Software design is a key factor to determine the success of an application. The user interface decides whether the software will proceed to the development phase or not. Besides, if a SaaS company wants to get positive feedback from its customers, it has to optimize the software design process and focus on UI/UX design for better results.
The software passes through various stages of design before it gets the final shape. It requires different modules, interfaces, and data structures among these modules. Besides, UI/UX designers need to implement different algorithms along individual modules. An ideal software design should be correct, easily understandable, and address potential issues. Similarly, it should be amenable and possess all essential components like modules, structures, and interfaces.
To learn how to design a perfect software design, check out these 5 critical steps of the software design process cracked by experts.
Let’s dive in!
How to Define the Software Design Process?
The software design process refers to the creation of feature-rich, user-friendly, and robust software with an interactive interface. It involves the use of primitive components and technologies to achieve the desired goals of the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defines software design as a process of defining system components, architecture, and similar characteristics. Ideas and concepts used by the UI/UX design team help software developers build intuitive software and applications that enhance user experiences.
To organize and set up the structural components of a software design, companies deploy different principles. However, an ideal software design process should follow:
- Abstraction
- Simplicity
- Modularity
- Continuous Improvement
- Coupling
- Completeness
Steps Involved in the Software Design Process
1. Requirements Analysis
Understanding user needs is the first step to creating an interactive software design. As a UI/UX designer, you first need to analyze the system requirements and identify specific pain points of potential customers.
Besides, try to understand their issues and create a software design accordingly that can address those challenges. You can conduct interviews, make focus groups, and use surveys to collect and analyze the user design basics. At the same time, you also need to define design goals for your own team and envision projected outcomes of the final product. All these things should be taken into account while analyzing software requirements and evaluating the specific needs of end users.
Findings of requirements analysis will assist you in creating innovative software designs and delivering impeccable results.
2. Wireframing
Once the requirements analysis is complete, the next stage in the software design process is wireframing. Wireframes refer to initial concepts that define the basic skeleton or structure of software under development. UI/UX designers use wireframes to determine the core features, basic structure, and appearance of their software.
In other words, wireframes are the simplest explanation of software design without graphics, symbols, content, fonts, and other substantial design components. They define how to organize the content and adjust a software’s appearance.
Moreover, wireframes enable potential users or clients to focus on their application features without considering the artistic effects. This way, they can get a better understanding of their software structure and save their precious time and effort.
3. Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs)
Data flow diagrams, also called flow diagrams, exhibit three different concept levels in a software system. These include:
0-level: It is a fundamental system model that displays the system requirements and key features in a single bubble. Besides, data movement is illustrated with inward and outward arrows for better understanding.
1-level: With the approval of the fundamental model, designers now move towards multiple bubbles. This involves further classification of the 0-level DFD into subunits to display the main features of the software system.
2-level: Finally, UI/UX design teams further explore the 1-level DFD to explain the software’s functioning in detail. The 2-level DFD is the most comprehensive description of an application defining key features, functionalities, and outcomes.
4. User Interface (UI)
A user interface is a critical element of software design. It defines how a user will interface with an application and perform the desired functions accordingly. Hence, designing a perfect user interface is important to optimize the user experience and ensure the success of a product.
Here are three different types of user interfaces based on the software functionality:
Graphical User Interface (GUI): GUIs encompass digitally-regulated panels that help users interface with graphics and use the software to access different functionalities. The primary example of GUI is a computer desktop.
Voice Controlled Interface (VCI): Like GUI helps users interact with graphics, VUI enables them to use their voices with different interfaces and perform diverse functions. For instance, Alexa (Amazon) and (Apple) Siri
Gesture-based Interface (GBI): GUI allows users to interact with software interfaces through bodily movements like we do while playing VR games.
5. Prototyping
The last stage of the software design process is prototyping where teams combine previous elements to create a rough draft. A prototype can also be called a detailed form of wireframe. UI/UX designers create prototypes to help software developers test layouts, match pre-established requirements, and collect user feedback for further improvement.
Different types of prototypes are:
- Low-fidelity Prototypes: These are simple and rough sketches of the software interface created with basic design tools like Microsoft Paint or Balsamiq. They are used to quickly test and validate design concepts
- High-fidelity Prototypes: These are more detailed versions of the final product created using specialized design tools such as Adobe XD, Figma, or Sketch. They often include actual functionalities, animations, and interactions.
- Interactive Prototypes: These prototypes are also created with specialized design tools or programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They allow users to interact with the software interface, simulate actions, and test the user experience.
- Working Prototypes: These prototypes are created by using programming languages and frameworks such as Ruby on Rails, Node.js, or Angular. They have actual functionalities, allowing users to test and evaluate the software in a real-world scenario.
Wrapping Up
The software design process is an important step in the software development life cycle (SDLC). It is a systematic approach to the creation of software that meets the needs of the users and stakeholders.
The process starts with requirements analysis that helps UI/UX designers understand their users’ needs. Design teams use the findings of the initial assessment to create wireframes that are basic illustrations of software. Next, UI/UX designers work on data flow diagrams (DFDs) to exhibit different concept levels and create user interfaces (UIs) to help potential customers interact with the software.
The last step is prototyping which involves the creation of an initial draft of the application and collecting user feedback to make necessary improvements.