Part 4 of our series on Design Debt. Read part 3 here.
Tackling design debt can range from making simple, focused improvements to requiring a complete redesign. Thorough planning upfront makes it easier to choose the right path when it’s time to clean up. As the A-Team says, ‘I love it when a plan comes together,’ and at this point you’re about two-thirds of the way there. Now, you just have to decide if you want to take the steady, straightforward route (the van) or aim for something bigger and bolder (the helicopter).
Design debt is inevitable and deciding how to address it relies heavily on the groundwork laid beforehand. When you reach the point of asking “now what?,” you need to consider: Does this require a full redesign, or can it be part of a larger project? How does your overall approach fit into the roadmap and align with the broader business goals? Making a well-informed decision now will help lower the chances of negatively impacting the business or increasing the design debt in the long run.
So, what are your options?
You can:
- Tidy Up – Tackle specific project-focused fixes.
- Redecorate it – Clean up the UI across the board.
- Renovate it – Clean up both UI and UX in key places.
- Go Big or Go Home – Full-scale redesign.
Tidying Up Design Debt
When design debt is concentrated in a specific area or task flow, you can often refine the experience without a major overhaul. Smaller, bite-sized projects that align with the roadmap and fit alongside other projects are often the best approach for managing this type of debt. The challenge lies in coordinating across teams and making sure that design debt projects are prioritized and balanced with business as usual.
Redecorating Design Debt
If your design debt is purely visual and doesn’t involve changes to interactions or task flows, redecorating your site may be the best approach. This could mean updating visuals, enhancing the underlying front-end structure, or changing the design system. The main risks with these projects lie in the testing and validation of the changes as they can impact various areas of the site.
Renovating Design Debt
Carefully managing design debt is crucial when it impacts both visual and interactive elements, which are key to the customer experience. Addressing it without altering core functionality is key. Major updates can create new issues, so gathering feedback and testing with customers beforehand can help mitigate risk.
Is it Time for a Redesign?
A full-scale redesign may be necessary if design debt impacts the core experience of a product. Design debt alone typically doesn’t justify a redesign, but it can be addressed during one. Consider a redesign if new personas emerge or there’s a significant shift in direction. Redesigns carry their own set of challenges like keeping the project on track, meeting deadlines, and navigating customers’ responses to the changes.
Design debt may not push you to a redesign, but your customers might. Inevitably, they grow and change over time and the way they interact with your products changes with them. Most design debt isn’t substantial enough to warrant a redesign. If it is, you should carefully consider the risks before moving forward. Instead, integrating and prioritizing design debt projects into your regular backlog can effectively address issues with lower risk and more targeted changes.