Designing Research Methods
In today’s rapidly evolving world, where innovation is the key to success. This is where design thinking shines, approaching to innovation that puts creativity, collaboration, and empathy at its core. In the article “What is design thinking and why is it important?” author Graham Tuttle states, “In contrast to traditional problem solving, which is a linear process of identifying a problem and then brainstorming solutions, design thinking only works if it is iterative.” At its essence, design thinking is a way of approaching problems with a focus on understanding the needs and perspectives guided by the five stages that are tested again and again until the perfect solution fits.
The first step a designer must execute is empathizing. Being able to immerse themselves in the user’s shoes to understand their needs, challenges and desires. This stage is about uncovering deeper insights by observing, listening and empathizing with the people for whom you’re designing. According to the Havard Business School, “It’s about the person behind the problem and solution, and requires asking questions such as “Who will be using this product?” and “How will this solution impact the user?” This means if you understand the real problem, you can find a more impactful solution.
Now that the problem is solved, in this define stage, it is all about brainstorming ways to address those unmet needs. In this article, The article,” Design Thinking Define Stage: Identify Your Users’ Core Challenge,” states, “ The purpose of this stage of the design thinking process is to define the core problems and create a problem statement in a human-centered manner.” It is about thinking outside the box to develop as many creative solutions and building consensus along the way. Once they solve the problem statement, they have to revise it over and over again until it is cleared to be the solution.
In the Design thinking process, the ideation phase follows the define step. In the article, “The 5 stages of the Design Thinking Process,” states “With this solid background, you and your team members can start to look at the problem from different perspectives and ideate innovative solutions to your problem statement.” Designers will come up with worst and best techniques as they narrow down to the best technique that will help them investigate and test their ideas and choose the best ones to move forward with.
This stage is all about prototyping, designers create physical prototypes to interactive with to help them comprehend the product’s function and target audience. Prototypes allow designers explore problems, come up with new ideas as they understand and learn about a problem, engage, test ideas and inspire. In the article “Design Thinking Phase 4: Ultimate Guide to Prototyping,” content creator Chelsea mentions a quote from IDEO “When you understand the people you’re trying to reach and then design from their perspective not only will you arrive at unexpected answers, but you’ll come up with ideas that they’ll embrace.” The main concept of the prototype phase is understanding the importance of empathy-driven design for users’ perspective which can lead to unexpected impactful solutions.
Last but not least, testing is the last stage. During this phase, it allows you to see how your target users interact with your prototype and gather valuable feedback. In the article, “Design Thinking Testing Stage: Optimized Designs,” states “ Keep in mind that the design thinking testing steps are all about trial and error, which means it’s an ongoing process that may need several stages and steps of revisions.” Testing provides designers with many learning opportunities to help them learn about users and opportunities to refine their prototypes.
Design thinking never stops even once your product is on the market, you’ll continue to run tests and add new features or make improvements. Overall, these stages in design thinking process helps you identify design flaws and usability issues of your product. So, I consider you to use the process of Design thinking in your next project.
