Plan a product workflow before designing screens
A practical brief for turning user tasks, roles, and exceptions into a designable product flow.
For a project in this area, explore Servicejee: Service Dispatch Platform as you work through the checklist.
Start with a task and a decision
Choose one journey that matters to the product. Describe who starts it, what triggers it, and what a useful result looks like. For a booking flow, the result might be a confirmed reservation; browsing listings is only one step toward that result. Record assumptions separately from observations so the team knows what still needs validation.
- Name the primary user and their starting context.
- Write the completion condition in plain language.
- Identify what evidence you have and what you still need to learn.
Map the path and its exceptions
Sketch the decisions between entry and completion before making a screen inventory. Include handoffs between roles and points where users must wait for someone else. Then walk through an unsuccessful attempt: unavailable inventory, missing information, or a cancelled request. Each branch should explain how someone can recover or understand what happens next.
- Draw the main path with a clear entry and exit.
- Add empty, error, permission, and waiting states.
- Mark where users can go back without losing their work.
Turn the flow into a reviewable brief
For each step, list the information needed to make the next decision. Use that list to shape wireframes and navigation. Review the flow with the people building and operating the product, then test a realistic task with intended users. Update the brief with unresolved questions before committing to visual detail.
- Connect each proposed screen to a user decision.
- Agree which journey is in the first release.
- Capture feedback as specific changes to the flow.
Bring the checklist into your project
If you need support turning these decisions into a working interface, explore Product design for complex digital workflows. You can also read about my process and collaboration style before discussing your brief.