By now, you’ve probably heard about the design thinking methodology. More industries than ever are taking a human-centric approach to evolve their existing products and generating new ideas to serve their customers better by getting curious about actual user needs, ideating potential solutions, and testing them with real users. Let’s take a closer look at what design thinking and user-centered design is and how to apply it to your organization.

According to statistics, 79% of companies agree that design thinking improves the ideation process, and 71% have enjoyed a significant shift in their work culture after adopting design thinking. While it does contain the word design, design thinking and it’s iterative approach to creative ideas is not only for design teams, in fact, any team can benefit from this human-centered design process. We’ve seen product development teams, multidisciplianry teams exploring new business models, customer success teams designing new customer experiences, and countless other examples.

What is the Design Thinking Process?

Design thinking is a process for creative problem-solving that helps teams move past the first “good ideas” and discover creative solutions. Rather than a one-shoe-fits-all mindset, the design thinking approach encourages a holistic view where uncertainty and ambiguity are welcomed and embraced to consider all sides of a problem. A design mindset can be applied to any life situation, and it aids in developing innovative ideas by considering the bigger picture and allowing that to shape our decisions as we move forward.

The method is steeped in a deep belief that the end-user should be at the heart of all decision-making. The benefit of design thinking is that, through empathy for your customer, consumer, or client, you are able to create products and experiences that truly help people and even change lives.

In this article, we’ll explore the five-step process that enables teams to come up with impactful solutions to real problems that are vetted by the people they intend to serve before they’ve even been built. These key steps will launch you into an innovative and experimental design approach.

Pro-tip: use our Liberating Structures templates to get the most out of the design-thinking process with your team. At Voltage Control we also love to use the Workshop Design Canvas.

The 5-Step Design Thinking Process

1. Empathize 

The first stage of the design process is to develop  a deep understanding of the target audience/customer/consumer and their unique perspective to identify and address the problem at hand. To do this, design thinkers are encouraged to cast aside all assumptions (because assumptions can stifle innovation!) about the problem, the consumers, and the world at large. This allows them to objectively consider any and all possibilities about the customers and their needs.

Typical activities:

• Observations: You’ll go where your users go and see what they care about. 
• Qualitative Interviews: You’ll hold one-on-one interviews with a handful of your users to understand their attitudes on the topic you are exploring. Asking someone to tell a story about the last time they experienced the problem you’re investigating provides a rich description that highlights details you might not have otherwise considered. Check out our Interview Observation template to interview someone that is close to the problem you are having and observe the behavior, success, and pain points.

Immersions: Step into your user’s shoes so you can feel and experience their day-to-day.

Tools like empathy maps can be a great way to consolidate all of the valuable information gleaned from interviews. Empathy maps capture what people do, say, think, and feel in the context of the problem. They help colleagues understand the context of the problem and how people experience it, too.

2. Define

Putting together all of the information gathered from emphasizing in the previous step. The next step is to define the problem statement clearly. The ideal problem statement should be captured from the perspective of human-centered needs rather than focused on business goals. For example, instead of setting a goal to increase signups by 5%, a human-centered target would be to help busy moms provide healthy food for their families.

Based on the frustrations you observed or heard about, come up with questions for how you might solve them. 

Typical Activities

• Clustering and Themes: There are a lot of different ways to go about the Define phase, but it’s safe to say you’ll need a wall of sticky notes; these will be filled with the quotes, observations, and ideas you heard throughout your research. Group and cluster ideas together until you find the prevailing or most prominent themes.
• Problem Statement: Take time to properly articulate the problem statement. Answer the following questions: 1) What is the problem? 2) Who has the problem? 3) Where is the problem? 4) Why does it matter

As you explore the empathy data, focus on identifying patterns and problems across a diverse group of people. Gathering information on how people are currently attempting to solve the problem and how they explore alternative solutions can provide clues into their underlying root problems. 

You can’t solve all of your users’ problems. Identify the most significant or most painful issues they face as you consider what you want to focus on as you move forward.

3. Ideate

Now that the problem you intend to solve is clear, it’s time to brainstorm ways to address those unmet needs. You collect as many ideas as possible at the start, so your team can investigate and test them by the end.

Typical Activities

• Brainstorming: Brainstorming is a critical part of the ideation phase, it is the best way to generate of a wide variety of ideas, all aimed at addressing the problem or challenge at hand. Brainstoming allows the entire team to bring their perspectives, experiences, and insights to the table, fostering diversity and richness in idea generation. Ideas shared can serve as stepping stones lead to innovative, out-of-the-box solutions that might not have been uncovered with a more conventional, linear thinking process. 

• Worst Possible Idea: The “Worst Possible Idea” activity may seem counterproductive,  but it can encourage creativity and eliminate psychological holdups that stall innovative thinking. It allows team members to brainstorm and share their ‘worst ideas’ without fear of judgment or criticism. This fosters an environment where coming up with the “perfect” ideas is eliminated, allowing freedom and creativity to shine. The process of identifying why an idea is ‘the worst’ can help in understanding the parameters and constraints of a problem, offering insights into what an ideal solution should avoid. This exercise also brings a sense of humor and fun into the brainstorming process!

The ideation stage marks the transition from identifying problems to exploring solutions. It flows between idea generation and evaluation, but it’s important that each process remains separate from the other.

When it’s time to generate ideas, do so quickly without focusing on the quality or feasibility of the idea. Ideation techniques are rooted in the idea that we’ll prioritize quantity over quality so that we can move past the first good idea(s) and find the truly novel ones. Only when you’ve fully exhausted your abilities to generate new ideas do you move on to evaluate them. This is your opportunity you can go around the room and discuss the ideas presented to get clarification if needed.

The ideation phase is usually a very creative and freeing phase for a team because they have permission to think of out-of-the-box ideas before deciding what they are going to prototype.

4. Prototype

It’s time to experiment! Through trial and error, your team identifies which of the possible solutions can best solve the identified problem(s). This typically will include scaled-down versions of a finished product or systems in question so you can present and get feedback from the people they are intended to serve.

Typical Activities

• Create a Vision Board: This visual representation of ideas, inspirations, and intended outcomes allows team members to envision the desired final product. By gathering images, drawings, materials, or words that symbolize the goals, functions, and user experience of the prototype, the vision board is a shared reference point for the whole team. It facilitates communication, aligns understanding, and encourages creative problem-solving. The actual process of creating the vision board itself promotes a deeper engagement with the project’s objectives and encourages innovative thinking. 

• Rapid Prototyping: The aim of rapid prototyping is to create low-cost, scaled-down versions of the product or specific features quickly for initial testing. Using paper, sticky notes, cardboard, or digital mockup tools, have the team put their ideas into tangible or visible models. This can be done by drawing, making 3D models, or even creating a storyboard to showcase user interactions. It helps teams understand the look and feel of their solutions, identify potential issues, and validate whether the prototype aligns with users’ needs and expectations. Check out our Take 5 template when you want to collect diverse ideas from the entire room. Within 5 minutes, everyone will be sharing from an intentional perspective using visuals!

The goal is to start with a low-fidelity version of the intended solution and improve it over time based on feedback. Beginning with a paper prototype can help you learn quickly with minimal effort. The prototype should be a realistic representation of the solution that allows you to gain an understanding of what works and doesn’t work. It is changed and updated based on feedback from the Test phase in an iterative process. The rapid, low-cost, lightweight nature of prototyping also allows you to develop multiple solutions to test in tandem to identify the best possible solution for meeting those unmet user needs.

5. Test

The prototype is at the center of the final phase as we put all our ideas to the test.  It’s important to note that the testing phase is part of an interactive cycle. You’ll have the opportunity to hear from your users again —just as you did in the early phase, Empathize. User testing is critical to understand how your audience will react to the ideas in your prototype and how desirable that experience will be. Unlike usability testing, where we are seeking to learn how difficult it is to perform certain tasks,  you are allowing them to interact with your prototype to observe their responses and gain insights on whether or not it solves their problem.

• Observational Testing: In this exercise, real users interact with the final prototype in a controlled setting, while the design team observes their behavior and responses. The goal is not just to confirm if the solution works as intended but to gain deeper insights into how the user interacts with the product, how they approach the problem the product is meant to solve, and where difficulties or confusion arrise. Observational testing can offer valuable, sometimes unexpected, insights into user behavior and experience that might be missed with traditional feedback. It’s an empathetic approach that focuses on observing and understanding the users needs and wants.

• Iterative Testing: This process is all about using the results of the initial testing to make improvements, and then testing again! Check out our 5 act Interview Cheat Sheet to build the best team for the project. The objective is to constantly refine and enhance the solution based on user feedback. Each iteration of the prototype is tested with users, and the insights gathered are used to further refine the solution. This could involve making minor tweaks or massive changes depending on the feedback received. Iterative testing helps in ensuring that the final product is as effective, user-friendly, and problem-solving as possible. The process keeps going until the team is confident that they have the most innovative and best possible version of the solution ready for launch.

Testing with real users is essential because everything is ultimately about the people who will use your products, and that is the true nature of the design thinking model. After you collect insights from users, it’s time to revisit the problem statement and reflect on how well the prototype is meeting needs and resolving frustrations.

You want to see what real people think about your idea. This stage allows for all details to be flushed out and refined to create the best solution possible.

Putting the 5 steps to work.

As you reflect on the 5 steps: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test, keep in mind that each step builds on its predecessor, guiding teams through an exploration of user needs, challenges, and solutions. Yet, as any seasoned design thinker will affirm, this journey isn’t strictly a linear process.

The beauty of the design thinking process is it invites and supports creativity and flexibility. While we’ve outlined the steps sequentially, it’s most effective for teams to revisit earlier stages based on newfound insights or challenges. For instance, feedback during the Testing phase might propel a team back to the Ideation or even Empathy stage. This iterative nature is not a sign of backtracking but rather a testament to the process’s commitment to staying true to user needs.

In essence, design thinking is a creative dance. It’s a dynamic interplay of understanding, ideating, experimenting, and refining. With each iteration, solutions become more attuned, innovative, and user-centric.

So, as you delve into the design thinking steps, remember: The route isn’t always straightforward, and that’s perfectly okay. Embrace the meandering path, the revisits, the detours. Because in this iterative journey, every step, whether forward or backward, is a step towards genuine innovation that resonates deeply with users.

Need an expert facilitator for your next meeting, gathering, or workshop? Let’s talk.

Our extensive network of Facilitation Certificaiton alumni are skilled at facilitating events of all kinds, including design thinking workshops, innovation sessions, and Design Sprints. Please reach out to us at hello@voltagecontrol.com. We’d be happy to connect you with one of our expert alumni.

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As consumers, we have our tried-and-true, reliable, and essential products that we use and rely on to enrich our lives and help us face and solve our daily challenges. They bring us joy, security, ease, and greater productivity. We also all know what it’s like to be frustrated by a product malfunction or absence of a component we’d like it to include to truly meet our needs and desires; that extra thing that would save us time, money or effort or increase our pleasure. The user experience is everything. It’s why we continue or discontinue to purchase certain products. That’s why understanding it through user interviews and directly designing for it in the making of a product is essential to customers’ satisfaction and the product’s success. 

User interviews are an increasingly popular way to gather user feedback quickly and easily and include it in the design of your product. They specifically focus on learning user perception of the product or service, versus its usability. Unlike focus groups, which source opinions from multiple users at one time, user interviews are one-on-one sessions to get to know the user’s perspective deeply. 

If you don’t talk to your customers, how will you know how to talk to your customers? – Will Evans, Design Thinker in Residence at NYU Stern

So when and how do you utilize user interviews? We break it down below: 

When to implement user interviews

User feedback is incredibly valuable. It can help advise the development of a product’s design in various stages of the design process. User interviews can be utilized in the following:

1. Before a design is created to enlighten product and workflow ideas
2. During the ideation phase of development to help inform the product’s purpose and usability
3. Throughout early concept development to collect and prioritize functional needs and challenges

How to conduct a user interview

1. Identify your customers

It is critical to interview people in the target audience you are designing for so that you can adequately understand their concerns and feedback and apply it to your design to best serve them. Who are the people that will be using the idea you are designing? They should be the participants in your user interviews. For example, say you are designing a fitness app for friends to workout together virtually. You would want to seek feedback from people who have an interest in fitness, who are seeking community, and who have a smartphone and an accommodating setting to workout out in.

2. Identify the interview objective

What do you or the stakeholders hope to learn from the user interviews? Identify a specific goal. Be careful not to make it too broad like to “identify what the user likes.” This is limiting because the results will not clearly address the questions you are hoping to answer about your design. Instead, identify a concrete goal that is based on a specific attitude or aspect of the end-user you would like to distinguish and cater to. A finer focus will also help you to create compelling and informative interview questions and conduct the interviews most effectively. 

3. Prescreen interviewees

Once you have identified your target audience, it can be beneficial to conduct a pre-screening to reduce numbers to a manageable size before engaging in a full user interview. Establish your criteria–what qualities/interests do people need to have to qualify? Preliminary questions that are given through an online screener, for example, help you to identify which candidates you would like to move forward with. An example question could be, “Are you interested in virtual workout programs?” Those who respond with a “no” will automatically be eliminated, reducing the number of potential participants. Ask additional questions to weed out people who do not fit the target audience criteria and create a finer focused group that does. 

4. Carefully craft interview questions

The best practice is to prepare interview questions beforehand that are thought-provoking, open-ended, nonleading, and support the identified objective. Ask interviewees questions that cover as many topics as possible to paint a clear picture of the information you are seeking. Avoid framing questions that can bulldozer over the opportunity for participants to express how they truly feel. For example: “Companies are exploring ways to offer workouts you can do at home but have the support of a community. That must make you excited, right?” Asking in this way implies that the participant is already excited. Perhaps they’re not. Guiding questions like this leave little room for interviewees to fully communicate their thoughts, which will alter your data. Sticking to neutral questions like, “what do you think about this?” will eliminate any potential filters that could affect interviewees’ responses.

5. Create a comfortable environment for the users

When people are relaxed, they are more likely to build a greater connection and trust with the interviewer and therefore will be more willing to talk openly and honestly. This type of dynamic delivers the best results in user interviews. A comfortable environment can be created in various ways. Start with unrelated, easy to talk about questions about the interviewee’s daily life, for example, to ease into a natural conversation. Then transition to questions related to obtaining your goal. What are the interviewee’s desires and dislikes about the product design? Next, return to rapport with questions about their interests, hobbies, and demographics. This will lighten the conversation and also provide you with additional context and information to identify any possible patterns that could be useful to consider for your design. 

5. Adapt and be flexible

Not all interviewees are the same, and you shouldn’t treat them as one unit. They are individuals with unique interests and backgrounds, therefore they will likely respond to questions differently during the interview. With that in mind, it’s important to avoid strict scripts when asking questions and adapt to the individual. You may need to alter a question or deliver it in a different way that is compatible with their understanding. They may need additional prompts or explanations. Listen to the interviewee and respond appropriately. It’s also important to note that while it is okay to guide participants, don’t lead or influence them to deliver a certain response. After all, their ability to respond and authentically share their needs, desires, likes and dislikes with you is vital to understanding how to best serve them.

6. Incorporate the results in the product design

The results of the user interviews will inform you if users find your product valuable. By observing the data, you will be able to identify the top priorities and problems that users currently have with your design, and if your product is truly needed. The data will also reveal any competitors. Often users will use other products or companies as references. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the competitors in your field, what they are doing, and how to make your design different. Hearing what users value and find important will also show you if your design truly meets their needs. If not, the data can direct you to other potential uses of your design to better address the user’s wants and needs. 

User interviews are an effective and time-saving tool to adequately understand how users feel, think, and perceive the world. An intimate snapshot of the user’s experience in daily life and how your product design can help them or satisfy their needs is essential to creating a product that truly serves them. No matter where you are in your design process, user interviews are a lucrative asset to creating the best product possible. 

Want to know more about how to implement design thinking?

Voltage Control designs custom engagements for clients, including design thinking workshops, innovation sessions, and Design Sprints. Please reach out to us at info@voltagecontrol.com for a consultation.

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Often, when words and ideas become ubiquitous — “disrupt,” “unicorn,” and “curate” are some potentially over-used words in the start-up and design space — we begin not to listen. We start to tune out. We identify these hot words as meaningless buzzwords.

But, that’s not always the case. It’s not all hot air. So, if you’ve heard the phrase human-centered design (pretty much synonymous with user-centered design) lately in the news or from colleagues or friends, try not to tune out. It’s worth it to stop, listen, and find out more.

The ideas, concepts, and processes behind human-centered design have been at work for decades. If you are curious about what human-centered design is and why it still matters today, read on.

Here are the four reasons we believe human-centered design is hyper-relevant today.

1. Human-Centered Design is Empathy-Based

There’s been a lot of discussions recently about how people don’t seem empathetic enough, especially in a world of nasty Twitter wars and divided political agendas. Most of us can agree that we need empathy more than ever.

We need to see the world from other people’s perspectives, which is what empathy is all about. (To be clear, empathy is not the same as sympathy, which is feeling sorry for someone. Psychiatrist and researcher Helen Riess describes empathy in the book The Empathy Effect like this: “We must understand the situation from the other person’s physical, psychological, social, and spiritual perspectives.”)

Human-centered design begins and ends with people.

What does empathy have to do with human-centered design? It’s right there in words themselves. Human-centered design begins and ends with people. It’s a process that is dedicated to creating products, processes, or experiences that are crafted from the perspective of the end-user.

Usually, this takes the form of starting any project or initiative with a deep dive into your users’ lives; typically, human-centered designers conduct user interviews to understand the perspective and needs of the people they’re designing for.

“While people are generally pretty well-attuned to their own feelings and emotions, getting into someone else’s head can be a bit more difficult. The ability to feel empathy allows people to “walk a mile in another’s shoes,” so to speak. It permits people to understand the emotions that others are feeling.” — from the article “What is Empathy?”

2. Human-Centered Design Embraces a Learner Mindset

Another essential thing about human-centered design, which is also related to empathy, is that it encourages people to embrace a “learner mindset” versus a fixed mindset. In the article“The Importance of Human-centered Design in Product Design,” Miklos Philips says: “Central to the human-centered design approach is the adoption of a learner mindset; a learner is optimistic and seeks understanding as a way to guide their actions.”

“Central to the human-centered design approach is the adoption of a learner mindset.” — Miklos Philip

When you come to a business or design challenge with a learner mindset, you are open to discovering new things, challenging biases, and thinking differently. This is in opposition to a judgmental mindset that immediately tries to categorize or place blame.

The article “7 Ways to Develop a Learner Mindset at Work” puts it this way: “Psychologists suggest that there are two ways of responding to any situation — judging and learning. If you have a judgmental mindset, you tend to want control over situations and focus your energy towards placing responsibility on someone else. The learner, on the other hand, tends to observe situations in order to fully understand them, reserving judgment for later.”

When you come to a business or design challenge with a learner mindset, you are open to discovering new things, challenging biases, and thinking differently.

Human-centered design, based on building empathy through talking and listening to users, is focused on identifying solutions through an open, non-judgemental approach. It’s rooted in a belief that this learner mindset will propel you to better, more innovative solutions.

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3. Human-Centered Design Helps You Get It Right More Often

As mentioned above, an essential component of human-centered design is user testing. This means not only talking to customers at the beginning of a project but also engaging with your users to test ideas throughout the whole process.

The reason for user testing is this: we shouldn’t assume anything about how people will perceive our designs, or what they will like or dislike. A team engaged in a human-centered design process would talk to users early and often, to get their feedback on any designs or ideas. With this invaluable information in hand, teams can quickly iterate and get new ideas or products out in the world in a way that works for the end-user.

The article “A Comprehensive Guide To User Testing” explains why user testing so critical. Namely, it helps you pinpoint issues and respond before sinking design and development costs into your solution:“[User testing] helps you to identify any design issues before you get to the expensive part of the process when you reach the final build. It’s too late — and too expensive — to leave user testing until after you’ve built your product. At that point in the process, changes are incredibly costly.”

4. Human-Centered Design Drives True ROI

When companies and teams apply human-centered design, it’s not just because it’s a better way to work. Human-centered ways of working lead to better business outcomes, as well. Usability.gov cites these fascinating stats: “Dr. Susan Weinschenk notes that of those IT investments, up to 15% of IT projects are abandoned, and at least 50% of a programmers’ time during the project is spent doing rework that is avoidable. Following UCD best practices, helps to identify challenges upfront so that a solution can be found early.”

Additionally, the article “How To Calculate The ROI Of Your UX Activities” gives some real-life examples of companies who found incredible business returns from human-centered design activities: “For instance, Walmart’s redesign of its e-commerce site resulted in a 214% increase in visitors. Bank of America increased its online banking registration by 45% after a UX redesign of the process. IBM’s report on User-Centered Design notes that “every dollar invested in ease of use returns $10 to $100.”

Do you want to learn more about human-centered design?

These are the four reasons we think human-centered design is as relevant and compelling today as it’s ever been. If you’re curious to learn more or apply human-centered design to your work, get in touch.

Voltage Control facilitates design thinking workshops, innovation sessions, and Design Sprints. Please reach out at hello@voltagecontrol.com for a consultation.

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IDEO.org’s definition of human-centered design is elegant and concise: “Human-centered design sits at the intersection of empathy and creativity.” But, let’s unpack the phrase a little further. The first key to understanding the concept is right there: it’s about humans. People are the beginning, the end, and the constant North Star in human-centered design (HCD).

This means that any HCD business initiative or design project starts by considering the real-life end-users that the product, service, or experience will serve. “Who exactly will use our product?” (Tweens? Moms?) “What are those human’s needs, wants, and challenges?” (Lack of confidence? Limited time?) These are the questions that human-centered designers believe should form the foundation for all design decisions.

“Human-centered design sits at the intersection of empathy and creativity.” — from IDEO.org

While this might seem like simple common sense (and it certainly is), many companies are still just adopting this approach. It’s not the way organizations have historically operated. Budget constraints, long requirements lists, “the-way-we’ve-always-done-it,” and executive hunches can often be the engine behind decision making and how services and products are designed. It’s easy for teams to think they know how things should be and design in a bubble. They can lose sight of the humans who will be using their shiny widget.

What’s Human-Centered Design Training?

People who have experience with design thinking and human-centered design (also called user-centered design) are incredibly in-demand as today. That’s because many organizations have found that these problem-solving methods lead to actual business benefits. Thinking about your end-users is not only empathetic, but it’s also good business.

Thinking about your end-users is not only empathetic, it’s good business.

This interest in design thinking and human-centered design means that many organizations are bringing in experts to teach their teams some of the methods. So, if that happens to you, please don’t roll your eyes. The tenants of human-centered design are practical, actionable, and can be put to work in just about any professional scenario. If you’re going to engage in human-centered design training, here’s three key things you’ll learn.

3 Things You’ll Learn Through Human-Centered Design Training

1. Always Start with People

The first phase of any human-centered design project usually has similar qualities and activities. Often called the Inspiration, Exploration, or Discovery phase, the beginning of an HCD project begins with getting to know your people deeply.

The beginning of an HCD project begins with getting to know your people deeply.

So, let’s say you are designing a new app specifically for redheads. Task numero uno is going out into the field and talking to a diverse set of redheads — young and old, all genders, different backgrounds, different attitudes. As a human-centered designer, you want to know what makes redheads tick, what they love about their fabulous hair color, what they don’t like, and what features they might use on a redhead-specific app.

In addition to the qualitative research and user interviews that mark the beginning of a human-centered design project, your inspiration phase might also include observations and immersions into the places and products that your end-users might typically engage with.

The Inspiration Phase is about standing in other people’s shoes.

The point of talking to your end-users is to get away from your assumptions and desires. It’s about rooting your thinking in the day-to-day realities of the people you want to serve. This is all about building empathy and standing in other people’s shoes.

2. Bubble Up the Big Insights

After you’ve done a deep dive into the humans you’ll be designing for; it’s time to synthesize (or summarize) what you learned. Another thing that you learn in human-centered design training is how to formulate insights that help steer you into the right solutions. Insight is defined as “a deep understanding of a person or thing.”

“Insightful understanding is a powerful leaping-off point for great design.” — Jane Fulton Suri, IDEO Partner Emeritus & Executive Design Director

When we imagine teams that “do” design thinking or human-centered design, this insight-generating phase is what we often think of: it is that moment when you might be confronting a giant wall of sticky notes and trying to make sense of it all. That’s the critical distinction with HCD. You’re not generating a bunch of sticky notes to look smart or to decorate your wall. You’re looking to understand what your learnings mean and where they point you next.

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A vital part of the Inspiration and Ideation phases of an HCD project is understanding what all of your initial research and discovery is telling you. What are the significant insights you gleaned about your users? What are the top 5 things that you know to be true about redheads?

These insights are some fundamental truths about your end-users that help you know which direction to go in your design.

You’ll slowly, but surely, crystalize these insights by creating groups, themes, and buckets of ideas you heard from your users. These insights are some fundamental truths about your end-users that help you know which direction to go in your design.

3. The Power of Prototypes

The third thing you’ll learn if you go through human-centered design training is the importance of prototyping. The term prototype can be confusing if it’s new to you. A prototype is a simulation of your final product that you create so you can test and learn from it. Prototypes can be something very “high fidelity” or something that appears very close to the real thing— like a mock-up of an app or landing page — or as simple as a loose sketch or illustration.

HCD prioritizes prototyping because, again, it’s all about the users. By creating a quick prototype, you can show it to your ideal users and get feedback. It’s common sense, but many companies have been accustomed to toiling for months or years to make a product “perfect.” They push it out into the world and only then find out what people think. Prototyping lets you get that crucial feedback from customers early and often.

The idea behind prototyping is to move quickly, build something simple. Then you show it to people, find out how they react— what’s confusing? what’s exciting? what could be better? The thinking is that you’ll get to a better product faster and save time. (Plus, there are a ton of prototyping tools out there today that make it easier than ever.)

Are You Looking for Human-Centered Design Training or Design Thinking Training?

Voltage Control facilitates hands-on workshops and coaching that builds your team’s innovation and facilitation skills. We also host events of all kinds, including design thinking workshops, innovation sessions, and Design Sprints. Please reach out to info@voltagecontrol.com for a consultation.

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The phrases User-Centered Design, Human-Centered Design, and Design Thinking are bandied around a lot these days. Are they distinct processes? Are they the same thing?

Some might argue the slight differences or nuances between these terms and their origin. There is more in common between these methods than there are differences and can likely be used interchangeably at this point.

In a nutshell: Human-centered design, user-centered design, and design thinking start from the same belief: the user — and empathy and understanding for that user — should be at the heart of all design decisions.

What is Design Thinking?

Design thinking is an approach to creative problem-solving with the basic idea being that teams can work together to create innovations that lead to better solutions, more streamlined processes, and improved quality. It is used to create products and services that need to meet the needs of a particular group of people. Design thinking is a specific set of tools used to discover problems worth solving and generating new solutions to those challenges with the user top of mind.

The process usually involves a team working together to observe, identify, and understand particular problems or challenges that a target group face. Often, that team brings a diverse set of skills and knowledge because more perspectives can lead to unexpected thinking and better potential solutions. 
Design thinking also generally involves a lot of experimentation and prototyping of potential solutions, which can be tested with users.

In design thinking, practitioners take into consideration many factors; in particular, they look for the intersection of ideas that are feasible (technically possible), desirable (attractive to the end user), and viable (profitable to the business.)

IDEO, the famed design consultancy, breaks the core activities of design thinking into three parts: Inspiration, Ideation, Implementation.

1. Inspiration: Get inspired by your problem space and, especially, by the wants, desires, and unmet needs of your users or customers.
2. Ideation: Generate lots of potential solutions to the challenge at hand. Test these ideas with users to get closer and closer to your final solution or recommendation.
3. Implementation: Make your ideas real. But the process doesn’t stop there. Good designers should always be continually looking for inspiration, new ideas, and refining their work to make it better for the end-user.

What is Human-Centered or User-Centered Design?

Human-Centered or User-Centered Design is also a process that focuses on the users and their needs in every phase of the design process. The goal is to create a highly usable and desirable product or service for the user. Like design thinking, it stems from the belief that you should lead with empathy and design from that perspective.

Like design thinking, user-centered design stems from the belief that you should lead with empathy and design from that perspective.

Again, the steps and mindset are mostly the same as design thinking. The process can be described in many slightly different ways by different people or organizations, but usually boils down to some combination of these five steps:

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1. Empathize: Understanding the end-user of the product, experience, or service.

2. Define: Articulate the core problems or challenges to solve.

3. Ideate: Brainstorm a diverse, and abundant, set of possible ways to solve the problem for the user.

4. Prototype: Build a simulation of your potential solution so you can begin to get reactions to your ideas.

5. Test: Put your prototype in front of your users and talk to them about what they like about it, what they don’t, and find out how they react to it. Use this feedback to make your ideas better.

More on user testing

Putting your ideas in front of “real” people is a fundamental aspect of user-centered design. In the final step, you test your ideas. User testing can be as simple as asking five users to come to your office (or do this remotely) and show them your prototype. It’s crucial to approach it with an open mind and not be overly-attached to your ideas. You want genuine reactions from the people who will ultimately use your product or service so you can make it better.

We have tons of great resources for supporting user interviews. Check out our tips for successful user interviews and our handy-dandy moderator guide.

All about empathy

In the end, it’s a bit like splitting hairs to find the significant differences between design thinking, user-centered design, and human-centered design. They all begin with a deep belief that our design and business decisions should first start from an understanding of and empathy for our end user.

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