Design Thinking 101

The overall flow of the framework

1. Understand
2. Explore
3. Materialize

Within the larger framework are 6 phases:

1. Empathise: Research what your users do, say, think, and feel.
2. Define: Combine your research to identify where your users' problems exist, then highlight opportunities for innovation.
3. Ideate: Brainstorm a large range of crazy ideas that address unmet user needs.
4. Prototype. Build actual, tactile representations of a subset of your ideas to help find what works and what does not.
5. Test: Return to your users for feedback.
6. Implement: Your solution should touch the lives of your end-users.

• The user-centred process starts with user data, creates design artefacts that address real user needs, then test those ideas with real users.
• It leverages collective expertise and establishes a shared language and buy-in from your team.
• It encourages innovation by exploring multiple avenues for the same problem.

The design-thinking framework should not be seen as a step-by-step recipe for success. Instead, it should be used as scaffolding to support you. Take the framework and tweak it as needed.

• Each phase should be iterative and cyclical, not linear. Only when the wireframes are prototyped can you get a real representation of your design. Then you can assess if your solution really works.
• Repeat phases: It can be necessary to do an exercise within a phase several times to get to the desired outcome.

The nature of design thinking makes it scalable. The guide created can be used regardless of expertise, and mitigate the range of design talent while increasing the probability of success.

Design thinking applies to product design as well as societal, environmental, and economical issues.