A problem-solving methodology that can help both companies and individuals to find a solution to a problem is called a Design Thinking Process. Design Thinking helps in gaining perspective on the system and have an organized plan for a better understanding and growth. Design Thinking can be useful in solving complex issues that are mostly unknown, by gaining a proper understanding of human needs.

The Design Thinking process involves 5 steps. The 5-step model of design thinking has been used over many years by both individuals and companies to bring out better innovative ideas. In this article, we will talk about these five stages and take a closer look at them.

  1. Empathy. Empathy is the basic and initial stage of Design Thinking. This stage is extremely helpful in getting a better understanding of the problem by the way of diving deep into the issue for a better understanding, consulting experts, working within a group etc. The first stage, that is Empathy, allows thinkers to better understand the needs of regarding the issue at hand and putting aside your personal preferences. A lot of important information can be collected during this stage. This data helps in defining the problem and bringing a solution to it.
  2. Define. To define is the second stage of Design Thinking. This is the stage where you collect and bring together any information that you gathered during the first step. All the data will be analyzed at this stage. It will then be arranged in a particular order to define the problems better and understand them. The Define stage will be helpful in gaining insight and thinking of great ideas and understanding how to use them properly.
  3. Ideate. The third stage of the process is to ideate, in which the information collected and gathered in the previous stage is used to generate logical ideas. In this stage, you will be thinking of ideas that are out of the box or just normal ideas that were skipped earlier. It is like a way of solving normal problems differently. It is important to generate as many ideas as possible at this stage, only then you will have options to choose from.
  4. Prototype. The second last stage of the Design Thinking process is Prototype. At this stage, you will be developing some economical products with certain specific features. This will help the thinkers in identifying and pinpointing solutions to any of the problems that were talked about in the previous stages. Every new prototype will help in understanding a new aspect of the problem. It will also help in exploring how each prototype can help solve a problem. Problems that are specific to a prototype are identified and solutions are thought of to improve the prototypes. This will make you ready for the final stage of the process.
  5. Test. The final stage of the Design Thinking process is Testing. The prototypes developed in stage four will be tested here. This is done to check how the prototypes help in solving issues that were identified in the initial stages. The team is free to make alterations at this stage. Refinements and polish can be added to the prototype. It also allows you to visit previous stages and revise any information that is left out.

Conclusion

The Design Thinking process is a clearly-defined, step-by-step, solution-focused, and flexible process. It allows for your app design team to focuses on bringing the best ideas to life. Design Thinking helps is solving problems like understanding human needs,  defining that problem, creating ideas, adopting an approach, and developing a final solution. Each step of the process is extremely important and cannot be left out at all.