5 useful design methods & frameworks for your design journey
Crazy 8’s, Jobs to Be Done, 5 WHY’s, Lean Value Canvas, Three Horizons.
There are many different Design methodologies & frameworks. Teams regularly discuss and often force-fit Design Thinking, Design Sprints & Agile as solutions to Innovation or Product Design challenges with no thought as to why. When looking into each framework they aren’t always clear on the best use-case for each and leave many aspects open to interpretation.
Here are the top 5 that I found super useful in my design journey. Enjoy!
Crazy 8's
Crazy 8’s is my favourite method. It’s fun, it unleashes creativity and makes you think outside the box!
If you’re from the tech industry, it’s likely that you’ve heard the phrase Crazy 8’s. Even if you didn’t know it before, now I’m assuming you have a rough idea of what that might be. So what on earth is crazy 8's? It’s simply a method where you gather your teammates and sketch 8 different ideas on a piece of paper that’s folded into 8 rectangles. Each rectangle is dedicated to a different idea.
Crazy 8’s is a core Design Sprint Method developed by Google. It is a fast sketching method that allows you to think outside the box in practice. It’s super fun and productive too!
How much time does it take?
Each member has 8 minutes to sketch 8 different solutions.
How do I start?
You should begin with the strongest idea and then create variations to that idea in the remaining boxes.
Recommended tools and apps:
Duco App — it’s a brilliant design sprint app dedicated for a 5-day long sprint!
Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD)
Jobs to be done is a framework to help us designers come up with a solution more effectively. Specifically, JTBD focuses on the motivations and context of the audience. Rather than demographics and professional title.
“People don’t want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.” ~ Theodore Levitt
JTBD is an effective way to consider not just what people are trying to get done, but why. By designing solutions that respond to goals, situations and motivations, we can uncover additional possible solutions that may not have been obvious when designing for a single task or requirement.
By focusing on why a person is solving a problem, we can solve for the immediate problem AND identify additional areas for solutions within the design. In this way, we are more likely to create product features that solve that main need as best as possible.
Why you should use Jobs to be Done?
Users usually know what they want, but don’t care that much about how to get it. They’re usually lazy (as we all are) and want a solution delivered on a plate right in front of them. It’s our jobs as designers to satisfy their needs and create a seamless user experience without bothering them with the process as to how to get what they want.
Download The Jobs-To-Be-Done Canvas
The canvas can be downloaded in multiple formats. You will not be required to enter any data — the links go directly to the canvas.
Download the Jobs-To-Be-Done Canvas in .pdf format.
Enjoy!
5 WHY’s
5 why’s is very useful and rather annoying (for the person that answers) interrogative technique used to explore cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem. You can use it for all sorts of problems you have, but it’s most effective for simple or moderately difficult problems.
The origin
The 5 Whys technique was developed and fine-tuned within the Toyota Motor Corporation as a critical component of its problem-solving training.
Here’s an example Toyota offers of a potential 5 Whys that might be used at one of their plants.
Today, the method is used far beyond Toyota, and it’s particularly popular in the world of lean development and research. A lot of what we know at Buffer in implementing the 5 Whys has come from The Lean Startup‘s Eric Ries, who does an amazing job describing the 5 Why’s in these two posts.
This simple technique is great because it can direct you quickly to the root of the problem. So whenever you’re stuck, give this method a go before you embark on a more in-depth approach — and certainly before you attempt to develop a solution.
Lean Value Canvas (LVS)
Lean Value Canvas (LVS) is a very useful tool, especially for start-ups to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of their business model. It is a one-page document consisting of 8 boxes to be filled in.
Imagine, you have an amazing idea for an app feature or a band new exciting start-up idea. How can you verify your product idea before investing a lot of time and effort into shaping a business plan? That’s where Lean Value Canvas comes in! It’s designed to mitigate risks and uncertainty associated with the product inception.
Let’s go over the Uber example together and analyse how they filled in their ride-sharing app right when it was getting off the ground.
Lean Value Canvas Example — Uber
Remember, that LVC will and needs to be changed once you receive new feedback from your customers. It’s common for start-ups to test various hypotheses. Some of them get confirmed, some don’t. Make sure you adjust your LVC according to the facts and not to your wishes.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvIN9STpzCQ
Useful resources:
⬇️ Download lean canvas template pdf
⬇️ Download lean canvas example pdf
read -> Lean Canvas Examples of Multi-Billion Startups
Three Horizons
Three Horizons Framework is a great tool for thinking about transformation and how to bring it about. It doesn’t necessarily give answers, but it allows for a far more nuanced conversation. It brings out new insights and allows people to disagree that bring up more interesting arguments.
‘Three Horizons thinking’ is an effective method for making sense of and facilitating cultural transformation and exploring innovation and wise action in the face of uncertainty and not-knowing.
It consists of 3 qualities of the future, visible in the present. The three horizons in-play offer insights into possible future.
H1 is business as usual
The dominant way of doing things today. It’s usually good for now, but it will decline over time.
Example Question:
What is dying and how can we help it to let go and leave well?
H2 is the arena of disruptive innovation.
It can take many forms. New technology like AR, an election or vote like Brexit, an earthquake, like Hurricane Katrina.
Example Question:
What is being disruptive and how can it be harnessed?
H3 is the future we want
The seeds of that future are present and visible today. They will grow until they become the predominant way of doing things. It’s aimed to replace and improve old horizon 1.
Example Question:
What is being born and how can we help it to arrive well?
For instance, when we combine H1 (finance and business models)+H2 (disruptive technology), we will get something like Uber.
Learn more:
Three Horizons Framework — a quick introduction
The Three Horizons of innovation and culture change
Want to learn more?
If you’d like to become an expert in UX Design, Design Thinking, UI Design, or another related design topic, then consider to take an online UX course from the Interaction Design Foundation. For example, Design Thinking, Become a UX Designer from Scratch, Conducting Usability Testing or User Research — Methods and Best Practices. Good luck on your learning journey!
Hope you found this article useful. Let me know you got to the end of the article by leaving a comment or a clap, and letting me know what other frameworks you find useful!
I’m a Senior Product Designer based in London. You can book a 1:1 time with me for a portfolio review or to get more advice on breaking into UX/UI!
For more info, check out my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/nicolaguzowska.
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Love,
Nicola
