Design Thinking Overview and Stages

A human-centered, non-linear, and iterative process used by teams to understand users, challenge assumptions, and create innovative solutions.

The first stage of design thinking, focusing on deeply understanding users' needs, motivations, and challenges.

A visual tool to organize insights about a user's feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and pain points.

A process that involves repeating steps and making adjustments based on feedback.

Placing the user's needs and experience at the center of the design process.

Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test.

The process doesn't follow a strict, sequential order.

New and creative solutions to problems.

A clear description of a user problem, focusing on user needs. It should be specific and guide solution creation.

A fictional representation of a user segment, including their characteristics, goals, and behaviors.

The stage in the design process where designers study users to understand their needs, contexts and motivations.

A design approach that prioritizes understanding user needs and challenges throughout the entire design lifecycle.

The stage of problem-solving where new ideas are generated to solve a specific problem.

Testing a prototype with users to see how effective it is in addressing user needs.

Ensuring that all teams involved in the design process have a common understanding of user needs and goals.

Continuously refining designs based on user feedback and data during the design process.

Tangible representations of the final product used to engage stakeholders.

Digital prototypes with interactive elements and functionality.

Detailed digital representations with realistic design elements.

Prototypes that mimic the actual functionality of the product.

Designs with precise details, matching the pixel dimensions of the final product.

Prototypes used for in-depth usability testing with realistic scenarios.

Prototyping visualizes ideas, allowing for user feedback and validation in the design process.

User feedback helps validate and refine prototypes, leading to better design solutions.

Methods used to stimulate creative thinking, like brainstorming, mind mapping, and others.

Encouraging outlandish ideas to spark creativity and breakthroughs.

Generating ideas based on user needs and problem statements, to provide solutions addressing user issues.

Refining ideas through feedback, testing, and insights.

Scaled-down versions of a product or features, allowing for cost-effective exploration and testing of solutions.

Creating simple, basic representations (like paper prototypes) of a product focusing on essential features rather than detailed design.

Simplicity, speed of creation using inexpensive materials, and disposable nature for quick iteration and testing.

Simplicity, rapid construction, affordability of materials, and disposability.

A good design solution must be desirable, feasible, and viable. Desirability focuses on human needs and emotions. Feasibility considers the technical possibilities. Viability focuses on long-term sustainability and business model.

A design solution is desirable if it appeals to the needs, emotions and behaviors of the targeted people. It puts the "human" in human-centered design.

A design solution is feasible if it's technically possible with existing or achievable technology. It assesses if the technology needed is available or can be developed.

A design solution is viable if there's a sustainable business model behind it. It focuses on long-term survival and financial stability.

The design thinking process doesn't follow a rigid set of steps, but it aims for a solution that is desirable, feasible, and viable.

Building prototypes helps identify design flaws and usability issues early on, so solutions can be improved before final product development.

Prototyping supports an iterative process where designers continuously refine their designs based on user feedback and insights.

Prototyping saves time and money by identifying and fixing design issues early, minimizing costly rework later.

Prototyping keeps the user at the heart of the design process by involving them in evaluating prototypes and ensuring the product meets their expectations.

The goal is to gather authentic insights about the product's effectiveness and usability, not to judge the participant's abilities.

Observe user interactions with the prototype to identify problems they encounter and how they navigate the design.

Encourage participants to express their genuine thoughts and feelings about the product without bias or pressure.

Participants should verbalize their thoughts and expectations while interacting with the prototype to provide valuable context.