Unit 3 · Lesson 10 of 20
Compare credible design approaches
Choose a provisional approach using task fit, access, and operational evidence.
01 / Learn
Learn the method
Fictional case
The team wants to help patients understand a confirmed arrival during the staff queue delay.
Terms for this lesson
- Design alternative
- One plausible way to address the same task difficulty.
- Selection criterion
- A condition used to compare options fairly.
- Tradeoff
- A benefit gained alongside a cost or new demand.
A design pattern offers a familiar way to solve a recurring interaction problem. The current problem has several possible approaches: a receipt-backed kiosk message, an optional phone confirmation, or a staffed confirmation route. Each approach serves the same patient goal through different channels and costs.
Write selection criteria before choosing. Mira needs accurate status, a clear waiting instruction, privacy at a shared kiosk, and a route that works for patients who use different devices or need staff help. Reception needs a manageable workload and a reliable way to confirm status. The service needs to send promises it can support.
Compare each option against these criteria and name the assumption behind it. A phone message can travel with Mira, while phone access and delivery timing affect its reach. A kiosk receipt gives immediate on-site information, while the shared screen calls for a privacy reset. Staff confirmation adds human help and draws on reception capacity.
A provisional choice is a testable direction. Record its advantage, cost, and condition for change. Then prototype the strongest options using the same patient task. This comparison makes the final decision easier to explain and revise.
Use the method
- Write the patient goal and selection criteria first.
- Describe at least two credible approaches and their assumptions.
- Choose a provisional direction and name evidence that could change it.
A pattern becomes valuable through its fit to the person's task, service constraints, and evidence.
- Nielsen Norman Group: The Risks of Imitating Designs ↗Treat familiar patterns as candidates and test their fit in the current setting.
- Nielsen Norman Group: 3 Design Processes for High Usability: Iterative Design, Parallel Design, and Competitive Testing ↗Compare multiple plausible designs before committing to one.
- U.S. Web Design System: Establish trust ↗Explain why sensitive information is requested, what is needed, and what happens to it.
02 / See the reasoning
Worked example
The team compares kiosk receipt and phone confirmation. The receipt uses an event the clinic already has and reaches patients at the point of action. Phone confirmation supports patients who move away from the kiosk, provided delivery and consent work reliably. The team chooses the kiosk receipt as the first prototype, keeps reception help visible, and schedules a phone route for further study.
Try a decision →03 / Decide
Guided decision
Which first prototype best fits the current evidence and the broadest check-in route?
Feedback on your choice
What could change the answer: Reliable phone delivery and strong patient preference for portable confirmation could increase the value of an optional message.
Use this feedback to examine your choice and written reasoning.
Build your case file →04 / Build the case
Your case file
Fictional case update
The clinic considers adding a printed ticket as another confirmation route.
Evidence and constraints
- Fictional service detail: a receipt is available after the appointment service accepts check-in.
- Fictional setting: the kiosk is shared and stands beside a waiting line.
- Fictional operations detail: reception can look up an appointment code during queue delay.
Add the ticket to the alternatives table. Evaluate accuracy, reach, privacy, operational work, and one condition that would make it useful.
Create: A three-option comparison table and a provisional recommendation tied to the criteria.
The recommendation follows stated criteria and names evidence that could change it.
- At least two options support the patient goal.
- Each option has a benefit, cost, and assumption.
- The recommendation cites the service evidence and access needs.
The chosen route needs a complete sequence of states. The next lesson specifies that sequence.
Lesson complete
You added to your case file.
You studied the method, practiced a decision, and added an artifact to your case file. Carry that reasoning into the next lesson.
05 / Keep working