What Are The Benefits Of Iterative Design?

Have you heard people mentioning iterative design recently and are wondering what this is? This is a design process that is becoming more popular and it may be something that you wish to explore. Let’s take a closer look at what it is and the benefits of iterative design.

IMAGE: UNSPLASH

What Is Iterative Design?

First of all, it is important to understand what is meant by iterative design. If you are new to different design processes, you may not be aware of what this is. Essentially, this is an interesting methodology that is being used for everything from website development to the creation of products. It involves going through several rounds of prototyping and testing, with adjustments and changes made gradually throughout the design process.

Therefore, iterative design is different from traditional design. You do not simply create one version and your project is done. Instead, you are going to continue to make iterations of a project in order to improve and tweak it for the desired consumer.

If you want to learn more about how you can get started with the iterative design process, click on this link. This blog post tells you more details about the process and how you can make it work for your business. Think of iterative design as a long-term project and something that you can work on all the time in order to be the best you can be. Now, let’s take a look at the benefits.

Identify Problems Early

Everybody is going to be proud of the project they are working on. This means you can often be blind to problems that might exist. With traditional design, you often come across these problems at a late stage. This can be soul-destroying if you thought that your product was nearly ready. Not to mention, you are going to have to start the process all over again.

The good thing about iterative design is that you are going to discover any problems at an early stage. The prototype stage starts quickly and this allows for the opportunity to spot any issues there are before you are later down the line with the design.

Remember that finding out problems at an early stage is a good thing. It is not a sign of failure or substandard work. Instead, it is a great opportunity to address these problems early and to create a better prototype moving forward. In other words, iterative design allows you to have a better product for customers and for you to reach this stage quickly.

Never Return To The Drawing Board

The purpose of iterative design is that you are going to be constantly improving on a product. This means that you can avoid having to start from scratch. Often, this is a problem with traditional design and it can make the whole process long and tedious. But, you are constantly working on design through this method and you do not have to return to the drawing board unless you want to. Therefore, iterative design means better efficiency and you can enter the market quicker. You will also be able to do with fewer redesigns.

More Cost-Effective

Let’s be honest and acknowledge that designing a product can be expensive. You want to do everything you can to keep costs down and still create an amazing product that you and customers love. One thing that is common with traditional design is that brands end up spending more money. This is particularly true if several redesigns are necessary. You have to return to the very beginning and it can be like all of your hard work and money is gone. You have to start all over again.

However, the same cannot be said about iterative design. Since you are starting the prototype and testing stage earlier and in a consistent way, businesses report that it is more cost-effective. They do not spend as much on labour costs and they are able to spend up the design of their product.

A More User-Friendly Product

The iterative design process means that there is going to be a lot more user testing involved from the beginning. All of this involvement is a good thing and it means that problems and issues are addressed and improvements are made in a gradual way.

At the end, this means that a more user-friendly product is going to be achieved. In other words, consumers are going to be a lot happier with the product since it has been geared towards their needs and preferences. All of the feedback gained through iterative design has been taken onboard through prototyping and this is going to lead to success with the product.

IMAGE: UNSPLASH

If you are interested in even more design-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.