The Double Diamond design model has been around since it was officially invented by the British Design Council, back in 2005.

The official Double Diamond design model has four stages: Discovery, Definition, Development and Delivery.

The Council notes that successful companies tended to get their designers closely involved in the research process, bringing the design team face-to-face with users.

Starbucks makes for a great example: company policy dictates that any designer is to spend a month working as a barista in any of their venues before designing anything.

passing on all your findings can lead to focusing on irrelevant data, increasing the chance of failure in the design.

In short, the definition stage of the Double Diamond model represents a filtering of the ideas and data taken from stage one. It also sets  the context for product development, assesses the realism of what can be done and analyzes how this project agrees with the corporate brand.

By having different departments participate in the design process, you ensure that less prototypes are needed and that less problems are discovered with testing.

Microsoft’s philosophy is that designers should “eat their own dog food” – which means designers are to use their own creations in their work, so they can be in the user’s shoes. That means it’s important to have a professional tool that allows you to make design changes quickly and efficiently.