The Double Diamond Approach to Service Design
Part of: Promise Design Tools
The Double Diamond Approach is a proven model for Service Design.
It’s used by people in the public, private and third sectors as a way to find solutions which actually work for people who use and deliver services.
It shows us that a good design process explores a problem widely before it focuses in on a solution.
And it shows us that design isn’t a linear experience.
The model focuses on gathering and exploring evidence to make sure you're designing the right thing— a problem you clearly and collaboratively understand.
Through exploring ideas and gathering feedback, you can then be confident you’re designing the thing right— making that solution as good as it can be.
A Double Diamond approach with co-design at its heart
The Promise Design Tools are based on The Scottish Approach to Service Design , which uses the Double Diamond approach.
This Approach takes steps to embed the principles of co-design into service design— so that the people who work in a service can redesign it alongside the people the service is for.
Some of the principles of service design are that:
- it places the voice and needs of people at the centre, and
- it’s a collaborative, iterative process.
This makes it a valuable approach in helping achieve the change that’s set out in the promise.
More about the Double Diamond
The Double Diamond is split into four different sections:
- Discover and Define, which help your team to design the right thing
- Develop and Deliver, which help them to design that thing right.
Before beginning to use the Double Diamond, your team might want to use the Team Check-In tool.
A really important principle to remember is that this is not a linear process. Throughout this approach you will be learning, testing and revisiting what you’ve already done.
Discover
To make sure you’re designing the right thing, you first need to understand the problem you’re trying to solve.
What might a birds-eye view of that problem look like?
And what might it look like to the people it impacts— to service users, or to the people who work for them?
Design Tools used to Discover
- What’s The Problem— a short, interactive course exploring complex challenges
- Overall Problem Statement
- Individual User Needs Statements
Top tip
When you go through a discovery process for the first time, you might find you need more data before you fully understand the problem.
When you get more data from later stages, you may want to come back to this section.
Define
Once you understand the challenges that people are having, you can start to pin down the problem which you’re trying to solve.
What’s within your power to do, and what are people actually struggling with?
Is the problem what you originally thought it was, and does your team agree on its definition?
Design Tools used to Define
- Problem Re-Framing
- Problem Scope
- Stakeholder and co-designers map
- Knowledge Board
- Empathy Map
- Journey Mapping Planner
- Journey Map
- Co-Design Team Map
Top tip
This is a common point where everything might feel messy. Don’t worry— that’s very normal!
Develop
During this phase you will be exploring ideas to test.
Who is helping you to develop ideas? Have you got a diverse team?
And how will you prioritise what to test?
Design Tools used to Develop
- "How Might We...?"
- Idea Development
- Impact Feasibility Matrix
Top tip
You might feel you have great ideas to try, but be aware that testing is not about proving you right. It’s about learning and improving— or starting again!
Deliver
At this point you’ll have lots more evidence, clarity of thinking and ideas than you started with. But without testing, you won’t know whether to invest more resource in making them real.
Creating a simple prototype is a quicker, more rigorous way to learn and improve than launching a full pilot too soon.
What can you test quickly?
Who will help you learn, and help validate your solution?
And assumptions are you making around how your solution is used?
Design Tools used to Deliver
- Prototyping Plan
Top tip
In practice, the design process won’t involve moving smoothly through these four phases— and that’s okay.
You might find your team moves backwards and forwards through them several times as your understanding of a problem evolves.
For example, as you developsolutions to a problem, you may realise you need to defineit again, and discover why your initial definition seems to be wrong.
This is really normal. Most importantly it’s a process which will help make your solution stronger.
Navigating The Double Diamond can be messy
In practice, the design process won’t involve moving smoothly through these four phases— and that’s okay.
You might find your team moves backwards and forwards through them several times as your understanding of a problem evolves.
For example, as you develop solutions to a problem, you may realise you need to define it again, and discover why your initial definition seems to be wrong.
This is really normal. Most importantly, it’s a process which will help make your solution stronger.
Promise Design Tools
The Promise Design Tools use the principles of Service Design to help Scotland in its work to keep the promise.
How to use The Promise Design Tools
Overview of how The Promise Design Tools can be used with a team to drive change.
About the Design School
What the Promise Design School is, and how it supports people in designing services.