The UX design process: 7 actionable steps

Editor’s note: This article was last updated on February 3, 2025, to provide a downloadable checklist of the steps involved in the UX design process and tool recommendations. The previous update, contributed by Allie Paschal, expanded on the UX design process and checklist items, explored advanced UX design concepts, addressed frequently asked questions, and refreshed the visual aids throughout the post.

The UX design process helps UX designers work step-by-step to create a useful feature or product. While the steps may vary across teams and projects, the goal remains the same — understanding user needs and designing solutions that truly work.

A solid UX process not only improves user experience but also cuts development costs and keeps design user-centered. It’s not always linear; sometimes, you’ll need to revisit earlier steps to refine your approach.

In this guide, we’ll break down the UX design process, explore some advanced concepts, and tackle common questions along the way. For a video version of this tutorial, check out this resource that walks through the seven steps that are vital to every UX design process:

The 7 crucial steps for every UX design process

The UX design process can feel different with every project, but there are some steps that remain vital regardless of where you work and what you’re working on. 📌 In this video, you’ll learn walk through the 7 steps that are vital to every UX design process: ✅ 1.

Overview of UX design process

The UX design process is a flexible framework for crafting design solutions, evolving based on the team, project, or specific needs. Some guides may outline different steps, and you might find certain stages unnecessary — or even add your own.

That said, the seven steps below provide a solid foundation for structuring your UX process and tailoring it to your project’s goals:

• Define project and scope — Establish clear objectives, identify the target audience, and align with stakeholders
• Conduct user research — Gather insights into user behaviors, pain points, and expectations
• Analyze the data — Organize and interpret research findings to identify key patterns and opportunities
• Design and prototype — Develop wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes based on research insights
• Conduct user testing — Validate designs through usability testing and iterate based on user feedback
• Hand-off designs to development — Transfer finalized designs and documentation to developers for implementation
• Launch and iterate — Deploy the product, monitor performance, and continuously refine the experience

Let’s review each step’s expected actions and deliverables – starting with project definition and ending with launch and iteration.

To make your UX design process smoother, we’ve compiled a downloadable checklist with all the key steps and recommended tools. You might want to keep it handy for your next project!

1. Define project & scope

Before you can run full-steam ahead of any research or design work, your team must align and clarify the project’s objectives and requirements. Ask questions like:

• What are we trying to achieve, and for whom?
• What’s the timeline?

Asking straightforward, practical questions like this benefits the entire team because it encourages collaboration, helps set realistic expectations, and reduces feature creep (when a project’s features keep increasing without adding value).

Approaches to define the project

• Balance user and business needs — Identify where they overlap (e.g., customer satisfaction driving business growth)
• Create a shared vision — Align with stakeholders by understanding business goals, conducting interviews, and analyzing competitors

Checklist for defining the project

• Defined objectives and goals (ideally with target metrics)
• Identified target user(s)
• Established budget, timeline, and resources (who is going to work on this project)
• Specified scope of features (must-have, should-have, nice-to-have features)
• Completed project brief including the above details (with stakeholder sign-off)

2. Conduct user research

Once you’ve defined your project, think of answers to questions like:

• Why do users act the way they do?
• How do users interact with our product?

Prioritizing users ensures your product meets their needs. Research also uncovers biases and builds empathy.

Set research objectives & methodology

• Define goals — Think of the why, what, and how of the research. What do you need to learn? How do users complete key tasks?
• Choose a method — Quantitative vs. qualitative? Onsite vs. remote? The methodology determines how you’ll conduct research, the time needed, and what tools you’ll use for data collection, and can vary the types of responses you get from users

User research methods

Though there are several UX research methods to choose from, we’ll review two common approaches below with interviews and surveys:

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• Interviews — One-on-one conversations to uncover needs and pain points (in-person, phone, or video). Follow-ups are possible but time-intensive
• Surveys — Online or in-person questionnaires for broader user insights using tools like Google Forms and SurveyMonkey. Scalable but less nuanced than interviews

Checklist for user research

• Finalized research brief outlining the objectives and methodology
• Completed “X” number of interviews or survey responses (determined by the research goals)
• Raw data from interviews and/or surveys

3. Analyze the data

After collecting raw data, the next step is organizing and extracting key insights. Using structured methods simplifies this process. I’ll talk about them here:

Methods to analyze data

• Data analytics — Tools like Google Forms or Excel summarize quantitative data with counts, percentages, and trends, useful for reports and design validation
• Card-sorting — Organizes qualitative insights from interviews or surveys. Sticky notes or digital tools (e.g., Miro) help group user needs, motivations, and expectations, aiding in persona creation and user journey mapping

Methods to present data

• Persona — Fictional profiles based on research that summarize user needs and behaviors. Useful for fostering empathy and guiding design decisions
• Journey map — Visual timelines of user interactions, emotions, and pain points. Helps identify areas of confusion or frustration

Checklist for analyzing the data

• Completed summary of data analytics (if applicable)
• Finalized personas and journey maps
• Completed research report or presentation that documents all the above details (shared with stakeholders)

4. Design and prototype

With research in hand, the next step is creating designs that balance aesthetics and usability. Users expect visually appealing yet functional products, and your designs should align with their expectations.

Methods to generate designs & prototypes

• Brainstorming — Collaborative idea generation using personas, journey maps, and research insights. Can involve text-based sorting, sketches, or low-fidelity wireframes
• Sketching — Quick visual exploration of concepts, either on paper or digitally (e.g., Figma’s Sketching Kit). Helps define structure and key features

• Wireframing — Greyscale layouts that define structure and interactions — lo-fi wireframes (simple and rough, focuses on layout and flow) and hi-fi wireframes (detailed and closer to the final design, ready for stakeholder review):

• Prototyping — Interactive, testable drafts of the product’s UX. Though not fully coded, they validate usability and functionality before development begins

Checklist for designing and prototyping

• Completed sketches (with multiple iterations)
• Finished lo-fi and hi-fi wireframes (reviewed with stakeholders)
• Finished prototype that is fully functional (reviewed with stakeholders)

5. Conduct user testing

User testing validates your design by gathering real user feedback before development.

This stage often runs alongside design iterations, but final prototypes must be tested before handoff to engineers to catch usability issues early and avoid costly fixes later.

Approaches for user testing

• Set test objectives — Define the key questions and tasks for users. For example, if testing a new feature, assess how easily users can locate and use it
• Recruit real users — Avoid bias by selecting participants who reflect your actual audience. Tools like UserTesting.com help screen for relevant users
• Choose a testing method — The type of user testing method you use depends on your goals and testing questions. For example, do you have two versions of the design and are unsure of which to finalize? Run an A/B test. Or are you testing a brand-new feature and want to get user feedback? Run an unmoderated or moderated usability test
• Select testing tools — Consider accessibility, testing format (remote vs. in-person), and user diversity when picking the right tools

Checklist for user testing

• Finalized test objectives and methodology
• Completed “X” number of tests with real users (determined by the test goals)
• Remediation of any UX issues
• Finalized designs and prototypes (ready for hand-off)

6. Hand-off designs to development

Once designs are finalized, they move to the development team for implementation. Developers bring UX designs to life, so collaboration between design and development is crucial throughout the process to ensure usability and feasibility.

Approaches for hand-off

• Prioritize clear communication — Developers need a thorough understanding of design decisions and research insights. Ensure all details are documented concisely
• Set realistic goals — Align on development timelines and QA testing to avoid rushed implementation and prevent costly errors
• Encourage cross-team involvement — Whether your organization follows a collaborative or independent workflow, keep developers engaged throughout the UX process to ensure alignment

Checklist for design hand-off

• Completed documentation(s) of final design specs
• Detailed instructions for animations and UI interactions
• Annotations for accessibility (tab and focus order, headers, etc.)
• Meeting(s) to review final designs with developers

7. Launch and iterate

The UX process doesn’t end at launch — it’s a continuous cycle of improvement based on user feedback and evolving product needs.

Approaches for post-launch

• Collect user feedback — With more users interacting with your product, gather insights through built-in feedback surveys or usability tests to evaluate real-world experience
• Monitor product analytics — Tools like LogRocket track user behavior, showing where users click, how long they stay, and where they drop off — helping you spot usability issues
• Iterate and refine — Address bugs, prioritize improvements, and optimize the experience. If analytics show high cart abandonment, what adjustments can help users complete their purchases?

Checklist for post-launch

• Finalized method to continuously collect feedback from users (surveys or reviews)
• Strategy to monitor website traffic and KPIs (user satisfaction)
• Cycle of releasing updates and bug fixes (as needed)

Advanced UX design concepts

I’ve talked a lot about the UX design process. However, you may encounter not every design concept within each stage of the process. So, I’ll now go over a few advanced UX design topics that you may come across:

Inclusive design

Inclusive design is all about creating digital experiences that are accessible to the broadest range of users, regardless of ability, background, or environment. It’s about designing for diversity — not as an afterthought, but as a fundamental principle.

Methods to design for inclusion

• Ensure features are accessible — Follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure proper color contrast, keyboard navigation, and screen reader compatibility. Accessibility isn’t just good practice — it’s essential
• Use plain language — Avoid jargon and complex terms. Clear, simple language improves comprehension for users with varying literacy levels and cognitive abilities
• User test with diverse participants — Accessibility tools and automated tests help, but real feedback from users with disabilities is invaluable. Platforms like Lookback offer usability testing with a diverse range of participants

Design systems

A design system is a collection of reusable UI components, patterns, and guidelines that ensure consistency and efficiency across a product. While many companies develop their own systems, open-source options like Google’s Material Design, IBM’s Carbon, and Adobe’s Spectrum provide great starting points.

Methods to create design systems

• Audit existing assets — Start by identifying commonly used design elements within your product (buttons, icons, layouts). Tools like Figma make this process easier
• Build core UI components — Begin with foundational components (buttons, text fields, icons) before scaling up to complex layouts
• Use open-source design systems — If you don’t have time or resources to build a design system, you can use or borrow UI components from open-source design systems. Systems like Adobe’s Spectrum and IBM’s Carbon offer UI components + extensive documentation on how to use them

Information architecture (IA)

Information architecture (IA) is the practice of structuring content in a way that makes it intuitive, navigable, and easy to understand. A well-organized IA ensures users can find what they need without frustration.

Methods for IA

• Develop a taxonomy — Organize content into clear, logical categories. Navigation menus, for example, should reflect user expectations and be validated through card-sorting exercises
• Use descriptive labels — Labels in buttons, forms, and menus should be unambiguous. If users hesitate or misunderstand an action, they’ll likely abandon it
• Optimize search — Some users know exactly what they want to find within a product, and they’ll use the search feature to get it. So, implementing a search function with metadata, filters, and predictive suggestions helps users quickly locate what they need

FAQs: Answering common UX design questions

There may still be some lingering questions, and I’ll take them up next:

How long does the UX design process take?

The UX design process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on project scope, budget, and resources.

• Small updates may take weeks, skipping some UX stages
• New products require deep research, prototyping, and testing, extending timelines
• Team size and complexity also affect speed

Ultimately, UX design timelines vary — balancing thorough user research with efficient execution.

What tools should I use for the UX design process?

The tools you can use during the UX design process depend on which stage you’re in:

• Testing — UserTesting (usability tests, interviews), Dscout (large-scale research)
• Design and prototyping — Figma (design, prototyping, design systems), Framer (low-code website and app building)
• Post-launch — Google Analytics (traffic, engagement, SEO), Hotjar (click tracking, heatmaps, qualitative insights)

How do you handle feedback during the UX design process?

Stay open to all feedback — both positive and constructive. User insights may require rework, but they lead to better, user-informed designs. Keep stakeholders in the loop to ensure alignment and gather their input throughout the process.

How can you measure the success of UX designs?

Track key metrics using analytics tools and surveys:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) — Likelihood of users recommending the product
• System Usability Score (SUS) — Overall user satisfaction
• Task success rate — Percentage of users completing tasks correctly
• Retention rate — Users who continue using the product over time
• Drop-off rate — Users abandoning tasks before completion

Conclusion

The UX design process is ongoing — launching a product is just the beginning. Iteration ensures continuous improvement, optimizes UX, and reduces business costs.

This guide provides a structured approach but can be tailored to your project. For example, if a user persona already exists, reuse it instead of starting from scratch.

Beyond the process, we explored advanced concepts like inclusive design, information architecture, and design systems, along with key UX FAQs. Now, you’re equipped to refine your UX strategy effectively.

Ooh, and to help you streamline your workflow, we’ve created a handy downloadable checklist — so you always have a structured approach at your fingertips. Download it here and keep it as a go-to resource for your UX projects!