Design Thinking

Fall in love with the problem, not the first solution. End with what to learn next, not just ideas.

When to use

• A product, service or UX problem where the real user need is unclear.
• "How might we" framing, discovery sprints, concept validation before building.
• Reframing a request using what users actually do or say.

Skip: the spec is fully frozen and no discovery is wanted, or the task is code-only maintenance with no user problem to frame.

Before you start

1. State in one block: Design challenge (who is affected, in what situation) and Pass (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test plan).
2. Gather first. Read tickets, interview notes, support threads, analytics or the product itself before writing Empathize. Ask up to 3 questions only for users, constraints or success signals that tools cannot answer.
3. Light path. Small ask: 1-2 lines per stage, 3 ideas, one prototype, 2 signals.
4. If Empathize has no real user input, say so in Define and keep the POV narrow. Never invent research.