Design

Design Thinking Process

Work through the full design thinking process—Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test.

Instructions

Move through each phase, building on insights from the previous one. The process is iterative—expect to loop back based on what you learn.

Output Format

Challenge: [What we're trying to solve]

Users: [Who we're designing for]

1. EMPATHIZE

*Understand the user and their context*

User Profile

| Attribute | Description |

|-----------|-------------|

| Who are they? | [Demographics, role] |

| What's their context? | [Environment, circumstances] |

| What are they trying to do? | [Goals, tasks] |

User Pain Points

| Pain Point | Severity | Current Workaround |

|------------|----------|-------------------|

| [pain] | High/Med/Low | [how they cope] |

Empathy Map

| Quadrant | Observations |

|----------|--------------|

| Say | [Quotes, statements] |

| Think | [Beliefs, concerns] |

| Do | [Actions, behaviors] |

| Feel | [Emotions, reactions] |

2. DEFINE

*Frame the problem worth solving*

Point of View Statement

[User] needs [need] because [insight].

How Might We Questions

• How might we [opportunity 1]?
• How might we [opportunity 2]?

Problem Statement

> The Challenge: [Specific, actionable problem to solve]

3. IDEATE

*Generate many possible solutions*

Ideas Generated

| # | Idea | Type |

|---|------|------|

| 1 | [idea] | Safe / Moderate / Wild |

| 2 | [idea] | Safe / Moderate / Wild |

| 3 | [idea] | Safe / Moderate / Wild |

Top Ideas to Prototype

| Idea | Why This One? | Feasibility |

|------|---------------|-------------|

| [idea] | [rationale] | High/Med/Low |

4. PROTOTYPE

*Make ideas tangible quickly*

Idea to prototype: [Which idea]

Prototype type: Paper mockup / Wireframe / Physical model / Storyboard

What we're testing:

• [Assumption/question 1]
• [Assumption/question 2]

5. TEST

*Learn from real users*

Who to test with: [User profile]

Questions to answer:

• [Question]?
• [Question]?

Success indicators: [What would indicate this works]

Failure indicators: [What would indicate this fails]

Next Iteration

Based on what we learn, we'll likely need to revisit:

• [ ] Empathize / [ ] Define / [ ] Ideate / [ ] Prototype / [ ] Test

Guidelines

• Empathy is research, not assumption—talk to real users
• "How might we" keeps problems open and generative
• Prototype to think, not just to test
• Test early, test often, test cheaply

$ARGUMENTS