I would say the stage that comes the easiest for me is the create stage. Statistically, that may be the stage everyone is most naturally adept in but I was looking forward to this project to further refine the entire design thinking process. I would say I had three key takeaways from this project and they follow the first three stages.
Discover
In the discover stage it was very interesting gaining insight into how my partner used a cell phone. It reiterated the importance of a insight into people and behavior as opposed to product features and physical attributes. This led perfectly into the Define stage of the process. As I learned more about my partner I saw it was evident that to her, a phone has mainly become an endless stream of notifications. She has even deleted her social media apps from the phone to resist the urge to constantly check her phone.
Define
This has led a definition of her desire to not want distractions but still maintain contact with her friends and family. The great part about the definition stage is that it can easily blend in with and go back to the discover stage to learn more about your audience so that you can ultimately define the most applicable problem.
Create
My favorite stage and it was a great way to get to this point. A lot of people in my opinion want to create a solution to a perceived problem immediately. By following the design thinking process model to this point, it has forced me to really think and ultimately change course of the prototyped solution I had originally (I’ll admit that I thought I could still solve the problem immediately) and the process has created a great first iteration. I chose to go with a non-phone concept that allowed my partner to have a “modern pager” (her words which stuck with me!) and I think it could be a great option for her to stay connected immediately and still have the power of a modern smart phone when connected to peripherals.
The evaluate stage is necessary and was very useful. We would go through the process again, albeit a bit more streamlined with a more monte carlo approach to our iterations. This was a very useful exercise and I enjoyed working on it!