UI Project Planning Goals and Requirements
TL;DR:
- Clear project goals align your UI design with business objectives and user needs
- Know your audience, define the problem you're solving, and specify desired user actions
- Gather requirements through stakeholder input, user research, and testing scenarios
- Use wireframes and prototypes to visualise ideas before building
- Regular feedback loops prevent scope creep and keep projects on track
Setting clear goals is where every successful UI project starts. Without them, you're designing in the dark and hoping for the best.
Define Your Project Purpose
Before you touch any design tools, you need to understand what problem you're actually solving. Ask yourself what's broken or missing in the current user experience. Are people struggling to find information? Can't complete key tasks? Getting frustrated with confusing navigation?
Your project purpose should be specific enough that you can measure success against it later. "Make the website better" isn't a goal. "Reduce checkout abandonment by 20%" is.
Know Your Users
Different audiences need different things from your interface. A dashboard for data analysts will work completely differently from a mobile app for teenagers.
Spend time identifying who'll actually use what you're building. What devices do they use? How tech-savvy are they? What are they trying to accomplish when they interact with your interface?
This isn't about demographics alone. Focus on behaviours, motivations, and the context in which people will use your design.
Specify Desired Actions
Every interface should guide users toward specific actions. Whether that's signing up for a newsletter, completing a purchase, or finding support information, be clear about what success looks like.
Map out the key user journeys and identify where you want people to end up. This helps you prioritise which elements need the most attention in your design.
Gather Solid Requirements
Goals are just the starting point. Now you need to turn them into actionable requirements that guide your design decisions.
Involve the Right People
Get input from everyone who has a stake in the project's success. That includes clients, end users, developers who'll build it, and anyone responsible for maintaining it afterward.
Different stakeholders will have different priorities. Sales teams might want more conversion-focused features while support teams need better self-service options. Balance these needs early rather than trying to fix conflicts later.
Do Your Research
User research isn't optional. Talk to real people who'll use your interface. Watch them interact with current systems. Ask about their frustrations and what they wish worked better.
Even a handful of user interviews will reveal insights you'd never get from assumptions. You'll often discover that what stakeholders think users want isn't what users actually need.
Create User Scenarios
Build realistic scenarios that show how different types of users will interact with your interface. These help you spot potential problems before they become expensive fixes.
Think through edge cases too. What happens when someone has a slow internet connection? How does your interface work for users with accessibility needs?
Use Visual Planning Tools
Wireframes and prototypes are your best friends during planning. They help you work through ideas quickly without getting bogged down in visual details.
Start with simple wireframes to nail down layout and information hierarchy. Then move to interactive prototypes for testing user flows. This lets you spot usability issues while they're still cheap to fix.
Test these prototypes with real users. You'll learn more from five people trying to complete tasks than from hours of internal debate.
Keep Requirements Realistic
It's tempting to pack everything into your initial requirements. Resist this urge. Focus on the core functionality that solves your main user problems.
You can always add features later, but removing them once development starts gets messy and expensive. Prioritise ruthlessly and save the nice-to-haves for future iterations.
FAQs
How detailed should my initial project goals be?
Detailed enough to guide design decisions but flexible enough to adapt as you learn more. Focus on the problems you're solving rather than specific solutions.
What's the difference between goals and requirements?
Goals are the high-level outcomes you want to achieve. Requirements are the specific features and functionality needed to reach those goals.
How do I handle conflicting stakeholder requirements?
Bring everyone together to discuss trade-offs openly. Use your user research to guide decisions when opinions clash. The user's needs should win most arguments.
When should I create wireframes versus prototypes?
Start with wireframes for layout and content planning. Move to prototypes when you need to test interactions and user flows.
Jargon Buster
User Interface (UI): The visual elements people interact with in digital products, including buttons, menus, and layout
Wireframes: Basic structural blueprints showing layout without detailed design elements
Prototypes: Interactive mockups that simulate how the final interface will work
User Personas: Fictional characters based on real user research that represent your target audience
Stakeholders: Anyone with an interest in the project's outcome, from clients to end users
User Journey: The path a user takes to complete a specific task in your interface
Wrap-up
Good UI project planning starts with clear goals and solid requirements. Take time to understand what problems you're solving, who you're solving them for, and what success looks like.
Involve the right people early, do your research, and use wireframes and prototypes to test ideas before committing to expensive development. The planning phase might feel slow, but it prevents costly mistakes and ensures your final design actually works for the people who'll use it.
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