Now we will detail some techniques of each stage (Discover; Define; Develop and Deliver).
1st stage – Discover
The Double Diamond model of design begins with the “Discover” stage. As we said before, the aim of this stage is to build empathy with the target customers of a product or service, to understand the problems they are trying to solve, to explore the reasons why they choose particular solutions, and to identify unmet needs that represent targets for innovation.
Two of the main methods that may reveal complementary information are customer interviews and customer observation.
Technique 1: Customer Interviews
Customer interviews contribute to the “Discover” phase of the Double Diamond model. During this phase, designers gather information, insights, and empathy for the user to understand their needs, pain points, and motivations. Customer interviews are a key tool to gain this information directly from the target users, helping to validate assumptions and uncover unexpected insights.
The questions should be open-ended and allow a customer to describe his/her behavior from their own perspective. Focus on the journey that accompanies the use of a product or service, not just the outcome. For example, “tell me about the last time you made coffee”. Or “tell me about the last time you got a haircut”. Focus on words like “what”, “why” and “how” to formulate the questions and avoid simple questions like yes or no questions.
Another quiet note is to focus on your inquiry on specifics in the past, not opinions about the future. Customers usually are too optimistic about what they plan to do in the future and provide what they deem to be socially acceptable answers.
Technique 2: Customer Observation
Some of the deepest insights in the Discovery stage can come from noticing a disconnect between what customers say and what they actually do. Customer observation – watching how users interact with a product or service – can be a powerful complement to interviews and help to reveal tacit or latent needs.
In a way of getting the best information, the customers should be observed in the context of use for the product/service, and observations should include the timeframes. In these moments, opportunities may be spotted to expand the scope/features of a product/service. Given an example, if designing a shopping cart for holding groceries, how does the arrangement of the store aisles and the placement of products on shelves affect the desirable attributes of a cart? How does the presence of other customers on a busy day affect the experience?
We must focus our observation on the goals that a customer has from using a product/service, and the problems or challenges that arise in meeting these goals. Also, it will be useful to combine observation with customer interviews, in a technique called “watch and listen”.
2nd Stage – Define
As we already mention too, the “Define” stage is the second phase of the Double Diamond model of design thinking. It follows the “Discover” phase, where designers gather information and insights about the user and their context. In the “Define” stage, the designer synthesizes the information gathered in the “Discover” phase to shape the design problem and define the solution space. This stage involves understanding the user’s needs, pain points, and motivations, and turning that understanding into a clear problem statement and definition of the design challenge. At this point, we could use two particularly effective techniques which are “personas” and the “customer problem statements”.
Technique 1: Personas
Developing personas entail coming up with profiles, which are sometimes real, or archetypal customers, and describing their stories, goals, and motivations based on a synthesis of the research. The goal of creating personas is to create a shared understanding of the target users, making it easier for designers to empathize with them, understand their needs, and design solutions that meet their needs. Personas are used as a reference throughout the design process and can help keep the focus on the user and ensure that design decisions are guided by a deep understanding of the target users.
When creating personas, you should follow these steps:
- Review your notes from your interviews and other research activities from the “discover” process and list attributes along with needs that seem the most important to user satisfaction while completing core tasks.
- Create a chart that arrays the attributes and needs on the horizontal axis, and on the vertical axis, shows a scale that ranges from 1(low) to 5 (high).
- Plot each research subject by name and then connect each subject´s score from scale to scale using different colors. Be sure to circle a name when the need is unmet. Look for clusters where different subjects have similar scores for attributes and needs. Develop the personas around these clusters.
Technique 2: Customer Problem Statement
Another technique used in the Define stage that uses convergent thinking in the second stage of the model is the customer problem statement. This framework helps you to synthesize your learnings from the first stage of the model.
- When [core task]
- We learned that [target customer profile, defined by demographic/behavioral attributes]
- Who wants [key functional performance needs/psychological needs]
- Are dissatisfied with [existing solutions]
- Because of [shortcomings of existing solutions]
- And/or because of [constraints confronting customers]
3rd Stage: Develop
In the development stage of the design thinking process team members spark ideas in the form of questions and possible solutions using group decision-making activities such as brainstorming. In this stage, the focus is on understanding what works and what doesn’t so that the design can be improved before implementation.
Use “How Might We” questions as brainstorming to generate multiple possibilities for addressing the problems your team has defined.
At the end of the “Define” stage, the team should come together, agree on its key learnings, and use this information to frame design options. With a brainstorming process organized around HMW questions, a team can expand the possible solution space and look beyond the usual methods of solving problems.
4th Stage: Deliver
This stage is the stage in which the solutions and ideas generated in the previous stages are implemented and put into action. This can involve anything from prototyping and testing solutions, to launching them, to measuring the impact they have had. The goal of testing will evolve over the course of a project: from testing the broad appeal of a solution directly to questions of detailed usability, pricing, customer demand, business model, and feasibility.
Test Set-Up
Early in solution development one of the most common ways to test whether an idea works for the customer is through sharing low-fidelity prototypes with target customers. As mentioned earlier, a prototype is any representation of an idea that allows a team to gain insight into its value.
There are many ways to create prototypes. Below are some quick and inexpensive methods:
- Storyboards – Much like a comic strip, storyboards are a set of drawings in a sequence that can convey the flow of an experience. The illustrations need not be high art.
- Paper Prototypes – Sketches of a product, or images of a physical product.
- Stan-in Physical Product – mocking up a concept of a physical product. For instance, for a new type of energy drink, a team repurposes bottles, creates a new label communicating product benefits, adds colored water, and tests consumer reaction alongside competitor offerings.
- Concierge Test – The team acts as a bespoke “concierge” and “does the work “ of an offering in an unautomated and unscaled way.