Even if you are a smaller company, you can adopt the same design process used by major companies.
This process is called“Design Thinking” and it is a trending practice as it can help you gain a competitive edge.
British beer mat ( circa 1955 )
Design Thinking
The design process can be very haphazard, messy and produce the less than desired results. “Design Thinking” arose from the desire to have a more manageable, repeatable and understood way of approaching design. It is a process, a way of approaching design, a description of a mindset, a roadmap. A process that captures design ‘best practices’
The Double Diamond
The British Design Council researched the design process at companies like Lego, Microsoft, Whirlpool etc. and found a lot of similarities in the design process they used. They extracted these ‘best practices’ into an easily understandable model – the double diamond.
Initial Idea Written Plan / Specification Product Delivery
The genius of this symbol is that it’s a simple mnemonic that easily springs to mind. The double diamond is separated into 4 quadrants as below:
| Double Diamond sector | Name | Description |
 |
Discover
Divergent thinking around the initial idea or insight. |
“Ideation” or “Brainstorming” combined with research. Don’t settle for what might be the “tip of the iceberg” of opportunity. Heavy end customer / user involvement is key at this stage. |
 |
Define
Convergent thinking to define the project. |
The previous discover state should result in idea “clusters” in your business/market space.These must be sifted through and refined to end up with a written plan or specification. |
 |
Develop
Divergent development using iteration, protyping, testing etc. |
Emphasis should be on getting partial / whole product prototypes to end customers / users in an iterative process. |
 |
Deliver
Convergent development to deliver final product. |
Plan / specification is now finalized. This stage is about realizing final product for production, market launch plans etc. |
Summary
Don’t have the expectation that your design will proceed neatly from one quadrant to the next in the “Double Diamond” process. It is not a linear model so don’t be discouraged if you are switching back and forth between quadrants. Remember that encouraging “Design Thinking” and the “Double Diamond” model can help you maximize your return in developing / upgrading your products.
Further Reading:
The British Design Council Document