Word: Jesse James Garrett's model of understanding the entire user experience process by providing a conceptual framework. The five planes include: Strategy, Scope, Structure, Skeleton, and Surface.

Thoughts: The planes are structured bottom to top from most to least abstract. In Garrett's quintessential UX book The Elements of User Experience Garrett explains the structure as such:

"On the lowest plane, we are not concerned with the final shape of the site, product, or service at all -- we only care about how the site will fit into our strategy (while meeting the needs of our users). On the highest plane, we are only concerned with the most concrete details of the appearance of the product." (pg 21)

The plane structure helps a UX practitioner navigate a product over time, from initial strategy, across development, and through launch. They key to UX is understanding the user's relationship with a product every step of the way. Garrett's method provides a mental checklist to ensure conscious decision-making.

Questions: Do you find Garrett's abstraction of the UX process helpful or too convoluted?