holistic approach.