User Research and Rapid Prototyping

Primary Goal

Prototype a viable solution for integrating Figma into existing software — based on user needs and technical feasibility — in less than six weeks.

My Process

Researching User Needs

The client received requests from users for a "Figma integration" and they sought an answer to what exactly that meant in terms of features and requirements to their users. To gather a holistic picture of what users were looking for I conducted a competitive analysis, user interviews, and existing user data analysis.

Familiarizing myself with my client's competitors provided me with an initial checklist of possible features for this integration — essentially answering the question by analyzing others' conclusions. Taking that list, I was able to prioritize possible features based on user feedback in interviews and on analysis of existing user data.

My research resulted in a list of potential features prioritized by importance to users.

Vetting Technical Feasibility

Taking a deep dive into Figma's API, and gathering information about the client's current system allowed me to apply a technical level of effort to the features on my user-prioritized list. Resulting in a list that clearly identified which features would provide the client with the most value for the least amount of effort.

Prototyping A Solution

Using my research - I created a basic prototype that modeled the highest value feature for the client. The prototype was intentionally simple and platform agnostic, but it demonstrated for the client that the solution I had proposed was technically feasible while providing the engineering team with a baseline approach to expand into a fully-fledged solution.

What I Learned

A prototype doesn't have to be a fully functioning app. This project expanded my definition of a "prototype" to include a working sample that proves an idea - even if it is separate from the larger application ecosystem. The limited timeline of this project forced me to focus my prototype solely on proving that my approach was viable. It allowed clear communication of the idea to the client, and it provided enough technical documentation to their engineering team to set them up for success.

In short, the best solution doesn't have to be complicated.