Why you should start a UI Project with Task flow?
Not all projects that lands on your desk when working in a Design agency will be a UX Project. Sometimes you will be given with UI projects which doesn’t have much scope for User Research and that is absolutely fine and there is nothing you can do much about it.
All that matters when you are handling projects is the Process. When you are starting with a UI project, never rush and jump into the wireframes first. Wireframes are a major task which might need some prior tasks to be followed before starting your wireframes.
Always start with Task flows
How to create Task Flows?
First list down all the different functions that a user can actually do in that particular feature.
eg. When you are designing UI for a feature that allows users to add products to their wish list for a e-commerce app. There are different tasks that are involved in this single feature
- Adding a product to wish list
- Deleting a product from wish list
- Moving a product to bag from wish list
Create a task flows for all individual tasks that the user can go through. Task flow gives a clear idea of where the user starts the task and what pages the user has to navigate through in order to complete the task and what other components are involved in each pages.
Once all task flows are laid out it will give you a clear idea of what different screens the feature will have and how each screens will join connect together. From here you can build your Information Architecture.
Follow it up with Information Architecture
Information Architecture can be laid out showing all different tasks involved in the particular feature in the overall application and how users can navigate to carry on the different tasks.
Once Information Architecture is figured then we have full clarity on what comes on each screens when we are doing with the wireframes.
This example given is a very simple feature to explain the process of how we can handle UI Design request but the process remains the same for even complex features.
So never start UI Design with wireframes as it might lead to unnecessary confusions. It’s always good to start with Task flows followed by Information Architecture then moving on to Wireframing.
