Online surveys to gather a range of data on users, assumptions, product environment, functionality etc. which can be augmented with user interviews when possible/necessary.

Targeted competitor analysis process, where competitors are rated on specific criteria directly related to product assumptions and strategy. Understanding competitor strengths and weaknesses is an important outcome of this process.

Personas are one of the best ways to keep the user in the room (literally, pinned to the office wall). Initial persona development consists of what we think we know. From here we mature them as we gather user data through the project lifecycle.

Understanding how your users currently, and ideally flow through your site is critical. Mapping the entry, exit, conversion, decision points etc. using post-its, sketches or diagramed flow charts.

Design thinking sessions work well to tap the creativity and innovation within the design team as well as project owners. It allows stakeholders to step beyond the obvious solutions, increasing the innovation potential of the solution.

A comprehensive floor-plan of the experience, developed alongside the information architecture thinking.

Having a large physical space to map out concepts, groupings, flows, hierarchies etc. provides an invaluable tactile way to manipulate ideas.

An important process to go through, mapping out the content required by the product, from copy, to images and video and social network content. Having the right content, at the right time, is critical.

Static wireframes and/or sketches serve as initial functionality models which utilize the ideation journey map as a guide.

Initial sketches are transformed into a working product via software such as InVision to test usability and feasibility of the product. Depending on project scope, design and branding may be integrated into the prototype.

Getting users to complete specific tasks and getting their feedback (both active and through passive observation) provides valuable qualitative (and quantitative) usage data.

Used at the start of a project for discovery, or for getting feedback and user-testing prototypes and concepts, well-directed user workshops provide a rich and vital source of qualitative data.

Once the prototype has been validated and signed-off on it’s time to integrate branding and apply style guides to the functioning prototype or wireframes.

The prioritized user stories that we're supporting within the product (via functionality and content) need to be developed to a high level of detail, minimizing any ambiguity for the developers and content creators.

Collaborative commenting, functionality specs and design feedback are all made easier using tools such as Jira to enhance workflow.

A/B testing is a powerful way to optimize outcomes and results as well as gathering user data and behaviors. A/B testing should be an ongoing practice over the lifecycle of a product.

What users say they do, and what they do don't always align. Observing and learning from how user's use your product in real-time, in real-context can provide critical data for the UX design process.