Let’s skip the obvious: yes, design evolves. Yes, users are more demanding. No, your product doesn’t need to look like Apple’s landing page to feel modern.

But in 2025 and beyond, it’s becoming harder to separate design that’s actually helpful from design that just looks good in a Dribbble shot. So here’s the reality, not from a trend forecaster, but from someone who’s spent years working on real web and app products.

Below are the UI trends we see shaping smart digital products right now, and the ones we’ll be using, or deliberately ignoring, in the projects we design and ship.

Interfaces That Talk Back, But Know When to Shut Up

Interaction design is no longer about flashy buttons or satisfying toggles. It is about interfaces that feel aware of the user, like they’re reacting with purpose, not just style.

Microinteractions still matter, but they’ve grown up. They’re not gimmicks anymore, they’re how modern UIs communicate. Did the system understand your tap? Is something loading? Has the state changed? Animation now acts like tone of voice, subtle, contextual, and still a little charming when done right.

There is also the rise of voice and chat interfaces, often layered over traditional UI. These aren’t just for AI tools, even finance and B2B platforms are building conversational elements into their workflows. The catch, if your chatbot just repeats the same CTA three times in a circle, it is not clever, it is bad UX wrapped in a trendy wrapper.

We are helping clients design interactive layers that make sense, contextual hints, flexible input methods, smart defaults. Because interaction is not just what happens after you click, it is what guides you to the click in the first place.

See our UX, UI design services and how we embed design into real web applications.

Layouts That Stop Pretending to Be Minimal

Minimalism had a good run. Now the best interfaces aren’t minimal, they’re intentional.

2025’s UI is shifting toward layouts that do more than “look clean”. Think bolder grid systems, clear content hierarchy, and purposeful spacing, especially in SaaS dashboards, onboarding flows, and long form content pages. A white background and thin font is not a design system. It is a default.

Designers are also rediscovering visual weight, using contrast, layering, and typography to direct attention instead of hiding it. Accessibility is not a checkbox anymore, it is a design tool.

We’re seeing more interfaces embrace modular layouts, smart cards, and scroll triggered dynamic sections. Why, because apps aren’t static. Users need context, not whitespace.

Looking to evolve your platform, talk to us about custom web development and how we size a project inside services.

When Texture Returns, But Doesn’t Take Over

Flat design did not die, it just got a little less flat. Designers are bringing back a sense of material in subtle ways, shadows with intent, translucent layers, textured backgrounds that do not scream “Photoshop 2008”.

We are not talking full skeuomorphism, nobody needs stitched leather navbars again, but the pendulum is swinging toward designs that feel a bit more tactile. Not because it looks cooler, but because it helps users orient themselves in a digital space.

Done right, depth and detail signal interactivity. Done wrong, it is just noise. We aim for the first one, starting with a proper design system and component rules that scale across complex web applications.

AI Is Changing the Interface, Quietly

The real AI trend in design is not the chatbot, it is personalization.

Modern UIs are starting to shift based on the individual. Dashboards reorder. Product lists surface different results. Settings get smarter, and all of it feels native because the interface does not say “Hey, I’m AI”, it just works better.

Design systems are evolving to accommodate this, more conditional components, dynamic layouts, adaptive copy blocks. For product teams, this means thinking beyond static Figma frames and building modularity into everything.

If you are designing a new product or rebuilding an old one, do not ask “where can we use AI”, ask “where would it make this easier for the user”, then design around that.

We’ve baked this thinking into recent app development projects, especially where web applications serve different user roles with different journeys.

Trend ≠ Good. Trend + Context = Great.

Here is the truth no trend report wants to say out loud, most trends are not worth copying. What works for a fashion brand homepage probably will not work for a fintech dashboard.

The smartest product teams in 2025 are not following trends, they are reading them like signals. They choose the ones that serve their users and ignore the rest.

You do not need a glassmorphic navbar because Apple did it. You need clarity. Flow. Friction where it matters. Surprise where it delights. That is what modern UI really is.

If you are wondering which of these trends are worth exploring in your product, and which to leave for someone else’s portfolio piece, we are happy to help.

And contact us, if you need an agency partner on the ground, see our app development agency in London.

The post UI Design Trends 2025/26 appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.

At WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED, we don’t just design what you ask for. We consider how it’s going to be used, where it adds value, and what will make it stand the test of time. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining an existing product, here are eight key mobile app design tips worth keeping in mind.

Start With the User’s Goal

A common misstep in mobile design is prioritising features over outcomes. Just because your app can do ten things doesn’t mean it should – or that the user will care.

Start with the user’s main intention. What are they opening your app to achieve? That goal should shape everything from the navigation to the micro-interactions. If the app doesn’t get them there easily, they won’t come back. Designing around the user’s journey – not your feature roadmap – creates products that feel intuitive from day one.

Clarity Over Cleverness

In the world of mobile design, clarity wins. Every button, label, and screen should communicate its purpose instantly. If users have to guess or pause to think, you’ve already lost them.

This doesn’t mean your app needs to be dull or stripped back. It means the creativity is in the detail – how you guide without distracting, how you signal state changes, how you keep feedback clear and timely.

Strong visual hierarchy, consistent iconography, and frictionless interactions go further than any trendy animation or colour palette ever will.

Design for Ergonomics 

Too often, interfaces are built for how they look, not how they’re actually used. Mobile first design should always account for ergonomics. That means placing core actions within the natural reach of a user’s thumb, especially on larger screens.

Think about the experience of using your app one-handed while walking or multitasking. If navigation requires awkward stretches or constant hand repositioning, you’re creating friction – even if the design appears user-friendly.

Prioritise Load Time and Performance

No one cares how beautiful your design is if the app doesn’t load quickly. Performance is part of the user experience – and design choices have a direct impact on it.

If you’re looking to create business apps with real-world functionality, you need to avoid overly complex animations, uncompressed assets, or heavy UI libraries that slow things down. Users expect responsiveness, and every delay – even just one or two seconds – makes the experience feel worse – even if they can’t articulate why.

Systems, Not Screens

Design doesn’t stop at the interface level. A truly effective app is designed as a system – with consistent components, flexible layouts, and reusable patterns that scale across features. This helps with both development and user experience. Developers can build faster and more efficiently, while users experience consistency and predictability across every part of the product. 

And your design system doesn’t need to be bloated. In fact, the best ones are lightweight, purposeful, and built around actual usage patterns – not generic style guides.

Don’t Underestimate Onboarding

First impressions matter. When users download your app, the first minute of their experience can shape whether they ever come back, and yet onboarding is still treated like an afterthought in many projects.

Onboarding should feel like a natural extension of the product  as opposed to a tutorial. Help users see immediate value, use progressive disclosure to avoid overwhelming them, and wherever possible, design flows that allow people to “learn by doing” rather than reading.

Even a few small improvements to onboarding can dramatically improve retention, especially for feature-rich products.

Use Feedback to Build Trust

Apps that don’t respond to user actions leave people unsure – did the button work? Did the form submit? Was the action successful?

Clear feedback builds trust. It reassures users that the app is working as expected. Loading indicators, success messages, error states – all of these contribute to a sense of reliability and polish. Small touches, like haptic feedback or subtle animations, can go a long way when used with purpose. 

Design With Change in Mind

Finally, remember that your app isn’t finished when it launches. Mobile products evolve; they grow, shift direction, respond to user feedback, and adapt to new technologies.

Designing with flexibility in mind – from navigation patterns to content architecture – makes those changes easier to implement later. It also helps your product stay relevant in the long term, which is often where real success is found.

At WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED, we work closely with clients to think beyond the launch. What will the app need to do in six months? What happens when your user base doubles? Design isn’t static – and we understand that the process shouldn’t be either.

Work With Us

If you’re looking for a partner who understands the balance between aesthetics, usability, and long-term scalability, contact us at WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED today. Let’s build something people love to use – and love coming back to.

The post Mobile App Design: 8 Useful Tips appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.

Creating a website requires more than just a great idea – it involves both design and development to ensure a seamless user experience and functional performance. To help you get a better understanding of the key differences between web design and web development, in this article, we’re going to cover:

• What web design and web development are
• The key aspects of web design and web development
• The key differences between web design and web development

And hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll have a clear understanding of the key differences between web design and web development and how both contribute to building a successful website.

What Is Web Design?

Web design refers to the process of planning and creating the layout, structure, and visual elements of a website. This involves everything from how the website looks to how users interact with it.

Web designers aim to create a user-friendly, visually appealing site that aligns with the brand’s identity and provides a seamless experience for visitors.

Key Aspects of Web Design

There are several key aspects that make up web design. They include:

• Layout & Structure: Organising content in an intuitive way that guides the user’s journey.
• Typography: Choosing fonts and text styles that enhance readability and match the brand’s tone.
• Colour Scheme: Selecting colours that complement the brand and create the right atmosphere.
• Visual Hierarchy: Using size, spacing, and positioning to guide users toward important content or actions.

What Is Web Development?

Web development is the technical aspect of building and maintaining websites. It involves turning the design into a functional website using programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and server-side technologies.

Web developers focus on creating the infrastructure, coding the site’s functionality, and ensuring it runs smoothly across various platforms.

Front-End vs. Back-End Development

Web development can be divided into two main categories. They include:

• Front-End Development: This focuses on what users see and interact with on the website. Front-end developers work with technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create the visual layout and interactive elements of the site.
• Back-End Development: This involves the server-side components that users don’t see. Back-end developers handle databases, server logic, and integration with third-party services, ensuring the website functions as expected behind the scenes.

Web Design vs. Web Development: Key Differences

While both web design and web development contribute to creating a successful website, they differ in several key areas:

Focus & Purpose

Web design is about creating an engaging and user-friendly interface. Designers focus on visuals, layout, and branding to ensure a seamless user experience. Web development, in contrast, is responsible for making the website functional, ensuring that everything works correctly through coding and technical implementation.

Required Skills & Tools

Web designers use tools like Figma, Adobe XD, and Sketch to create visually appealing layouts. They focus on design principles, typography, and colour schemes. Web developers rely on programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, using frameworks to build and maintain websites.

User Experience vs. Technical Performance

Designers prioritise user experience, ensuring the website is intuitive and visually appealing. Developers focus on technical performance, optimising site speed, responsiveness, and security to enhance functionality.

Career Paths & Job Roles

Web design careers include UI/UX designer and graphic designer. Web development roles range from front-end and back-end developers to full-stack developers, depending on expertise in coding and technical implementation.

How Web Design and Web Development Work Together

Although web design and web development are distinct disciplines, they work hand in hand to create a cohesive website.

Designers create the visual blueprint, while developers bring it to life through code. Collaboration is key – designers must understand the technical constraints of web development, and developers must work within the design parameters to deliver a functional, beautiful website.

Which One Should You Choose?

For businesses or individuals looking to build a high-performing website, both disciplines are essential. Choosing web design will ensure a strong, appealing first impression, while web development guarantees the site functions smoothly and efficiently.

Often, hiring professionals in both fields is the best approach to ensure all aspects of your website are covered.

Final Thoughts

When you look at web design vs web development, understanding the differences between the two is crucial for selecting the right approach for your project. While web design focuses on the visual and user experience aspects, web development brings the technical functionality of the website to life.

Now that you know the key differences between web design and web development, consider familiarising yourself with why a website is essential for business success.

By understanding how a well-designed and properly developed website can impact customer engagement, brand perception, and overall business growth, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions.

The post Web Design and Web Development: Key Differences appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.

Ever visited a website on your phone that looked like a miniaturised version of the desktop site? Frustrating, right? You end up pinching and zooming just to read the text or click a button. That’s exactly what responsive web design aims to fix. If you’re running a business with an online presence (and let’s face it, who isn’t these days?), understanding responsive design isn’t just nice to have—it’s absolutely essential.

What is Responsive Web Design?

In simple terms, responsive web design is an approach that makes your website look good and work well on any device—whether it’s a desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone. Instead of creating separate websites for different screen sizes, you build one flexible site that automatically adjusts its layout based on the device being used.

Think of it like water—it takes the shape of whatever container it’s poured into. Your website content should flow just as smoothly, regardless of the screen it’s viewed on. This adaptability is what makes responsive design so powerful in today’s multi-device world.

How Responsive Web Design Works

The magic behind responsive design boils down to a few key technical components. At its core, it relies on flexible grids, flexible images, and CSS media queries.

The layout is built using relative units like percentages rather than fixed units like pixels. This means elements on the page will resize proportionally to the screen. Media queries then detect the visitor’s screen size and orientation, triggering different CSS styles for different situations.

When implemented correctly through our web development services, these elements work together to create a seamless experience across all devices without requiring separate websites or redirects.

Key Benefits of Responsive Web Design

The advantages of going responsive extend far beyond just looking good on mobile. Here’s why it matters for your business.

Better User Experience

Let’s be honest—user expectations are higher than ever. When someone visits your site on their phone, they expect it to work just as well as on a desktop. Responsive design delivers this consistency, keeping visitors engaged rather than frustrated. Happy users are more likely to stay longer, explore more pages, and eventually convert.

Improved SEO

Google loves responsive websites. So much so that they actually use mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor. With a responsive design, you maintain a single URL for each page, which concentrates your SEO efforts and avoids the duplicate content issues that come with separate mobile sites. This translates to better visibility in search results and potentially more traffic.

Cost-Effective and Time-Efficient

Maintaining one responsive website is significantly cheaper than managing separate desktop and mobile versions. You’re updating content in one place, fixing bugs on one platform, and running analytics on a single property. For businesses watching their bottom line (and who isn’t?), this efficiency makes responsive design a no-brainer.

Increased Mobile Traffic

Mobile internet usage continues to climb year after year. In many industries, mobile traffic has already surpassed desktop. A responsive site ensures you’re not turning away this massive audience with a poor mobile experience. You’re meeting users where they are—on their phones and tablets—with an experience tailored to their device.

How Responsive Web Design Improves User Experience

User experience isn’t just a buzzword—it directly impacts your bottom line. Here’s how responsive design makes things better for your visitors.

Seamless Navigation Across Devices

When choosing the right ux design agency, look for one that understands how navigation should adapt across devices. On mobile, space is limited, so menus need to be condensed (often into the familiar “hamburger” icon). Yet the navigation still needs to be intuitive and easy to use, regardless of how it’s presented.

A well-executed responsive design ensures users can find what they’re looking for without frustration, whether they’re on a 27-inch monitor or a 5-inch phone screen.

Faster Load Times

Speed matters—a lot. Research shows that 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take longer than three seconds to load. Responsive design, when properly implemented, helps optimise load times by serving appropriately-sized images and streamlined code.

Rather than downloading desktop-sized images and scaling them down (wasting bandwidth), a responsive site delivers images sized appropriately for each device, significantly improving load times on mobile connections.

Consistent Branding and Design

Your brand identity should remain consistent regardless of where customers encounter it. Responsive design ensures your visual identity, tone, and user experience remain cohesive across all devices, strengthening brand recognition and trust.

This consistency isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about creating a reliable experience that users can count on every time they interact with your business online.

Best Practices for Implementing Responsive Web Design

Ready to make your website responsive? Here are the key principles to follow.

Use Fluid Grid Layouts

Ditch the pixel-perfect mentality. Modern responsive design relies on flexible grids based on percentages rather than fixed pixel widths. This allows content to resize proportionally to the screen, maintaining proper spacing and alignment regardless of device size.

Think of your layout as a series of containers that expand and contract as needed, rather than rigid boxes fixed to specific dimensions.

Media Queries

Media queries are CSS superpowers that detect the characteristics of a user’s device—screen size, resolution, orientation, and more. They allow you to apply different styles based on these conditions.

For example, you might use a media query to change a three-column layout on desktop to a single column on mobile, or to increase font size on higher resolution screens for better readability.

Optimise Images for Different Screen Sizes

Images often make up the bulk of a webpage’s file size. To improve performance, implement responsive images that serve different sizes based on the user’s device. There’s no point loading a 2000px wide hero image on a 375px wide phone screen—it wastes bandwidth and slows down the site.

Modern solutions like the srcset attribute and picture element make it easy to serve the right image for the right screen.

Mobile-First Design

Start by designing for the smallest screen first, then progressively enhance the experience for larger screens. This “mobile-first” approach forces you to focus on the essential content and functionality from the beginning, resulting in more streamlined experiences across all devices.

It’s much easier to add complexity for larger screens than to remove it for smaller ones. Plus, it aligns with Google’s mobile-first indexing approach to SEO.

Common Challenges in Responsive Web Design

Despite its benefits, responsive design does come with some challenges to overcome.

Cross-Browser Compatibility

Different browsers interpret code differently, and this variation becomes even more pronounced across devices. Testing across browsers like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge—on both desktop and mobile—is essential to ensure consistent experiences.

Browser-specific bugs can be frustrating, but they’re solvable with careful testing and CSS fallbacks for older browsers.

Performance Issues

Poorly implemented responsive design can actually hurt performance if not optimised correctly. Large images, unnecessary JavaScript, and bloated CSS can all contribute to slow load times, especially on mobile networks.

The key is to build with performance in mind from the start, using techniques like lazy loading, code splitting, and proper image optimisation.

Testing and Debugging

With countless screen sizes and device types available, thorough testing becomes both important and challenging. What works perfectly on an iPhone might break on an Android tablet, or vice versa.

Establish a testing protocol that covers a representative sample of devices your audience uses, focusing on the most common screen sizes and operating systems.

How to Test Your Responsive Web Design

No responsive website should launch without thorough testing. Here’s how to make sure yours works flawlessly across devices.

Use Device Emulators

Browser developer tools like Chrome DevTools include device emulation features that simulate various screen sizes and devices. This is a quick way to test how your design adapts across different viewports without needing physical devices.

While not a replacement for testing on actual hardware, emulators provide a good first pass at identifying major responsive issues.

Manual Testing on Real Devices

Nothing beats testing on actual physical devices. If possible, maintain a small collection of common devices—perhaps an iPhone, an Android phone, an iPad, and a few different desktop monitors—to verify your designs work as expected in real-world conditions.

Pay special attention to touch interactions, which can’t be fully simulated with a mouse and keyboard.

Automated Testing Tools

Tools like Browserstack, Responsinator, and Lambdatest allow you to test your site across hundreds of device and browser combinations without needing the physical hardware. These services can be invaluable for catching edge cases and ensuring broad compatibility.

Automated visual regression testing can also help identify when changes to your code unexpectedly break the responsive layout.

Final Thoughts

Responsive web design isn’t just a trend—it’s the standard approach for building websites in today’s multi-device world. When done right, it creates seamless experiences that delight users regardless of how they access your site.

Remember that responsive design is more than just making things fit on different screens. It’s about creating truly device-agnostic experiences that put user needs first. By embracing flexibility in your designs and following best practices, you’ll create websites that stand the test of time—and technology.

Ready to make your website responsive? We’d love to help you create a site that looks and works brilliantly across all devices. Get in touch today to discuss your project!

The post Responsive Web Design: Everything You Need To Know appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.

Sound design is essential in game development as it plays a crucial role in shaping player experience, enhancing immersion, and adding depth to storytelling. To help you better understand the importance of sound design and the role it plays in game development, in this article, we’re going to cover:

• What sound design is and why it matters
• How sound design enhances gameplay
• The different elements of sound design
• The impact sound design can have on player experience

And at the end of this article, we’re going to talk about some of the best practices for sound design that our London-based game development experts recommend and follow themselves.

What is Sound Design in Game Development?

Sound design in game development refers to the process of creating and implementing various audio elements including sound effects (SFX), music, voice acting, and ambient sounds. When combined, all the different sound elements work together to enhance the overall gameplay.

To give you an example, a well-designed soundscape can transform a simple interaction, such as picking up an item or defeating an enemy player into a far more satisfying and engaging experience.

Why Sound Design Matters

Sound design is an essential part of video game development for a number of reasons, including:

• Guides gameplay: Audio cues can direct players without the need for on-screen prompts. This is especially true in FPS games where every second counts.
• Builds atmosphere: Music and sound effects can help set the tone and the mood of the game.
• Provides player feedback: Sounds can inform players of their in-game actions, whether successful or not.
• Enhances immersion: High-quality audio sounds can make the game world feel a lot more believable and true to life.

How Sound Design Enhances Gameplay

Sound design can enhance gameplay in a number of different ways, some of which include:

Creating Atmosphere and Immersion

A well-designed soundscape can make the game environment feel far more engaging, dynamic, and immersive. To give you an example, in The Witcher 3, the chirping birds, howling winds, and the sounds of bustling cities all contributed to making the environment more real and believable.

Building Tension and Excitement

In-game sounds are essential for creating suspense and excitement. Horror games, for example, rely heavily on sound design to generate fear and anticipation by using sudden noises and ambient whispers to keep players on edge.

Reinforcing Player Actions

Sound is an extremely powerful game enhancement tool as it can provide players with feedback based on their actions. For example, when flying a plane in GTA V, just based on the sound of the engines, the player will know whether they are accelerating, decelerating, or if the engine is struggling due to damage.

The Different Elements of Sound Design

Sound design is a broad term that encompasses a variety of audio elements, including:

Sound Effects (SFX)

SFX covers all in-game action, from footsteps and gunshots to NPCs talking to each other and cars passing by. Every single sound effect that can be heard while playing a game plays its small but significant role in creating a more realistic game experience.

Music

In-game soundtracks can set the emotional tone for the game and can make the whole experience more complete. To give you an example, in open-world games such as GTA V, music is a great addition as driving a car for five or ten minutes at a time is suddenly no longer a dull task.

Voice Acting

Character voices can bring a lot of depth to storytelling and player immersion. It also helps players establish an emotional connection with each character, which will only make them more engaged.

Ambience and Background Sounds

Rain sounds when it rains, NPCs chattering as you walk past them – all of these sounds may seem irrelevant on their own but play a significant role in adding a sense of realism and depth, making the world feel more alive.

Sound Design’s Impact on Player Experience

Sound design has a major impact on player experience. Some examples of how sound influences gameplay include:

Emotional Connection

Whether through background sounds, voice acting, or music, sound design plays a key role in establishing an emotional connection between the player and the game.

Enhancing Storytelling

Games such as Resident Evil rely heavily on storytelling, and sound design is a crucial tool for delivering a compelling narrative that is immersive, emotionally engaging, and thematically rich.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

Sound design plays a very important role in making video games more accessible and inclusive for players with different needs. For example, audio cues can be essential gameplay indicators for players who have visual impairments.

Best Practices for Effective Sound Design

When it comes to designing sounds that will later be implemented into a video game, there are a couple of best practices that every sound designer needs to follow, including:

Collaborating with Developers and Designers

Although the difference between game design and game development is clear, having both the designers and the developers work together is key to achieving seamless and effective sound design.

Using High-Quality Sound Assets

While sound quality might not matter so much for simple board games, the opposite is true when designing sound for more immersive video games such as FPS titles, RPGs, and open-world adventures.

High-fidelity audio has the ability to greatly enhance the gaming experience by creating realistic environments, reinforcing player interactions, and ensuring that every sound complements the on-screen visuals.

Testing and Iteration

Just like game mechanics, sound quality also requires extensive testing to achieve the best possible result and give players the best possible experience.

Final Thoughts

Sound design for video games is just as important as high-quality graphics and visual elements, as it plays a crucial role in immersion, gameplay mechanics, and emotional engagement.

Hopefully, after reading this article, you now know just how important sound design in game development is. And whether you plan on developing your own game or are going to hire a team of expert game developers, make sure that whoever is working on your game doesn’t overlook sound design as it can make or break your game.

The post The Importance of Sound Design in Game Development appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.

A lot of time, effort, and resources go into the different stages of game development required in creating the final product. 

So, how do developers ensure that the game they’re working on will meet expectations, function smoothly, and provide players with the best experience? The answer is simple: prototyping.

Prototyping plays a crucial role in game development by helping teams test ideas, refine gameplay mechanics, and identify potential issues early on. Without a well-thought-out prototype, game development could be a long and uncertain road. 

Let’s explore why game prototyping is essential and how it shapes the game development process.

What is Game Prototyping?

Game prototyping is the process of building a simplified version of a game to test its core concepts. It allows developers to explore gameplay mechanics, features, and ideas in a hands-on way without committing too much time and resources to a fully developed game. Essentially, a prototype is a rough draft of the game’s functionality, focusing on testing whether the concept works as intended.

The main goal of prototyping is to bring an idea to life quickly so that you can evaluate its potential, gather feedback, and make improvements before the full-scale development begins. It’s an invaluable tool that saves both time and money in the long run by addressing problems early on.

Why is Prototyping Essential in Game Development?

So, why is this skill absolutely necessary when developing games? Let’s take a look.

Validating Game Ideas Early

One of the most significant advantages of prototyping is that it allows you to validate your game ideas before moving forward with the development process. In the early stages, developers may have a general idea of what they want to build, but a prototype provides the clarity needed to assess whether that idea is actually fun, engaging, and feasible.

Testing the concept early on helps identify potential flaws or areas that need improvement, so you don’t end up investing too much time into an idea that won’t work.

Improving Gameplay and Mechanics

A prototype lets developers test the gameplay mechanics in action, giving them a tangible sense of how the game flows. This hands-on approach allows designers to tweak elements like controls, pacing, and player feedback to create a more engaging experience.

Iterating on the prototype gives teams the chance to fine-tune the gameplay before it becomes a fully realised product. This means smoother mechanics and a better experience for players once the game is finished.

Reducing Risks and Costs

Prototyping helps mitigate the risks associated with game development. By creating a working model early on, you can discover issues like poor game balance or unpolished mechanics, which might otherwise go unnoticed until the later stages. Finding these problems early helps you avoid costly and time-consuming fixes during the full development phase.

Additionally, prototyping allows you to test the feasibility of new features or technologies before committing to them, reducing the chance of investing resources in something that ultimately doesn’t work.

The Prototyping Process

Step 1 – Conceptualising the Idea

The first step in creating a game prototype is defining the core concept. What is the game about? What makes it unique? This is where you explore the key elements of your game—its mechanics, storyline, and overall vision.

At this stage, developers should focus on the most important features of the game that will define its identity. Don’t worry about graphics or extensive details—just get the basics down to see if the concept has potential.

Step 2 – Building the Prototype

Once the idea is defined, it’s time to start building the prototype. This stage is about creating a playable model with basic mechanics and limited visuals. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but it should be enough to give an idea of how the game will play and feel.

Developers may use rapid prototyping tools to quickly create functional builds. These tools allow you to test key features without committing too much time to design or art elements.

Step 3 – Testing and Iterating

After building the prototype, it’s time to test it. Playtesting is crucial, as it provides valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t. Testing with real players helps you refine the user experience and gather feedback on the game mechanics.

Based on the feedback, the prototype is adjusted and improved through iterations. This process is repeated until the gameplay feels smooth and engaging.

Key Benefits of Prototyping in Game Development

Improving Collaboration Between Teams

Prototypes make it easier for game designers, developers, and artists to collaborate. By providing a tangible version of the game, all teams can better understand the vision and give feedback from their respective areas of expertise. This fosters better communication and alignment, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Building Innovation and Creativity

When teams see the prototype in action, they can get creative with ideas that might have seemed too risky or unconventional in the early stages. Prototyping helps break down barriers and encourages innovation by giving teams the freedom to experiment and explore new concepts.

Making the Player Experience Better

By testing the gameplay early, developers can focus on improving the player experience. Prototypes allow for quick adjustments based on player feedback, helping to create a game that’s not only functional but enjoyable to play.

Lowering Development Time

Although prototyping itself takes time, it ultimately reduces the development time of the full game. By addressing problems early on and streamlining the design process, teams can avoid lengthy delays during the main development phase.

Challenges of Game Prototyping

Limited Scope of Prototypes

Since prototypes are simplified versions of the game, they can only showcase certain aspects. This means that some features, like art and animations, may be left out or underdeveloped. As a result, the full potential of the game might not be evident during prototyping.

Balancing Quality and Speed

There’s a fine line between creating a prototype quickly and ensuring that it’s high-quality enough to provide accurate feedback. Developers need to balance speed with quality to make sure that the prototype is useful without overextending resources.

Resource Allocation

Building a prototype requires resources, including time and personnel. While it’s a worthwhile investment, game studios must ensure they allocate resources properly so that the prototyping process doesn’t negatively impact the rest of the development cycle.

Best Practices for Game Prototyping

Start Simple and Focus on Core Gameplay

Keep the prototype focused on the most important elements. Don’t try to build a fully realised game at this stage; instead, focus on the core mechanics and features that define the experience.

Use Rapid Prototyping Tools

Using tools that streamline the prototyping process helps save time and resources. These tools are designed to quickly build functional prototypes that can be iterated upon.

Iterate and Test Continuously

Prototyping is an ongoing process of testing, feedback, and refinement. Don’t just build the prototype and walk away—keep refining and testing it until you’re confident it meets the needs of players.

Final Thoughts

Game prototyping is a crucial step in the game development process, enabling teams to validate ideas, improve gameplay, and minimise risks. 

By testing core mechanics early on, teams can refine their vision, collaborate more effectively, and create a game that meets players’ expectations. Whether you’re a designer, developer, or project manager, prototyping plays a pivotal role in shaping a successful game.

If you’re looking to work with a game development company in the UK that understands the importance of prototyping, WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED offers expert services in all stages of development, from initial concepts to the final launch.

The post The Importance of Prototyping in Game Development appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.

If you’re a gamer, you’ve probably noticed the terms “game design” and “game development” floating around. 

But what exactly is the difference between these two key roles? Understanding the distinction is crucial when it comes to creating a successful video game, and knowing how these roles work together can give you a better appreciation for the magic behind your favourite games.

In this post, we’ll break down the differences between game design and game development, and explore how these two aspects of the gaming process come together to make incredible, immersive gaming experiences.

What is Game Design?

Game design is the process of conceptualising and planning the elements of a game, from its gameplay mechanics to its storyline and characters. Game designers are responsible for creating the game’s vision and overall structure. They determine how the game will look, feel, and operate, focusing on user experience, engagement, and fun.

A game designer’s job goes beyond just creating the rules of the game. They map out how the game is played, how users interact with it, and the emotions that need to be evoked. For example, they decide the character progression system, the game’s difficulty curve, and how players will navigate through levels.

In essence, game designers shape the world that players will experience.

What is Game Development?

While game design focuses on the ideas and vision behind a game, game development is the technical process of bringing that vision to life. Game developers take the designs created by the game designers and turn them into a functional, playable game. This involves writing code, creating the game’s infrastructure, and making sure everything runs smoothly.

Game developers are responsible for building the core functionality, such as physics, AI, graphics rendering, and networking. They ensure the game’s mechanics work seamlessly, and they troubleshoot technical issues that arise during the creation process.

In simple terms, while game designers focus on the “what,” game developers focus on the “how.”

Key Differences Between Game Design and Game Development

The most fundamental difference between game design and game development lies in their focus. Game designers focus on the creative aspects of a game, such as its concept, story, and gameplay mechanics. Developers, on the other hand, focus on the technical execution—coding, creating game engines, and ensuring all features run smoothly.

Both game designers and developers are crucial, but they contribute to different stages of the game creation process. Game designers start with the game’s concept, planning, and documentation. They sketch out the game’s layout, map the player experience, and set the overall tone.

Developers, however, take over once the designs are finalised. They transform those ideas into actual gameplay by writing code, developing assets, and creating the programming systems that make everything function.

Collaboration Between Game Designers and Developers

While their roles may seem different, game designers and developers work very closely together. In fact, collaboration is key to a successful game development process. Designers need to make sure their ideas are feasible from a technical perspective, while developers need to ensure that what is designed can be implemented in the game.

Both teams need to be in constant communication to ensure the final product is both functional and enjoyable. Feedback loops between designers and developers are crucial to making sure the game not only works but also delivers the experience the designer envisioned.

How Game Design and Game Development Work Together

But design and development are never one vs the other. Instead, they’re (virtual) players on the same team.

The Design-Development Feedback Loop

The process of game creation is far from linear. Game design and development often work in a loop. Once a developer implements a feature, the designer will review it, offer feedback, and suggest tweaks or adjustments. This back-and-forth process ensures that both the creative vision and the technical needs of the game are aligned.

The Balance of Creativity and Functionality

Successful game development relies on finding a balance between creativity and functionality. A game that is too focused on creativity without technical support will fail to function properly, while a game with too much focus on technicality without enough creative design will feel dry and uninspiring. This balance is the secret to crafting a memorable gaming experience.

Common Misconceptions About Game Design and Development

Designers Don’t Code

One of the most common myths is that game designers don’t need to know how to code. While it’s true that designers focus primarily on creative aspects, understanding basic coding or programming logic can be incredibly helpful. This knowledge allows designers to communicate more effectively with developers and ensure that their designs are technically viable.

Developers Just Write Code

Another misconception is that game developers only write code. In reality, game developers have a range of skills and often need to handle things like graphic rendering, user interface (UI) development, and integrating various features that ensure the game runs smoothly across different devices.

Game Design and Development Are Separate

While designers and developers have different roles, the idea that their work is separate is misleading. As mentioned earlier, they need to collaborate closely, ensuring that both creative ideas and technical implementation are in sync. It’s not a case of one or the other—it’s a partnership.

Final Thoughts

Game design and game development are both essential components of creating a great game, but they each have their own distinct focus. Game designers are responsible for the creative vision, while game developers bring that vision to life with technical expertise.

Understanding the difference between these two roles can give you a deeper appreciation for the work that goes into game creation. Whether you’re a developer, a designer, or a player, knowing the distinct roles of both helps make the entire gaming experience smoother and more enjoyable.

If you’re looking to work with one of the best UK game studios that can handle both design and development, WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED offers a complete package. From conceptual design to final product launch, WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED ensures that your game is developed with creativity, functionality, and a seamless user experience in mind.

The post Game Design vs Game Development: What’s the Difference? appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.

Mobile first design is a term you might hear often when it comes to building websites. But what exactly does it mean? 

In short, it’s a design approach that starts by prioritising mobile users before desktop users. With more and more people using their mobile phones to browse the web, adopting this design philosophy has become essential for businesses. 

In this article, we’ll dive into what mobile-first design is, why it matters, and how it can improve user experience and business outcomes.

What is Mobile First Design?

Mobile first design is a web development approach where the design process starts with mobile devices in mind. This means creating a mobile version of your website before adapting it for larger screens. Instead of designing for desktops first and making adjustments for mobile, mobile first focuses on making the mobile experience seamless and optimised from the start.

Given the rapid rise in mobile internet use, it’s no surprise that mobile first design has become the go-to strategy for many businesses looking to enhance their digital presence. But did you know that 74% of users say they return to buy from websites that work well on mobile devices? 

By choosing the right UX design experts that design with mobile users in mind first, businesses are ensuring they don’t miss out on a large portion of their potential audience. Failing to do so leaves billions of dollars on the table.

Why is Mobile First Design Important?

Mobile first design is essential for providing the best possible user experience. 

With mobile traffic continuing to dominate, businesses need to ensure that their websites are optimised for smartphones and tablets to stay competitive. But there’s more to it than just following the trend.

One key reason mobile first design is so important is because of Google’s mobile-first indexing. This means Google primarily uses the mobile version of your website for ranking and indexing. If your site doesn’t work well on mobile, it can negatively impact your search engine rankings, making it harder for potential customers to find you.

Benefits of Mobile First Design

Improved User Engagement

When your website is designed with mobile users in mind, it offers a smoother and faster experience. Mobile-first design focuses on simplicity and streamlined content, which makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for quickly. This approach leads to better user engagement, as visitors are more likely to stay on a site that works well on their device and is easy to navigate.

Better SEO Performance

As mentioned earlier, Google’s mobile-first indexing prioritises mobile-friendly websites. This means that websites optimised for mobile devices tend to rank higher in search engine results. Since search engine rankings directly affect traffic, a mobile-optimised site can significantly improve your visibility and help attract more visitors. Mobile-first design not only benefits user experience but can also have a positive impact on your SEO efforts.

Cost and Time Efficiency

Mobile-first design also helps businesses save time and money during the development process. Designing for mobile first means fewer adjustments and fewer complications later on. Once the mobile design is complete, it’s much easier to scale it up for larger screens. This makes the development process more efficient and cost-effective, as there’s no need to completely redesign the site for different devices.

How to Implement Mobile First Design

Start with Mobile Layouts

The first step in implementing mobile-first design is to create a layout that works well on small screens. This means prioritising essential content, keeping navigation simple, and ensuring the design is clean and user-friendly. By focusing on mobile first, you ensure that the user experience on smartphones and tablets is seamless.

Use Responsive Design Techniques

Responsive design is crucial for ensuring that your site works on any device, from smartphones to desktops. This technique uses flexible grids and scalable images, meaning the layout adapts to the size of the screen it’s being viewed on. This ensures your website looks good and functions well on all devices, providing a consistent experience for users.

Prioritise Content for Mobile

When designing for mobile, content should always be the priority. Make sure that the most important information is easily accessible and visible on small screens. Avoid cluttering the screen with unnecessary elements and focus on making the experience as simple as possible. A clean, easy-to-navigate design will improve the user experience and encourage visitors to stay on your site longer.

Test Across Multiple Devices

Once the mobile design is in place, it’s important to test the website across a variety of devices. While the mobile-first approach ensures compatibility with smaller screens, it’s essential to verify that the site also performs well on tablets and desktops. Testing on different devices will help you identify any issues and make necessary adjustments.

Common Challenges in Mobile First Design

So, what goes wrong when designing for mobile-first?

Designing for Small Screens

One of the biggest challenges of mobile-first design is ensuring that everything fits neatly on a small screen. You need to make sure the layout is clear, intuitive, and doesn’t overwhelm the user. Focusing on essential content and keeping things simple can help overcome this challenge.

Performance Optimisation

Mobile devices often have less processing power than desktops, which means it’s important to optimise your website for speed. Large images, heavy scripts, and unnecessary elements can slow down your site, leading to poor user experience and higher bounce rates. Keeping your site lightweight and fast is essential for a positive user experience.

Ensuring Cross-Device Compatibility

With so many different devices and screen sizes, it can be challenging to ensure your site works well on all of them. Regularly testing across a variety of devices and browsers is key to making sure your mobile-first site performs flawlessly, no matter where it’s viewed.

Mobile First Design Best Practices

Here’s what you can do to get it right the first time.

Keep It Simple and Minimal

When designing for mobile first, simplicity is key. Keep the design minimal and focus on what’s most important. A simple, uncluttered layout makes the site easier to navigate and ensures a better user experience.

Prioritise Touch-Friendly Navigation

Remember, mobile users are navigating with their fingers, not a mouse. Make sure buttons are large enough to tap easily and that links are easy to navigate. This will make your site more user-friendly and accessible to all users.

Focus on Speed

Mobile users expect websites to load quickly. Slow-loading websites can lead to higher bounce rates and a poor user experience. Compress images, reduce unnecessary code, and make sure your website loads quickly on mobile devices to keep users happy.

Use Mobile-First Frameworks

Mobile-first frameworks like Bootstrap or Foundation can make it easier to create responsive, mobile-friendly websites. These frameworks come with pre-built components that are designed to scale from mobile to desktop, saving you time and ensuring a consistent user experience across devices.

Final Thoughts

Mobile-first design is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. With more people accessing websites via mobile devices, prioritising mobile users is the smartest choice you can make. By adopting a mobile-first approach, you’ll provide a better user experience, improve your SEO rankings, and save time and money in the development process.

If you’re ready to embrace mobile-first design and create a website that works seamlessly on any device, WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED is a top web development company in London that can help bring your vision to life. Reach out today to learn more about how mobile-first design can transform your business.

The post Mobile First Design: What is it and Why is it Important? appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.

If you are embarking on the development of a new product or MVP, it is essential to protect your idea against potential misuse. We asked the experts from AZ Legal how to approach this issue.

Protection According to the Civil Code

“The protection of a new business idea stems directly from the Civil Code, which protects so-called trade secrets, i.e., in simple terms, competitively significant and normally unavailable facts related to the business.

However, a necessary condition for being a trade secret is the obligation to try to keep certain facts secret in some way. In the event of a breach of a trade secret, the person concerned may be required to compensate for the damage suffered (including any loss of profit for a failed business plan). It should be pointed out that it is always the injured party who must prove the amount of the injury or damage caused, which is usually very difficult or even impossible in practice.”

Protection by NDA

“For this reason, and in order to avoid a conflict as to whether or not the fact in question is a trade secret, it may be advisable to negotiate confidentiality agreements and the associated contractual penalty for breach. These agreements, which may also form part of another contract (for example, a cooperation agreement), may define in more detail what is protected by confidentiality, while the agreed contractual penalty makes the position easier in that it can be enforced directly, only if the breach is proven, and thus it is not necessary to quantify the actual damage. 

On the other hand, in contrast to the general statutory regulation, this procedure places greater demands on the correct definition of what is actually protected by the confidentiality obligation (otherwise, there is a risk that the obligation will not be enforceable due to lack of certainty or other legal deficiency). For this reason, the assistance of a business law attorney can be strongly recommended to help you with the appropriate confidentiality agreement (or clause), including a properly set-up system of sanctions.”

The post How to Protect Your Idea in the Proof of Concept and MVP phase? appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.

So you have a great product idea in mind, or perhaps you’re already in the process of bringing it to life. Good job!

Since you found this guide to prioritization, chances are you already understand why your app developers cannot build the whole digital product at once. And if you don’t, no worries – just read our article on the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) first!

This practical guide will help you decide on the respective steps of your journey towards the final product.

Our app development and design agency has acquired a ton of experience with prioritization. And now, we would like to present you with our own framework for joggling with the many features you have in mind and assigning them priority.

We call it The PriX Method by WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED, as it combines the strengths of multiple validated frameworks for prioritization. It includes both qualitative and quantitative assessments.

Before we jump to the step-by-step guide for prioritization, let’s answer some fundamental questions to make sure that we are all on the same page.

Who will benefit from this guide?

• Startup Founders
• Product Owners
• Project Managers of app development and custom software projects
• Anyone else who is or will soon be involved in digital product design and development

It’s pretty simple:

Are you, or will you soon be, part of a team building or improving a digital product?

Are you preparing the MVP development for your startup?

Will you be involved in the process of creating a roadmap and planning releases (these terms will be discussed in more detail soon)?

Then this guide and The PriX Method by WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED will definitely come in very handy!

How will you benefit from this guide?

• We will explain to you the crucial terms roadmap, release and prioritization.
• We will present you The PriX Method for prioritization which combines the best of all other prioritization techniques.
• You will learn how to work with PriX step by step to plan your releases.
• You will learn how to resist the natural temptation to invest resources into smart or new exciting ideas, instead of features that are safer and more beneficial at the moment.
• You will receive a free spreadsheet to easily calculate PriX values and decide on your priorities for the next release.

What is a product roadmap and how to work with it?

A product roadmap is essentialy both a strategic document and handy visual overview of your team’s vision for your digital product development.

It captures the planned journey from the very first version all the way to the final product which provides users with all the desired features and value.

App developers for startups generally don’t plan too far ahead as the roadmap would be too likely to change based on market reaction and new demands. Contrarily, owners of mature digital products can think of more long-term plans.

As the name suggests, your roadmap should depict a map of feasible steps, each bringing your users the best value with regard to your objectives for that particular stage of your roadmap.

These steps are called releases. Each release includes a set of features which are about to be added to the product. We strongly recommend to release small and fast:

• divide your final product into small chunks
• bring each chunk to life rapidly
• gather user feedback and learn from your mistakes for the next release
• repeat this process at high frequency

What is product prioritization?

Prioritization is a crucial discipline for tech startups and all other app developers. It includes a complex analysis of all potential features and solutions you have come up with for your product.

The goal is to create a feasible set of features for a planned release. This set cannot be based simply on popularity rankings – you need to take into account many different aspects and consider the value of the features from the perspectives of various stakeholders.

The chosen features should provide value for the most part of this release’s target user segment while taking into account the goals of this stage of the product roadmap. They should also be in line with your capacities allocated for the upcoming release. And finally, they should logically fit into the map of user stories.

There are some very helpful frameworks available which can help you with the complex task of product prioritization for startups and app developers. KANO, RICE, Story mapping, The MoSCoW method, Product tree, Cost of delay, and Opportunity scoring, to name a few.

However, we believe that none of these popular frameworks fully captures the complexity of prioritization, And that’s why we crafted our own framework – The PriX Method, which allows you to make the most out of the strengths of multiple approaches to prioritization.

Origins of The PriX Method for prioritization by WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED

Our framework includes an easy-to-follow sequence of strategical decisions, qualitative assessments, and quantitative estimates.

The outcome is a visualization of features prioritized in line with your goals, target user group, and user stories of your product.

Let’s take a look at the prioritization approaches we used to build The PriX Method.

RICE

This simple framework developed by Intercom’s product management team is a very handy tool for assessing priority with actual numbers.

RICE stands for Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort, the four factors the framework uses to evaluate each candidate feature or solution.

Although we are big fans of the RICE method, we believe that four factors simply cannot cover the complexity of product prioritization. That’s why RICE is only one part of The PriX Method.

Cost of Delay

Another useful method of quantifying the value of features. The Cost of Delay is essentially an estimate of the money you will lose each week if the feature is introduced later than in the upcoming release.

This technique allows you to assign monetary value to the features in your product backlog. The best way to use this information is to devide the weekly/monthly Cost of Delay by the duration of implementing the feature at hand.

Our London-based app developers are of the opinion that this metric shouldn’t be purely monetary. Most app developers for startups would agree that many of a roadmap’s stages have other primary goals than increasing revenue. That’s why we adjusted this metric in our own framework.

MoSCoW

Another handy tool for identifying the most significant project ideas for the next release.

MoSCoW stands for Must-Have, Should-Have, Could-Have and Won’t-Have features. The output of the MoSCoW analysis is a filled-in matrix that will help you quickly plan next releases.

We adjusted the method a bit for the purpose of our own framework. But if you wish to get a better insight into the original MoSCoW analysis, watch the short video below.

Story Mapping

This method revolves completely around the user experience.

Pick a persona and map out their user journey along the horizontal line with themes and epics. Then assign the candidate features as stories to these “UX buckets” and rank them along the vertical line.

Although we admire this method’s simplicity, we will only use Story Mapping as a means of visualization and one final qualitative check before making the final cut.

The PriX Method: A Step-by-Step Guide

Alright, let’s learn how to use The PriX Method, our own fine blend of the best approaches to product prioritization for startup developers!

To ensure the best results, follow the steps of The PriX Method in the sequence provided by our app development agency.

Step 1: Quantitative Assessment

This part is all about answering key strategic questions.

Use our free spreadsheet template to quickly calculate the PriX values of the candidate features.

Try to be as accurate as possible with your answers but mind that you still engage in a process of estimation. Some degree of inaccuracy is inevitable, that’s why The PriX Method doesn’t rely solely on this quantitative analysis.

Goals & target user group?

What are the main goals of the upcoming stage of your roadmap?

What do you aim to achieve with the next release?

And which user group are you primarily focusing on now?

These are all qualitative questions which are not part of the PriX value formula. But when answering all of the following questions, you should keep in mind the goals and target user group you set out for the next release.

Reach?

How many of the target users identified in the previous step will you reach with this feature?

How many of them will encounter the feature, interact with it and make use of it?

Provide an absolute value – the total number of target users reached with the feature at hand.

Impact?

What impact will this feature have on the target users with regard to your goal(s) for this stage?

A feature might bring great added value for increasing revenue, for instance, but if your main objective is boosting satisfaction with user experience than this feature shouldn’t be assigned with top priority.

Choose one of these values:

• 3 – Massive impact
• 2 – High impact
• 1 – Medium impact
• 0.5 – Low impact
• 0.25 – Minimal impact

Traction & Revenue?

Are you primarily looking to increase traction, or revenue with the next release?

Firstly, you should consider your priorities for the upcoming stage in the roadmap again. Weigh the importance of the traction and revenue factors by assigning them a value between 0 and 1, with their sum being 1.

Here’s an example for a situation in which you primarily aim to boost traction, and increases in revenue are less crucial:

• Traction importance: 0.7
• Revenue importance: 0.3

Secondly, you answer the questions “How will this feature boost your product’s traction/revenue?” by choosing one of the following values for both revenue and traction:

• 2 – Strong boost
• 1 – Moderate boost
• 0.75 – Minor boost
• 0.5 – Minimal or no boost at all

Cost of Delay?

Again, keep in mind the main objective you set out for the next release when answering this question.

Our understanding of the Cost of Delay factor is that not all costs are monetary. This factor will help you assess the urgency of implementing a feature now.

Not having implemented a certain feature might cost you some part of your revenue, that’s for sure. But missing other solutions might damage user satisfaction without directly influencing the revenue.

Therefore, the question to answer here is: How severe will be the (communication, financial, retention, satisfaction, …) costs of NOT implementing this feature in this release with regard to its goals?

• 3 – Severe costs
• 2 – Substantial costs
• 1 – Moderate costs
• 0.5 – Minimal costs
• 0.25 – Absolutely no costs

Confidence?

How confident are you about your estimates – the answers to the previous questions?

Did you base your answers on hard data and evidence? Or were they merely wild guesses?

Choose on the following percentages:

• 100% – High confidence
• 80% – Medium confidence
• 50% – Low confidence

Effort?

What is the capacity needed to implement the feature at hand?

Keep in mind that all features should be perfectly usable and in production quality – it makes no sense to implement a feature now if the quality you are able to deliver at the moment cannot match the basic standards of digital products.

Provide a time estimate in man-days (MD) – the sum of full working days of all people involved in designing and implementing a feature.

The PriX score?

Congrats, you’ve just computed your first PriX score!

The spreadsheet we provided will calculate the values automatically.

If you use another document for the quantitative part of our framework, the formula for the PriX score is as follows:

PriX score = (Reach * Impact * (Traction/Traction importance) *(Revenue/Revenue importance) * Cost of Delay * Confidence) / Effort

Step 2: Visualize Results

Rank the features based on the PriX score and visualize your priorities for the upcoming release with the MoSCoW technique.

Again, keep in mind the objectives you set out for this stage of your roadmap.

Each feature should be placed in one of these four categories:

• Must-Have: Non-negotiable features essential for achieving the objectives of the release.
• Should-Have: Important features for the current goals, will be included if the time capacities allow it.
• Could-Have: These features would give the next release a nice touch but if they are left out, the release will still be a success.
• Won’t-Have: Least important right now, keep these in your product backlog for the planning of future releases.

Use this filled-in matrix and ranking along with your capacities allocated for the next release to make the final cut.

Step 3: Final Check

Fill in the Story Mapping matrix to double-check if the bundle of features and solutions chosen for the upcoming release make sense as a whole, from the perspective of the users.

Draft a sequence of categories representing the different stages of the user journey of this release’s target user segment. Then put all the chosen features to the right categories and visualize their ranking along the vertical line.

Where do the new features stand in the user journey map? Will any part of the user experience underserved or completely unnoticed in the upcoming release? May that prevent you from fulfilling the objectives for the upcoming stage? Could it backfire?

This final step of The PriX Method for product prioritization for startups and product owners is about putting on the lenses of your users and making one last qualitative assessment before you divide the chosen stories into sprints.

Congrats, you’re all set to push your product another step forward!

Final remarks

In this article, we talked about roadmaps and releases, discussed the importance of prioritization, and taught you our own PriX Method for product prioritization in a step-by-step guide.

The PriX Method is an easy-to-use framework from which your team can greatly benefit when doing product prioritization, whether you are a startup or a company with a more mature digital product.

Nonetheless, mind that similarly to other prioritization tools, The PriX Method has its limitations. If you want to make the most out of it, you should follow these recommendations:

• Plan small releases frequently instead of piling up too many features at once.
• Apply the principles of the Lean approach – build, measure, learn, and repeat!
• Use common sense as a valid tool for the final check of your prioritization output – will this set of features lead to the desired outcome, will it bring the target value to the right group of users?
• If you are not sure about your prioritization process, ask experts for guidance. Our experienced app developers in London will be very happy to help!

If you have questions about The PriX Method, or if you are looking for professional app developers for startups, don’t hesitate to contact us.

The post Step-by-Step Prioritization for Startups: Build Your Roadmap With the PriX Method appeared first on WASH & CUT HAIR SALOON LIMITED blog.