Design Thinking Phases

Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process for creative problem-solving that puts humans at the center. Maya’s workflow guides you through all five phases.

The Five Phases Overview

Design thinking progresses through empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing:

graph LR
    A[Empathize] --> B[Define]
    B --> C[Ideate]
    C --> D[Prototype]
    D --> E[Test]
    E --> A

The process is iterative—testing often reveals new empathy needs, restarting the cycle.

Phase 1: Empathize

Goal: Understand the people you’re designing for.

The empathy phase builds deep understanding of user needs, behaviors, attitudes, and contexts. Without this foundation, solutions solve the wrong problems.

Activity	Purpose
User interviews	Hear directly from users in their own words
Observation	Watch what people actually do, not what they say
Empathy mapping	Organize observations into what users think, feel, see, do
Journey mapping	Map the complete user experience over time

Maya’s Emphasis

Maya consistently redirects to “THEM not us”—design with users, not for them. Validation through real human interaction beats every assumption.

Phase 2: Define

Goal: Frame a user-centered problem statement.

The define phase synthesizes empathy research into a clear, actionable problem statement. A good definition guides ideation without constraining it.

Output	Description
Point of View (POV)	User-centered problem statement
How Might We (HMW) questions	Reframe problems as opportunities
Problem statements	Clear articulation of what needs solving

Example POV: “Busy parents need a way to feel connected to their children’s education because current communication is scattered and time-consuming.”

Phase 3: Ideate

Goal: Generate a wide range of solutions.

The ideate phase creates quantity and diversity of options. Divergent thinking here prevents converging on the first obvious solution.

Approach	How It Works
Brainstorming	Generate many ideas rapidly
Sketching	Visual thinking explores beyond words
Storyboards	Narrative exploration of user experience
Worst ideas	Flip to reverse constraints

Maya emphasizes: diverge before converging. Generate 50+ ideas before evaluating any.

Phase 4: Prototype

Goal: Make ideas tangible and testable.

Prototypes are rough representations that communicate the essence of an idea. They’re not about polish—they’re about learning.

Fidelity	When to Use
Paper sketches	Early exploration, quick iterations
Wireframes	Structure and layout, low-detail
Click-throughs	Interaction flow without visuals
Wizard of Oz	Manual simulation of digital features

Prototype to Learn

Don’t build to impress—build to learn. A paper prototype tested today beats a perfect prototype built too late.

Phase 5: Test

Goal: Validate solutions with real users.

Testing reveals whether prototypes solve the real problem. Negative results are valuable learning—they save building the wrong thing.

Activity	Purpose
Usability testing	Observe users interacting with prototype
Feedback capture	Hear what works and what doesn’t
Assumption validation	Confirm or refute design hypotheses
Iteration planning	Identify what to change next

Non-Linear Progress

Design thinking looks linear but rarely proceeds in a straight line:

Common Pattern	What Happens
Test reveals empathy gaps	Back to Phase 1 for deeper understanding
Ideate produces weak concepts	Back to Phase 2 for better framing
Prototype uncovers new insights	Back to Phase 1 or 2 with fresh perspective

Maya guides this non-linear journey, recognizing that each phase informs all others.

Design Thinking vs. Other Approaches

Aspect	Design Thinking	Traditional Product Development
Starting point	User needs and context	Business requirements or technology
Process	Iterative, non-linear	Linear, gated
Risk	Fail fast, learn early	Fail late, expensive
Output	User-validated solutions	Feature-complete products

When Design Thinking Works Best

Situation	Why Design Thinking Helps
New product development	Ensures product-market fit
Complex user experiences	Maps complete journeys, not touchpoints
Cross-functional alignment	Shared empathy builds team consensus
Innovation opportunities	Uncovers unmet needs not obvious from data

Next Steps

• Apply design thinking — Run a design thinking session with Maya
• Learn brainstorming techniques — Support ideation with structured methods