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Waterfall User Interaction Design Process
The interaction designer must first understand the full context. What most informs the solution is the problem. Questions and an open mind are more valuable at the outset than any set of tools, preferences, or prior solutions.
This describes a sequential design process sometimes called 'Waterfall', because it completes phases in one discipline before
passing them to another phase using a different discipline (e.g., design => coding).
I am currently working to redefine this UID process for an agile project environment.
Key User Interaction Design Tasks
User interaction design is a process of description. It first states written requirements, and steps through increasingly detailed diagrams of the intended behavior until there is a functional specification, containing use cases, scenarios, wireframes, and click-through prototypes. The functional specification must be clear to users, they must be able to determine what the interaction will be like and how it will affect them.
The functional specification provides for two development paths: by developers into the underlying code and data architecture, and by interaction designers into working hi-fi Web pages, usability tests, and user documentation.
In outline form, here is the design framework. It's not a universal recipe for every project, but it represents the major development arc. It will differ depending on whether the project is developing a software product, an intranet, an eCommerce site, a Website, or a hardware interface. Some tasks run concurrently.