Converge


Not every idea is actionable or feasible. Only some will fit the situation and problem context. Narrowing down the design to the most viable solution happens at the third phase. That is about consolidating ideas and distilling realistic solutions. This includes taking decisions about solutions.

After all the main goal of this phase is to define a minimal viable product and decide what to test and prototype. 

Consolidating the ideas

Taking into account all of the possibilities exposed during earlier phases, we condensed the ideas that we feel the best about. For that, we carried out the following tasks. 
  • Gather a list of the most viable features based on peer reviews, analyze and criticize results
  • Identify conflicts
  • Eliminate solutions that can’t be pursued
  • Hone the list down to a minimal viable product
  • List out assumptions
  • Identify how each assumption will be tested
Some most promising ideas we found are as follows. 
  • Better search with more meaningful results.
  • Adding categories for libraries, where a library can potentially have more than one category. This probably will also include a way of filtering of the libraries based on multiple selection of topics. List of proposed categories is at https://github.com/cornelius/inqlude/tree/master/topics.
  • Highlighting new releases in a way which shows activity and gives users an indication what is active and popular.

Refining the sketches

After choosing a concrete direction, we jumped into the process of wireframing by creating some interactive prototypes that varied in interface, but offered the same basic functionalities. I used a program called Balsamiq to create interactive pdfs for the Inqlude website designs.

I made more designs and refined them further by getting them peer reviewed with my mentor. Iteration upon iteration, I adjusted the designs getting to the details while improving and refining them. These iterative designs are available here.

With that, we concluded the Converge phase of the product design sprint.


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