Goal Directed Design Process

Goal – Directed Design Process
Goal –Directed Design Process is a combination techniques of ethnography, stakeholder
interviews, market research, detailed user models, scenario-based design, and a core set of
interaction principles and patterns. In this process, Cooper puts users at the centre of the design
process. Its place huge emphasis on understanding the needs and goals of those users. Its then
translating those goals into tasks and activities and ultimately into a more usable end product.
There are a big distinction between goal and tasks. Goal is a motivation for the users and
it should be subscribe on what they are trying in order to achieve whereas tasks are the steps
involved to help them achieve the goal. The process can be roughly divided into six steps, which
are Research, Modeling, Requirements Definition, Framework Definition, Refinement and
Development Support. All of these steps were identified by Gillian Crampton Smith and Philip
Tabor which is understanding, abstracting, structuring, representing, and detailing at where it
follow the five component activities of interaction design.
The first steps of Goal-Directed Design Process is Research. It is between user and the
domain. It were employs ethnographic field study techniques which observation and conceptual
interviews in order to provide qualitative data about the users or potential users. Indeed, it also
carry out a competitor analysis and interview key stakeholders to gather their requirements. After
that, when it finished, it will left with a set of instructions which describe how the product could
be used.
Next, the second steps is Modeling. It is between users and use context. Modeling is
divided into two parts. Part one is define the domain model by building on the workflow pattern

from the research stage. While part two is define the user model through the use of personas or
the key archetypes which is represent the identifiable groups of the users. Here, the designers
employ a variety of methodological tools to synthesize, differentiate, and prioritize personas,
exploring different types of goals and mapping personas across ranges of behavior in order to
ensure there are no gaps or duplicating.
The third steps is Requirements Definition. It is a definition of user, business and
technical needs. It is a critical for providing that link between the user model and other models.
Indeed, it focus on context scenarios to help define ‘a day in the life’ of a persona. In addition, it

also consider business goal, technical considerations and brand guidelines at where the context
scenarious which really make a big impact to the way of thinking and help to generate a ton of
ideas that might not be have considered before that.
The four steps of Goal-Directed Design Process is Framework Definition. It is a
definition of design structure and flow. In this stage, the designers can create the overall product
concept and define the basic framework of the product’s behavior, visual design and applicable
in the physical form. Plus, it also can create prototypes.
Next, Refinement. Its process similarly to the Framework Definition step, but it is
increasing the focus on detail and implementation. The culmination of the Refinement step is the
detailed documentation of the design, a form and behavior specification, delivered in either paper
or interactive media as context dictates. This is the stage at where its recommended to create won

design documentation at the end of the stage.
The last step of Goal-Directed Design Process is Development Support. It is to
maintaining the conceptual integrity of the design under changing the technology constraints in
order to make sure the overall design quality doesn’t get compromised.