Design thinking is an iterative, non-linear process that can help you come up with creative solutions to complex problems that are user-centric. You’ve probably heard people talk about this process but it’s often dismissed to simply buzz language with little meaning in what it actually accomplishes.
But real, honest design thinking has true value. It puts humans first. The people are the ones we are ultimately solving the problems for. Decoupling design from humans – the people it serves – the process then becomes nothing more than a hollow act.
Consequently, it’s useful to think of design thinking as a powerful tool that tackles all kinds of challenges – complex or not – by redefining them in consumer-centric ways.
In this article, we will explore what the Design Thinking Process is and break down the five phases behind it.
What is the Design Thinking Process?
Herbert A. Simon first mentioned the Design Thinking Process in his book The Sciences of the Artificial. Simon was a cognitive scientist and he explored the process that humans go through to reach a decision.
Doing so allowed him to contribute significantly to the current model of the Design Thinking Process. His work has provided companies with a unique and effective approach to understanding their customers.
The Design Thinking Process focuses on studying the consumers’ needs. This is then used as a guiding compass in coming up with solutions to develop better products and services for them. Putting the customer at the forefront results in solutions that are creative and innovative, leading to better businesses.
What are the Five Phases of Design Thinking?
The five stages of design thinking are:
1. Empathize: gain insight into your users’ needs.
2. Define: state your users’ problems and needs.
3. Ideate: challenge assumptions and create ideas.
4. Prototype: begin to create solutions.
5. Test: try out your solutions.
Let’s dive deeper into each phase.
Phase 1: Empathize
Most beginners, when they start learning to code independently, bounce from one online resource to another. With an influx of information out there, finding a structured path to follow seems almost impossible. As a result of this, learning to code on your own is a process that is frustrating and confusing. Sometimes, it puts people off from their learning pursuits altogether.
Many developers empathize with this struggle. This is why we now have platforms like The Odin Project and freeCodeCamp that guide the learner by providing a streamlined path to follow. Once a user is done with their courses, they provide options on what possible routes could be taken.
They also provide all this free of cost and at a pace that fits the users' schedule and lifestyle.
Phase 2: Define
In the definition phase, you organize the information that you have gathered during the Empathize stage. This information is then analyzed to define the core issues that you have identified up to this point.
Remember that defining the problem and writing the problem statement must be done in a manner that is human-centred.
Going by our earlier example, the above-mentioned coding platforms recognized that people having the desire to learn to code had one important problem: a lack of access to high-quality education for free. They realized that while college and bootcamps are a wonderful opportunity, not everyone can afford them. Most colleges and bootcamps are attended by a small subset of society that is privileged or at least relatively privileged. So, what about everyone else who wants to learn to code, especially those from minority groups of the population with not enough resources?
Here, the problem statement is how would someone, who wants to learn how to code but is not financially set up to do, could do it.
Phase 3: Ideate
Ideation is the third phase of design thinking. In this phase, you come up with innovative solutions to the problem statement that you created in the previous step.
At this point, designers are ready to generate ideas. You have grown to understand your consumer and their needs in the Empathize stage, and you have analyzed your observations in the Define stage.
With this solid understanding, you can now begin to look at the problem from multiple perspectives and ideate creative solutions to your problem statement.
There are a plethora of techniques you can utilize, such as Brainstorm, Worst Possible Idea, and Brainwrite.
Usually, Worst Possible Idea and Brainstorm are used at the beginning of the ideation phase to encourage free thinking, allowing you to generate as many ideas as you can.
You can also pick other ideation techniques towards the end of this stage that will help you test and investigate your ideas. Then, you can choose the best idea and move forward with it.
Phase 4: Prototype
Prototyping is the stage where you identify the best possible solution. In this step, the designers will now produce several scaled down and inexpensive versions of the product. Or they may produce prototypes of specific features within the product.
This will be done to investigate how the key solutions figured out in the ideation stage work. Prototypes can be tested and shared within the team itself or across other teams.
Phase 4 is an experimental phase. It aims to identify the best possible solution that there can be. By the end of this stage, you will have a clearer view of your product’s limitations and the issues that currently set it back. You would also have a better idea of how real users would interact with the end product.
Phase 5: Test
The final phase of the Design Thinking Process is Test. This is where you test solutions to derive a deeper understanding of your product and its target users.
During this stage, you will test the complete product rigorously and evaluate it. While this is considered the final stage of the five-phase model, design thinking is an iterative and non-linear process. As such, the outcomes generated are often used to redefine further issues within the design.
This gives you an elevated understanding of how to improve the product. You might have to loop back to a prior stage in the process and make the necessary changes. Eventually, your goal is to get a deep understanding of the product or service and its users.
To Wrap it Up
The Design Thinking Process is an iterative process with its main focus being on a collaboration between users and designers. It brings to life creative solutions based on how your target customer feels and behaves.
In the end, it’s important to note that these stages are a guide. Since the entire process is non-linear, this means that you and your team can potentially carry these phases out simultaneously, repeat them, and circle back if and when necessary.