Product 2019

4-Corners Sketching

Four questions about user, task, and workflow, answered before a single interface gets sketched.

What it is

Four fields, filled before any sketching starts: the target user, their task, the previous and next steps around this interface, and the content and functionality it needs to support. Only once those are agreed does the actual sketch get drawn.

Reach for it when

• A screen about to be sketched from assumption rather than agreed context
• A workflow with a gap between what happens right before and right after one interface
• A team debating layout before agreeing on who the screen is even for

Running it

1. Identify the target user and their task at this interface before drawing anything.
2. Document the previous and next steps — what happens right before and right after this screen in the broader workflow.
3. List the content and functional elements the interface needs to support the task.
4. Sketch the interface using the agreed context, in a session of up to 6 people (12 if you split the group), about 45 minutes in person or an hour remote.