Building Scalable Solutions With Five Design Principles

Large-scale [interrelated] problems like climate change, migration, and mental health crisis, need solutions that will work at a large scale. Scalable solutions are those that are designed to provide utility to a large number of people and their unique and constantly changing needs. The previous blog covered a few examples and characteristics of scalable solutions, now let us go in a little more detail of what are these various characteristics and what it means to have them in the solution:

User-Centric

Put yourself in the shoes of the users. The small statement is the entire crux. Your solution should always be designed keeping users in the centre. To design the solutions, always think about what the users like and dislike and their behaviour and pain points.

For example, a fitness app that lets you customise your workout routine. You choose the exercises, duration, and difficulty level, ensuring you have the agency to design your own fitness journey. This accommodates personalisation for their specific needs, keeping it user-centric.

Staying Relevant

Let’s first ask ourselves, how often do we use something that is not meeting our needs. Your answer is rarely or never, right? Thus, a solution that is designed for scale should be relevant to the needs and goals of the users. Users will appreciate a relevant solution since it will make their work smoother and more efficient. A relevant solution is more likely to get a user’s nod and thus will increase its scalability.

For example, a grocery app that suggests items based on your past purchases. It ensures your shopping list is always relevant, reflecting your preferences and needs.

Inclusive

We seldom find that two people or their problems are the same. The users may come from different demographics, different backgrounds, locations, languages, etc. Thus, it’s crucial that the capabilities are designed such that they are accessible, acceptable, affordable and adoptable by a diverse audience.

An app is inclusive if it has features like big fonts and easy navigation for users who might not be tech-savvy and having multilingual capability will ensure that everyone, regardless of their tech skills or language, can use the app comfortably.

Evolvable

We all have one or the other time heard “Change is the only constant”. The world doesn’t stand still, and neither should your solution. Being evolvable means your solution can adapt to new needs, technologies and situations. You should not need to start from scratch each time but enhance to accommodate new use cases. An evolvable solution should have the flexibility and agility that keeps the solution adaptable to the changes.

The social media apps are the prime example here. They keep adapting and evolving to make the user experience better and keep up with the demand of the users. Like the introduction of reels, enhancing data security and privacy.

Configurable

One size doesn’t fit all. Any solution, especially when ‘designed for scale’, needs to cater to a large variety of use cases. Thus, it becomes important that users can customise the solution as per their needs. Users should be able to opt for workflows that meet their requirements.

For example, a virtual meeting platform that allows you to configure your meeting room layout. You decide where and which participants’ videos appear, personalising your virtual meeting experience.

This is a three-part series on Scalable Solutions. Read more about the intricate nuances of complex global challenges and the need for impactful solutions and how ShikshaLokam’s innovative design philosophy empowers education leaders through micro-improvement projects.

Meet the Authors

Prateek Agarwal

Prateek is currently the Senior Lead -Product Management at ShikshaLokam. Driven by a naturally curious mind, Prateek finds joy in expanding his knowledge in diverse areas. Outside work, he is often found playing board games, exploring different investment strategies, staying up-to-date with the latest trends in the industry or watching movies. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Technology from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun.

Sanjana DM

Sanjana has always been a firm believer in the power of effective design to drive meaningful change. Her interest in travel, music, art & culture inspires her to think beyond the conventional. A former Teach for India fellow, she currently works with ShikshaLokam to design product solutions for education leaders across the country.