Evaluating the ROI of design
Screenshot: cooper.com
In his article at cooper.com Steve Calde described some reasons why some software products are shipped without a special design and gave some arguments for designing software products:
"There's a dirty little secret that nobody in the design community wants you to know: it's actually possible to build and ship a software product…without designing it first! There. I said it. Now my time is short; even as I type, assassins with square-toed shoes and goatees are stalking my whereabouts.
(...)
The analogies are endless: you wouldn't point a construction crew to an open lot and tell them to build a structure without giving them blueprints, would you? You wouldn't ask a doctor to re-set a broken bone without looking at an x-ray; you wouldn't storm the beaches of Normandy without a battle strategy and a good map; you wouldn't even don your shoes before putting on your socks.
(...)
The top two reasons executives usually cite when they decide to short-change the design process are a Shortage of Time and a Lack of Money. However, companies have much more time and money to lose by not investing in design.
Several myths lead to the misperception that it's easier and cheaper to do without design. I'll walk through some below, then describe some ways to measure the design's return on investment within your own organization."