Sixth stage: After ideation and creating prototypes, the final stage in Design Thinking is: Testing (here’s an overview of the Design Thinking Process).
This is a challenging but crucial step. The most valuable feedback comes from the future users using the prototype: Is the idea important? How should the product be improved? What do people want?
The most important methods for testing in Design Thinking
- Present & Collect Feedback: A simple & proven form in which the audience sees the new idea.
- Observe: The product stands alone and the user interacts with it.
- A / B Testing: If there are two possible variants of the prototype: Test each one separately and compare the feedback so that a decision can be made.
- Thinking out loud: The user uses the prototype and thinks out loud.
Testing in Design Thinking step by step:
- Before: You have chosen an idea & a prototype. You have developed the persona and the main need in the synthesis. Prepare the test well: What kind of information do the test person need? How much time do you have? Select a suitable method for testing: presentation, observation, A / B tests or „thinking out loud“. Look for the right people to test your prototype. In the best case, these people could also be future users of your idea. Otherwise, colleagues and friends will do.
- Execution of the test.
- Collect feedback: Let the test person do the talking. Ask open questions to find out their wishes, critique, emotions and new ideas.
- Reflection: Meet with your team, evaluate the feedback and make decisions. What should we improve on the product? Should we collect new ideas again? Do we prefer to develop a new prototype?
- Iteration: This is where the new design thinking process begins. The feedback should be the starting point. Consider which stage you should start from.
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