A solution can’t exist without a problem. This is why it’s important for UX designers to define the problem before attempting to create a solution. 

The Double Diamond design model was developed in 2005 by the British Design Council, and guides the work of UX designers in defining the problem before they go about the process of designing a user experience to solve the problem faced by users of the proposed product or service.

The Double Diamond design model emphasizes to: Conduct Research, Narrowing the Scope, Ideate, and Validate Approaches. Like The Design Thinking Process, the Double Diamond design model is an iterative process. There are four stages to the process: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver.

Discover

The UX designer begins thinking about what is trying to be achieved. This often starts with some sort of initial inspiration or ideation phase and can include a number of market, user, and design research methods that will help define the problem you’re trying to solve.

Define

In this stage, discoveries from the first section are refined and turned into a problem statement that can then be translated into specific business and user objectives. 

Develop

In this phase, the UX designer takes the problem to be solved, along with business and user goals, and explores all the possible solutions to meet both user and business goals. 

Deliver

Once designs have been iterated upon based on feedback obtained during user testing, the product or service is finalized and launched to market.

The Double Diamond design method is all about asking basic questions about a project, its goals, and the current market to help UX designers be more informed when it comes to defining the problem.

In the following exercise I created a list of possible problems, description of possible solutions, crafted a problem statement, and then started exploring potential solutions.