FIT4005 Chap.11 Discovering and Defining Design Problems
Discovering and Defining Design Problems
Week 11 introduces design methods and the first half of the Double Diamond. Design is presented as intentional problem solving rather than decoration, shaped by constraints and by people, and present at every layer of IT from interfaces to services.
The chapter contrasts research, which gathers evidence to understand reality, with design, which gathers evidence to improve it, and shows how the same method plays different roles in each. Discover widens understanding through immersion, extreme users and observation in context.
Define narrows to an actionable problem statement that aligns user needs, organisational goals and technical feasibility, using affinity clustering and the 5 Whys to move from symptoms to root causes and avoid solutioneering.
The week also explains why design and research need each other. In research, a user interview collects data; in design, it builds empathy.
In research, a prototype is an experiment; in design, it is a sketch of a possible future. The rigour of research makes design decisions more defensible and more ethical, while design keeps research connected to real problems people want solved.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Design as intentional problem solving
- 02
Human-centred design and its ethics
- 03
Research versus design
- 04
The Double Diamond
- 05
Discover: immersion, extremes and context
- 06
Define: aligning needs, goals and feasibility
- 07
Affinity clustering and the 5 Whys
- 08
Insights that are true, actionable and surprising
Worked example · free
Run the 5 Whys on a recurring complaint
- +1Why do jobs fail? Printers report paper jams at peak times.
- +1Why at peak times? Students print large files just before class from one central printer.
- +1Why one printer? The system routes every job to the default device, and students do not know others exist.
- +1Root cause and statement: students need to find and choose an available printer quickly at peak times, so that urgent jobs finish before class.
Key terms
- Solutioneering
- Rushing into building a solution before the problem has been properly framed.
- Design thinking
- A human-centred approach that understands needs, generates ideas creatively and tests solutions iteratively.
- Extreme users
- People with amplified needs whose experiences reveal issues typical users only partly feel.
- Affinity diagram
- A clustering of individual observations into groups that reveal shared themes.
- Five whys
- A technique that repeatedly asks why a problem occurs to move from symptom to root cause.
Discovering and Defining Design Problems FAQ
How is design different from research in this unit?
The Week 11 lecture says research gathers evidence to understand reality and asks what is happening and why, while design gathers evidence to improve reality and asks what could happen and how. Each depends on iteration, feedback and evidence.
What happens in the Define phase?
Define turns raw evidence into a clear, actionable problem statement. It aligns user needs, organisational goals and technical feasibility, and the week names affinity diagramming and the 5 Whys as tools for organising insights and finding root causes.
Why involve extreme users?
People with amplified needs often reveal issues others feel only slightly. The lecture's example is an insulin pump informed by a diabetic runner and by a user with combined sight and hearing loss.
What makes a good insight?
The Week 11 slides test each synthesised insight against three criteria: it should be true, actionable and surprising. An insight that restates the obvious gives the design team nothing new to act on.
What does solutioneering mean?
It is the unit's term for rushing into building a solution before the problem is properly framed. The Define phase guards against it by turning raw observations into a clear, actionable problem statement that aligns user needs, organisational goals and technical feasibility.
How is design research different from market research?
The Week 11 slides contrast them: market research tests or improves existing products, focuses on explicit needs, uses controlled settings and large groups, while design research seeks new ideas, uncovers latent needs, visits natural contexts and learns from extreme users.
Assessment move
Practise turning complaints into problem statements. Take a frustrating system you use, gather a few observations from friends, cluster them, and ask why repeatedly until you reach a cause the organisation could change. Write the statement so it names the users, the need and the outcome without naming a solution.
Keep the research versus design contrast in view, since quiz items and Assignment 2 both reward knowing which mode a method is serving. Collect three observations from real users before you write any problem statement, and keep the solution out of the statement itself.
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