Chris Metcalfe: a UX Researcher at How Might We

Empathise

Get a firsthand view of your customers to uncover their needs, goals and aspirations. Working directly with the people you’re designing for provides the inspiration you need to create new ideas grounded in reality.

Tools:
- Ethnographic research
- In-depth interviews
- Storytelling
- Competitor analysis

Define

Analyse and map out your customer data into understandable maps or models. This will help you choose the most important needs to address first.

Tools:
- Personas
- Jobs to be done
- As-Is journey maps
- Problem statements

Ideate

To come up with good ideas, you need to have lots of them. Use thinking games that will take your ideas past normal brain-storming so you have lots to choose form. 

Tools:
- Crazy 8
- Design studio
- Improv
- Stimuli

Test & build

Make your idea a reality in the fastest cheapest way. Get colleagues, friends or customers to try it out to see if it makes any sense. Watch what they do and listen to what they say (and don't say). 

Tools:
- Prototypes
- Usability testing
- Storyboarding
- A/B testing
- MVPs