Design process
Any design process is iterable. It works best held in a multidisciplinary team and adapted to the specific organization or problem.
5 step design process
The design thinking process and methodology aim to solve complex problems that do not have an obvious solution at first glance. This method works best in multidisciplinary teams and with iterations of process steps. Every design process should be tailed to the specific problem and organization.
Empathize
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
Empathize
Our focus is the user. We strive to understand his goals, the path he takes to achieve them, his emotions, and motivation.
To achieve that, we use variety of methods such as User Interviews, Journey Maps, 5 Whys, and many more. The idea is to find out who we design for.
In this step, we should try to meet the needs of the user with the business goals, also considering the technical and legal limitations.
Empathize Deliverables: Strategy document, Persona and/or Proto-Persona, User journey map and more.
Define
In this step, we aim to identify the problems the user is facing. The task is to define the so-called POV or “point of view”.
The “Point of view” is the relationship between the user’s current state (the problem) and the desired state (the solution).
Define Deliverables: POV, Personas, Empathy Map, Stories and Scenarios
Ideate
Idea generation is that part of the design process where we strive to generate the most and most diverse ideas. We should adopt a beginner’s mindset and try to look at problems and solutions from more than one perspective.
Ideation methods: Brainstorming, SCAMPER, Braindump, and many others.
Prototype
The prototypes aim to test your idea before resources are invested in its actual implementation. That is why prototyping must be done quickly and at a low cost. You can build paper prototypes, wireframes, lo-fi, and high-fi prototypes depending on the stage of the project and your ideas.
Each prototype aims to test a particular idea or hypothesis. Distribute prototypes to users, stakeholders, and colleagues.
Prototype Deliverables: Wireframes, Lo-fi prototypes, Hi-fi prototypes
Test
Testing aims to gather feedback from your users. But not only. Often during testing, you understand more details about your users, how they think and what is important to them. Sometimes testing can result in redefining the problem. Or other discoveries.
This was the last, 5th step of the design process. Completing it does not mean that you are completely ready with the design. You can repeat the whole process or parts of it, if necessary. With each subsequent iteration, you can find more and more things to improve in your product.
Test Deliverables: Quantitative and qualitative data analysis
Design projects
In my projects, you can see all the design thinking processes and techniques implemented for solving real-world problems.
