6 Reasons Why You Should Co-Create

Stakeholders — the people or groups with the power to affect (or are affected by) your project — often have valuable opinions and insight that can positively impact the design of the user experience (UX) on your project.

Perhaps they’re domain experts in the subject area relevant to your project. Or the business owners who control project funding. Whether they’re innovators who champion your project or simply users who benefit from your design, their participation in the creative process can elevate your project’s success.

Here’s why you should consider co-creating your next project with your stakeholders.

1. It offers stakeholders satisfaction.

Stakeholders are often the ones paying for the project and they have expectations that you will want to meet. Co-creating affords you the opportunity to modify through design discussions.

2. It gives you access to untapped domain expertise.

Stakeholders are typically the subject experts so they’ll have insight into what will work for users in their domain.

3. It affords you access to relevant software experience.

Stakeholders may have experience with existing software apps in the domain and have a detailed understanding of what has worked well and what didn’t for app users.

4. It will be easier to gather a complete set of requirements.

We expect stakeholders to articulate requirements, but it’s difficult to think of them all outside of the context of detailed design discussions. And requirements are not always absolute but can change during the creative process so having your stakeholder in the weeds with you can ease the process.

5. You’ll crystallize the design process.

The design process is a mystery to some people and they fear they won’t get what they want, or that the process will run away and go over budget. You offer transparency by including stakeholders when making progressive design decisions. They’ll know exactly what they’re getting every step of the way, and they’ll understand why certain compromises may have been made.

6. Meeting deadlines and staying within budget will be much easier.

When everyone is apprised of the design process and on board with decisions, the risk of going over a schedule or budget are minimized.

Your stakeholders can be your most powerful asset. Invite them to fully participate in the creative process and watch your success skyrocket!

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