@Riot: Balancing Question

Hello Rioters! If any of you could take the time to read this, that'd be pretty cool. ^^

So lately I've been seeing a lot of threads about some champs being too strong or too weak or whatnot, and I do think there's a severe unbalance with certain champions. But that's not what I'm asking about. I understand that the game is currently in a state where there's a lot of new things around, what with the marksmen update, Illaoi, all the new items, jungle and minion changes...the list goes on. So naturally there's going to be a bit of a storm before things settle down into something that's more organized. With 128 champions (and rising!) in the game, balance is not an easy task by any means.

Still, I'm curious. What is the process you guys tend to go through when you're balancing champions? What sorts of things do you think are most important when it comes to balancing a character? I imagine not everybody agrees with every nerf or buff, so how do you come to a consensus? I've read in other threads that you like to use winrates as a good reference point, but that in and of itself doesn't do much to indicate balance; what would you consider to be a balanced champion and could you give an example of a champion in the game right now that you feel is truly balanced?

...I've used the word "balance" too much. I'm starting to sound like

Lame jokes aside, I'd appreciate any answers you could give! Hope to hear from you guys soon!