2-7 Define Design Requirements
Design requirements list specific criteria that a new solution or system must meet in order to be considered successful.
It is helpful to identify these requirements up-front, so they can be used to help you generate, evaluate, and refine ideas for a solution.
There are different types of design requirements. Three key types of requirements are:
Functional Requirements
Usability Requirements
User Experience (UX) Requirements
Functional requirements specify the functions and features the solution should have to be useful to the target users. Functional requirements generally focus on making sure the system:
has necessary functions to allow users to complete tasks to achieve their goals
has innovative features that provide additional value to users
Usability requirements specify criteria to ensure the solution is easy to use. Usability requirements generally focus on making sure the system:
is easy to learn and remember
is efficient and effective to use
helps prevent and fix user errors
User experience (UX) requirements specify criteria to ensure the solution is satisfying to use. UX requirements generally focus on making sure the system:
produces desirable reactions (such as users feeling confident, engaged, relaxed, happy, etc.)
avoids undesirable reactions (such as users feeling frustrated, bored, annoyed, angry, etc.)
In addition, other types of design requirements might include:
environmental requirements (criteria for physical, social, and/or technical conditions that system must operate within)
data requirements (criteria for data that system must process and store)
security and privacy requirements
maintenance and support requirements
legal and regulatory requirements
ethical requirements
EXAMPLE: Here is an example of design requirements for an e-commerce website (such as Amazon, etc.). Keep in mind that this example is only a partial list.
An important aspect of any design requirement is the ability to objectively determine or measure whether the requirement was met (or to what degree it was met). After a solution has been designed and built, data from evaluations (such as user testing, etc.) can provide evidence of how well the design requirements were met.
YOUR TASK
Use this template to create a list of design requirements that your team’s solution will have to meet.
List at least 3 Functional Requirements
List at least 3 Usability Requirements
List at least 3 User Experience (UX) Requirements
List at least 1 Other Requirement
It may be helpful to refer back to your personas, journey map, and value proposition to identify key requirements that will be needed in your solution.
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