Design thinking

The research phase is an essential stage of design thinking. It’s how you understand the users, their needs and their motivations. Research can take many forms: interviews, observation, surveys or data analysis.

Research gathers the valuable information that will serve as the basis for defining the problem to solve and generating creative ideas. The better you understand the users, the better equipped you are to design solutions that fit their needs.

Note that research isn’t limited to end users. It can also cover the market, the competition and industry trends. Thorough research gives you a global view of the context the problem lives in.

The research phase may feel time-consuming, but it’s essential to design thinking’s success. Deep research leads to the right decisions and to solutions that genuinely answer users’ needs.

Once your research is done, it’s time to define the problem to solve. Defining the problem focuses the effort on a specific question and keeps you from spreading yourself thin.

The problem definition must be precise and clear. It should describe the challenge in a way that makes it solvable. An effective problem definition guides the design effort and generates relevant ideas.

A good problem statement should be shared by a group of people (your target audience) and be painful enough that end users actively want a solution — and are ready to pay for it.

Once the problem is clearly defined, you can move to the next stage: idea generation.

Idea generation is the stage where you explore different avenues and generate as many creative ideas as possible to solve the identified problem.

To generate creative ideas, encouraging divergent thinking matters: avoid judging ideas too quickly and keep an open, exploratory mindset. The more ideas you have, the better your chances of finding an innovative solution.

Many idea-generation techniques exist: brainstorming, mind mapping, visualisation techniques and role playing. The goal is to stimulate the team’s creativity and help new, original ideas emerge. Surround yourself with people who are motivated to take part — and kind about it.

When generating ideas, lean on the information gathered during the research phase. Ideas should be grounded in a deep understanding of the users and their needs.

Once you’ve generated a large pool of ideas, you can move to the next stage: prototyping and testing.

Prototyping is about turning the generated ideas into tangible prototypes. Prototypes vary depending on the project’s stage of development.

Prototyping brings ideas to life and puts them in front of users. Prototypes are simplified versions of the envisioned solutions, used to gather precious feedback and iterate on the proposed concepts.

Prototype tests can be run with end users or representatives of the target audience. The feedback collected identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed solutions and drives improvements before the final product ships.

Prototyping and testing are iterative stages. It’s often necessary to loop back, adjust the prototypes and test them again. This iterative approach refines the concepts and makes sure the proposed solutions genuinely answer users’ needs.

Iteration is the stage that uses the feedback gathered during testing to improve the prototypes and iterate on the proposed solutions.

During iteration, staying flexible matters. Some ideas or concepts may have to be dropped or reworked based on the feedback received. The goal is to learn from the tests and keep improving the proposed solutions.

Iteration may take several cycles of prototyping, testing and improvement. Each cycle refines the concepts and brings you closer to the final solution.

Note that iteration isn’t limited to the prototyping and testing phase. It applies to every stage of design thinking, including research, problem definition and idea generation. Iteration continuously adjusts and sharpens the design process.