Define is the second step in the design process.  It builds off of the empathy stage by unpacking the information, synthesizing what we have learned, and taking the time to identify insights and needs. This stage is critical in the design process, as it clarifies the exact goal.

According to the Stanford D.School, the two main goals of the define stage are to “develop a deep understanding of your users and the design space and, based on that understanding, to come up with an actionable problem statement: your point of view.”  This point of view should be formulated from what you have learned in the empathizing stage and “be a guiding statement that focuses on specific users, and insights and needs.”

Another, more common name for this stage is the hypothesis.  To create this hypothesis, you need to start by reviewing existing data and write down assumptions about unmet needs.  After identifying these unmet needs, you should begin to think of reasons why, and then come up with a list of key questions.  After you research and review your hypothesis, if it is still not accurate, you rewrite your hypothesis again.

In order to collect the best information, make sure you observe the audience while they are performing the activity with the problem.  Don’t just use user reviews as research, since most people only write about possible solutions and not the actual problem itself. You should also have every team member involved in collecting observations. This, “empowers your team to make decisions independently in parallel.”

Following this, you should create a map of the system you intend to redesign using sticky notes from everyone’s observations.  A great way to organize the different information and the different types of users involved is to create personas that can help categorize the information into a more commendable set of data.  After all of the sticky notes with observations are displayed, an easy way to identify the most important issues is to have everyone place a dot on the strongest pain points. These pain points are where the observes saw the users struggling the most.

Once the strongest pain points are identified, it is important to then create “How might we….” questions.  These questions are short and allow for brainstorming to begin. According to the Stanford D. School, the best way to generate HMW questions is to,  “Amp up the good, remove the bad, explore the opposite, question an assumption, go after adjectives, ID unexpected resources, create an analogy from need or context, play POV against the challenge, change a status quo, and break POV into pieces.”  These questions are important because they create a starting place for ideation that is broad enough to come up with different solutions but still provide helpful boundaries.

The Define stage may seem difficult and daunting, at first, but when you break it down, it is simply hypothesizing a solution based on the information you have gathered, and refining it in order to help you create the best solution to the problem.

Sources:

Stanford_define

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAdanuvwtc&ab_channel=MindfulMarks