I believe the most crucial point in our daily life is how we think, in other words, what is our approach to the thing we are involved in. This approach or way of our thinking will lead us and, more importantly than this, will prioritize our actions based on situation and resources.
In this post, I will describe my personal experiences and the approach that I try to apply in my day-to-day life. Moreover, this approach always helps me in the product designing process. I’ll discuss every step of this approach and explain how it enriches this process.
The Golden Circles!
This approach is based on Simon Sinek’s golden circles models. Simon Sinek, a British-American author and marketing consultant is the person who has developed The Golden Circle Model. It consists of 3 circles inside each other; why, how and what.
WHY: This part determines the purposes and goals and leads to two other steps. Actually, in this section, we try to get a deep understanding.
I believe everything is somehow connected to human beings (like user-centered design) so every “why” we answer is related to ourselves as humans or people. For example, you start to design a simple calculator; You should consider its user’s needs and answer questions starting with “why”; why people use a calculator, why they do not use it, or questions like this. On the other side, in our personal life, why should we sleep? Why should we eat? Obviously, the answers to all these questions are strongly related to humans!
HOW: Any solution that is made by answering those questions that started with “How” is grouped in this section. How you satisfy users’ needs in the calculator is an example of this section.
WHAT: Results or designs are “what”. Anything which obtained from “how” step, is “what”. This step is your process upshot.
The Golden Circles model and product design process
Before anything, It should be mentioned that there are many design or product design processes or methods: lean UX, agile UX, IBM design thinking, etc. But there is a very important point in all of these processes!
Before that point, design processes have to be flexible by nature. It would be best to choose or change a particular method based on circumstances, limitations, etc. We can not always use a single method, even for a single product. This concept makes my point more important!
But the point is, All these methods are compatible with the golden circles model! You find all three steps of the model in all of those methods. Let’s check one of them.
Through this approach, you gain these powers:
Confidence: It always provides confidence to have a dedicated approach and logic. The golden circles model has exceptionally high potential to be used in every moment of our life. The design process is a very applicable field because it is directly connected to humans, and you are designing for them.
Flexibility: You can choose different methods or even create a new method based on your situation. You can confidently change steps and manage your time and resources. For example, you should urgently add a new feature to your design; by this approach (why, how, and what), prioritization and time allocation come too easily.
Optimism: Generally, in small businesses or start-ups, there is no optimum point because of the agile framework, But by this approach, you get nearer to that point project to project. Applying this method is a progressive flow and needs time.
Applying The Golden Circles model in our projects
How should we apply this model to our daily projects or tasks? Answering this question is split into the exact steps of the model. First, find “why”s, then “How”s, and at the end, “what”s!
“Why”s:
Depending on the kind of task or project, it takes different time or steps. For example, you are working for a company or as a freelancer; each one this states requires various parameters. I separate these states into two categories:
1- Short-term projects: Freelancing projects, non-continuous projects inside companies, and All projects under 6 months are categorized in this group. Because of the time of these cases, deep understanding is not expected. In this kind of project, we should get as much data as possible to proceed to the next steps.
2- Long-term projects: Any projects that take more than 6 months can be in this group. The key value that should be considered in time is deep understanding. We can find and answer more “why”s with more understanding. Good planning and prioritization can determine the quality and precision of the answers. Methods like user journey or user story in the product are suitable starting points.
“How”s:
I believe we can’t find out what is true by the beginning, but we can recognize wrongs. This is about life and human being progress. The most crucial point in conducting “how”s is “try and error” based on what you found in “why”s.
We can accurate our solution by considering some points, but it is unreasonable to expect your first solution to be the best!
If you accept above point, you can start answering “how” questions. This point is applicable even in the “why”s section. You can improve or correct your answers only when you believe they are imperfect. This approach makes you more motivated to seek better answers or solutions.
“What”s:
The most important thing is to consider two previous steps constantly during your design, including wireframes, low or high-fidelity designs, and the final design. The final design should vigorously represent the whole process we have done!