4 Stages of Design Thinking

Design thinking has changed the way people think about innovation—especially in business. While the concept originated from designers, professionals have adapted the process to solve business problems more effectively.

Here’s what you need to know about the design thinking process and how you can apply it.

What Is Design Thinking?

Design thinking is an approach to problem-solving and innovation that’s both user-centric and solutions-based—that is, it focuses on finding solutions instead of problems.

For example, if a business is struggling with bad reviews, design thinking would advise it to focus on improving how it treats customer-facing employees (a solution) rather than scrutinizing reviews (the problem).

User-centric solutions require empathy at all stages and must consider how people are impacted. While this may seem obvious, it’s a crucial element that can’t be overlooked in the innovation process.

Four Stages of Design Thinking

There are several models that systematize the design thinking process. In the online course Design Thinking and Innovation, Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar leverages a four-stage framework: clarify, ideate, develop, and implement.

1. Clarify

The clarification stage involves observing and framing findings. Your observations form the foundation of your design thinking, so it’s important to be unbiased.

First, identify and empathize with your audience. Where are they coming from? What are their common pain points? Why do they need your solution? How will they benefit?

Once your observations are clearly defined, consolidate them and take note of any that stand out. Outliers can help reframe findings into a problem statement or question that guides the design thinking process to the final stage.

Try to focus on the big picture, and don’t be afraid to frame and reframe observations as you glean additional insights. The clarification stage is vital to the entire process’s success.

2. Ideate

With your problem statement or question defined, you can use observations to think of potential solutions. Don’t feel limited as you ideate.

There are several ways you can approach this phase:

• Search for similarities in pain points and categorize them.
• Evaluate what resources you have and consider how they can be used to solve the problem.
• Brainstorm ideas that could yield positive results.

Whatever method you choose, remember that all ideas are possible solutions.

3. Develop

The third stage focuses on developing ideas from the ideation phase. This is done through testing possible solutions and noting the successes and failures of each.

At this point, adjustments aren’t only acceptable but recommended. The purpose isn’t to find the final solution but to test, adjust, prototype, and experiment. If something doesn’t work, try an iteration of it or go back a stage or two in the process.

4. Implement

The final stage—implementation—is the culmination of the previous three phases. It’s where you take all your observations, ideas, and developments and implement a solution.

It’s important to note that testing and experimentation don’t abruptly end. You can expect additional iterations and modifications to the solution that entail returning to a previous stage. Continue refining until you find a successful solution and implement it. Once you’ve done that, the design thinking process is complete.

Check out the video about the design thinking process below, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more explainer content!

The Importance of Design Thinking Across Industries

Design thinking can be applied in any industry to any problem. Whether you work in manufacturing or finance, you can utilize design thinking to address pain points.

For example, if you work for a finance company struggling with employee engagement—a common problem with the rise in remote work—you could benefit from an unconventional approach to problem-solving. Your leadership and human resources teams could use design thinking to come up with ways to increase employee satisfaction, such as offering more benefits or mental health-focused programs.

Design thinking can seem like a massive undertaking, but it’s an accessible and adaptable method for all professionals who recognize the value of user-centric, solutions-based innovation.

Design Thinking as a Tool

Design thinking is a valuable addition to your professional toolbox. Through its four stages, it teaches how to assess situations with an unbiased view, ideate without assumptions, and continually experiment, test, and reiterate for better results.

Are you interested in learning more about design thinking? Explore our online course Design Thinking and Innovation to discover how to use design thinking principles and innovative problem-solving tools to help you and your business succeed.