Understanding the Question

When an interviewer asks, "How do you prioritize features in your designs?" they are seeking insight into your decision-making process as an Interaction Designer. This question is aimed at understanding how you balance various factors such as user needs, business goals, technical constraints, and time limitations to determine what elements of your design take precedence. It's a way to gauge your ability to make strategic choices that align with project objectives and user experience outcomes.

Interviewer's Goals

The interviewer's primary goals when posing this question are to assess:

1. User-Centric Approach: Your ability to place the user's needs at the forefront of your design process.
2. Strategic Thinking: How well you align design decisions with the overall goals of the project or organization.
3. Problem-Solving Skills: Your capability to navigate constraints and challenges while still delivering effective design solutions.
4. Collaboration and Communication: Your skill in working with cross-functional teams (e.g., developers, product managers) to prioritize features based on collective input and feedback.
5. Adaptability: How you handle changes in project scope, user feedback, or other unforeseen factors that may require reprioritization of design features.

How to Approach Your Answer

To construct a compelling answer, consider the following steps:

1. Briefly Outline Your General Approach: Start by providing a high-level overview of your method for prioritizing design features, mentioning key factors you consider such as user research, business objectives, and technical feasibility.
2. Detail Specific Strategies or Frameworks: Discuss any specific strategies, methodologies, or frameworks you use to assess and prioritize features, such as the MoSCoW method (Must have, Should have, Could have, Won’t have this time), the Kano Model, or user story mapping.
3. Provide Real-World Examples: Share examples from past projects where you successfully prioritized design features, highlighting the impact of your choices on the project outcome and user satisfaction.
4. Emphasize Flexibility and Iteration: Demonstrate your understanding that prioritization is an ongoing process, and show how you’ve adapted your approach based on feedback or changing project needs.

Example Responses Relevant to Interaction Designer

Here are two example responses that illustrate how an Interaction Designer might answer the question effectively:

Example 1:

"In my approach to prioritizing features, I start with user research to identify and understand the core needs and pain points of our target audience. From there, I align these findings with the business goals to ensure that what we prioritize will deliver value on both fronts. For instance, in a recent project, we identified early on that ease of use and speed were critical for our users. So, we prioritized features that directly impacted these areas, such as simplifying the navigation and optimizing load times. Throughout the process, I used the MoSCoW method to classify features and ensure stakeholders were aligned on what was essential. This approach helped us deliver a product that significantly improved user satisfaction and met our launch deadline."

Example 2:

"In prioritizing design features, I heavily rely on user story mapping to visualize the entire user journey and identify which features are critical to achieving the desired user experience. This method allows me to see the big picture and make informed decisions about what needs to be developed first. For example, on a recent e-commerce app redesign, this approach helped us recognize the importance of revamping the checkout process over adding new product filtering options. By focusing on reducing friction in the checkout flow, we were able to increase conversions by 15%. I believe in being adaptable, so I continuously gather user feedback to reassess and reprioritize features as needed."

Tips for Success

• Be Specific: Provide concrete examples from your experience to illustrate your approach and its effectiveness.
• Show Empathy: Ensure your answer reflects an understanding of and empathy for user needs.
• Highlight Collaboration: Mention how you collaborate with other team members and stakeholders in the prioritization process.
• Stay User-Focused: Keep the user at the center of your prioritization strategy, emphasizing how your decisions enhance the user experience.
• Demonstrate Impact: Whenever possible, quantify the impact of your prioritization decisions on the project or user experience.

By carefully addressing these aspects in your answer, you’ll demonstrate to the interviewer that you possess the strategic thinking, user focus, and adaptability necessary for success as an Interaction Designer.