Process
A major thanks to Scott Tong at Pinterest, Daniel Burka at Google Ventures, and Zac Halpert at Tradecraft for majorly influencing this process. Although it adapts flexibly to each project based on timeline and scope, my general framework looks like this:
Define User Needs
Define Business Needs
Define Core Requirements
Competitive Analysis
Sketch
Wireframe
Prototype
Usability Test
Iterate and repeat 5-8 Until Solid
Hi-Fidelity
Hi-Fidelity Prototype
Usability Test
Iterate/Final Polish
Deliver