Design thinking draws from the process where an organization seeks to understand their stakeholder(s) challenges and perspective to better define what actual problem it is that they seek to provide a solution for.
It is a process that creates business solutions premised on what the business stakeholders actually desire alongside what is technologically feasible and economically viable.
The design thinking process involves five phases Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test which will be better explained going forward.
EMPATHIZE: This phase usually involves role-playing/researching the end-user/ business stakeholder’s experience from the impact of the business solution.
It provides the organization with real insights into their actual service needs and expectations.
DEFINE: After thorough research and analysis, the business can proceed to define what the actual end-user needs are with customized problem statements to suit the various stakeholder profiles identified in the Empathize phase.
IDEATE: The ideate process involves questioning the norms, assumptions and seeking perspectives to the already defined problem.
PROTOTYPE: Possible solutions that address the various perspectives to the problem are developed at this phase and simplified versions of the solution can be attempted to further analyze its feasibility.
TEST: The last phase, testing, would then involve a thorough attempt at how the solutions actually meet the user’s needs and also develop likely problems that were not discovered earlier and make necessary adjustments for the same.