Digital Product Design Framework:

Summary TL;DR:

Moving a digital product from the idea to design can be overwhelming. Overwhelm can result in never shipping the idea in your head.

The purpose of the design process is to:

• Summarize the idea

• Clarify the purpose of the digital product

• Clarify the pain point the digital product solves

• Determine how you will deliver or distribute the product to your customers

• Determine what kind of digital product you are going to build

• Outline the features and functionality the product contains

This step by step guide will demystify the process by providing a framework.

I will provide practical examples based on a digital product I designed on a 2 hour flight to Wichita, KS this week.

The Basics:

First, what is a “digital product”?

• a digital product is software, media, or content sold and distributed online

What are the advantages of digital products?

• They are evergreen. You build them once and make them better in time, based on customer feedback

Now that we have the basics out of the way, head to a distraction free place and prepare for 15 min of meat and potatoes.

The Framework:

1. Summarize the idea

   This digital product summary should include a handful of sentences that describe:

   • WHAT the product is

   • The value it provides

   • What it enables the person using it to do

   Example:

   • What is the product?

     • Example: It is a tool that guides users through a daily exercise of:

       • clearing clutter from their head

       • identifying the most important thing they need to do

       • measuring success via dashboards

   • What is the value the product provides to the user?

     • Reminder: value means the importance, worth, or usefulness of something

       • Example: We must organize what is cluttering up our head and prioritize what needs doing so that (at the least) we can take action on our most important task daily.

   • What does the person get from the product? What is their “so that”?

     • Focus on identifying the one most important thing an individual needs to complete daily “so that” they ensure they do the daily work that will result in accomplishing the bigger picture goal they seek to achieve.

   1. Clarify the purpose of the digital product

      State the reason(s) this product exists.

      Example:

      • Why does this product exist?

        • People struggling to take action are often too zoomed out. They focus on the big picture but need to narrow their focus on the one thing they need to do today. This action will move them closer to their goal. This product guides users in doing that work.

        • People procrastinating often don’t know where to start or are afraid they are going to start on the wrong thing. There is no wrong thing. This product guides users in narrowing their focus. Focus moves users past fear and into action. Action creates momentum which then fosters action.

      1. Clarify the pain point the digital product solves:

         Imagine the user in your head or pretend you are the user. List their dream outcome, current problems, and solutions are.

         Challenge yourself here. Shoot for at least 20 in each category.

         *bonus - this activity will also help you write your offer

         Example:

         • Dream outcome:

           • I am organized

           • I no longer feel lazy and worthless

         • List of problems:

           • I am overwhelmed and don’t know where to start

           • I don’t know if I am good enough

         • List of solutions:

           • This only takes 15 min per day M-F.

           • You will be less overwhelmed if you no longer carry everything around in your head. You can’t solve problems from ghosts in your head.

      2. Determine how you will deliver or distribute the product to your customers:

         This is a digital product so what website, landing page, etc will you drive marketing traffic to?

         Will it be free or paid?

         Is it a digital product or a digital product + service?

         Example:

         • Landing page

         • Free download with email address + paid product + service

           • This covers DIY-ers and folks that want implementation help

         • It is a digital product + service

      3. Determine what kind of digital product you are going to build:

         What medium will you build the digital product on/in?

         Figma, Notion, Google Doc, SaaS software?

         Example:

         • Free = Notion

         • Paid = SaaS software

      4. Outline the features and functionality the product contains:

         Define how the digital product will work for each kind you are going to build

         Example:

         • Notion:

           • Template with prompts for the user to perform activities

         • SaaS software:

           • Dashboards to track progress

Take action.

DM me (@Jen_Burkhardt) on Twitter with questions, comments or challenges.