What It Takes to Build Great Products Now
1. Speed: A way of working that carries through to launch
Just as important as rapid prototyping is maintaining speed all the way to actual launch.
- Choose the right method for the task: Select the method best suited to the change, such as editing spacing and typography directly and implementing calculations and behavior in code.
- Not every edit needs to be handled through prompts.
- A workflow the team reuses: Prove-effective ways of working, such as accessibility checks, are turned into skills or plugins and shared.
- Individual know-how becomes the speed of the whole team.
2. Direction: Explore broadly before deciding
Before locking in the first plausible result, look at alternatives and edge cases together.
- Check experiences outside the normal flow: Review not only screens that can be booked, but also moments when the flow changes, such as when booking is unavailable, canceled, or rescheduled.
- The limits of direction can show up in empty screens and awkward transitions.
- Compare multiple alternatives side by side: Compare visual character, UI clarity, and actual behavior together on a shared canvas.
- Leave the team’s opinions and the basis for judgment beside the result so the context for the choice is shared.
3. Differentiation: Bringing a product perspective to generated results
A product’s individuality becomes clearer in the process of refining the first output to match the team’s standards.
- Start from the design system: Apply a consistent visual language to AI outputs by using the standards for color, spacing, and form contained in components and variables.
- Refine only what is needed directly: Distinguish what to keep from what to adjust so that a small change does not alter the whole result.
- Directly control specific properties such as the intensity of light or animation timing.
- Expand expression to fit the experience: Use illustrations, motion, shaders, and more to finely complete the impression the product is meant to convey.
