What Role Should Designers Play in Product Development?

A dual-track framework for involving designers — and users — in key product decisions from the very beginning

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Let’s paint a familiar picture: It’s planning time for the next quarter. Your team is huddled around a whiteboard, going back and forth on the next big idea that’s going to ignite your path to product-market fit. There are more Post-its than you can count. Sharpies and whiteboard markers are littered across the room.

Two hours ago, every idea seemed equally good. Two hours later, every idea seems equally bad. The discussion stopped being productive about 20 minutes into the meeting.

What went wrong?

There’s always one of those ideas. You know which one I’m talking about.

There is one key group missing from the discussion — one that could offer real insight that would help you decide how to move forward. This group is the only one that matters, the one whose insight will single-handedly fast-track your trajectory to building what really matters as quickly as possible.

You can probably guess that the missing group is your users. But you can’t always stop to conduct usability…