Designers decide how a product looks and, more importantly, how it works for the person using it. Product people work with them daily. Adverts for associate product roles often mention user experience skills and design tools such as Figma, and in smaller Ghanaian companies the product person may sketch early screens before a designer joins. You need enough design understanding to collaborate well and give useful feedback.
Key design ideas
- User flow. The steps a user takes to complete a task, from start to finish. For example: open app, choose Savings, set amount, confirm with PIN, see receipt.
- Wireframe. A rough sketch of a screen showing layout and content, without colours or polish. Paper is fine.
- Prototype. A clickable mock up that feels like the product, used for testing before engineers build. Design tools such as Figma can make these, and at the time of writing Figma has a free plan that includes prototypes.
- Usability test. Watching real users try to complete a task with a prototype or product, without helping them, to see where they struggle.
Giving useful feedback
Weak feedback is about taste: "I don't like the blue." Useful feedback is about whether users can succeed:
- Tie comments to the goal: "Traders need to see their savings balance first. Right now it is below the fold."