Step 8: Determine next steps

Design or reframe?

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You’ve presented the opportunities to your key audience and gained consensus about which set of opportunities to address. Now you are ready to move to Design. This is the HCD phase wherein you partner with designers to prototype products, services, or systems that address the opportunities.

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If, on the other hand, you have come this far and have not gained consensus, or feel your research has not been fruitful, don’t despair. Your effort is not wasted. You can always reframe and begin research again. It is far better to learn something is not working early on, than to invest time and resources into the wrong design. A reframe, in this case, is a win.

Whether your next step is to move into Design, or reframe and do a second round of research, the most important thing is to keep your customers’ interests in mind and to use that north star to guide your continued efforts.

Four circles indicate the four phases of Human Centered Design: discovery, design, delivery, and measurement. Arrows connect these circles to indicate that the process is also cyclical, and steps need to be repeated at different phases. The design phase is highlighted.