Creative Design Thinking Workflow

last-redoc-date: 2025-09-28

Design Thinking Workflow

Type: Interactive Document Workflow Module: Creative Intelligence System (CIS)

Purpose

Guides human-centered design processes through the complete design thinking methodology: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Creates solutions deeply rooted in user needs by combining empathy-driven research with systematic creative problem-solving.

Distinctive Features

• Phase-Based Structure: Full five-phase design thinking journey from empathy to testing
• Method Library: Curated collection of design methods in design-methods.csv organized by phase
• Context Integration: Accepts design briefs or user research via data attribute
• Facilitation Principles: Guides divergent thinking before convergent action, emphasizes rapid prototyping over discussion

Usage

# Basic invocation
workflow design-thinking

# With project context
workflow design-thinking --data /path/to/product-context.md

Inputs

• design_challenge: Problem or opportunity being explored
• users_stakeholders: Primary users and affected parties
• constraints: Time, budget, technology limitations
• recommended_inputs: Existing research or context documents

Outputs

File: {output_folder}/design-thinking-{date}.md

Structure:

• Design challenge statement and point-of-view
• User insights and empathy mapping
• "How Might We" questions and problem framing
• Generated solution concepts
• Prototype designs and test plans
• Validated learning and iteration roadmap

Workflow Components

• workflow.yaml - Configuration with design_methods CSV reference
• instructions.md - 7-step facilitation guide through design thinking phases
• template.md - Structured output format
• design-methods.csv - Phase-specific design techniques library

Workflow Instructions

Design Thinking Workflow Instructions

The workflow execution engine is governed by: {project_root}/.faos/core/tasks/workflow.xml You MUST have already loaded and processed: {project_root}/.faos/cis/workflows/design-thinking/workflow.yaml Load and understand design methods from: {design_methods} ⚠️ ABSOLUTELY NO TIME ESTIMATES - NEVER mention hours, days, weeks, months, or ANY time-based predictions. AI has fundamentally changed development speed - what once took teams weeks/months can now be done by one person in hours. DO NOT give ANY time estimates whatsoever. ⚠️ CHECKPOINT PROTOCOL: After EVERY tag, you MUST follow workflow.xml substep 2c: SAVE content to file immediately → SHOW checkpoint separator (━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━) → DISPLAY generated content → PRESENT options [a]Advanced Elicitation/[c]Continue/[p]Party-Mode/[y]YOLO → WAIT for user response. Never batch saves or skip checkpoints.

Load any context data provided via the data attribute.

Create a clear design challenge statement.

design_challenge challenge_statement

Review empathy methods from {design_methods} (phase: empathize) and select 3-5 that fit the design challenge context. Consider:

• Available resources and access to users
• Time constraints
• Type of product/service being designed
• Depth of understanding needed

Offer selected methods with guidance on when each works best, then ask which the user has used or can use, or offer a recommendation based on their specific challenge.

Help gather and synthesize user insights:

• What did users say, think, do, and feel?
• What pain points emerged?
• What surprised you?
• What patterns do you see?

user_insights key_observations empathy_map

Transform observations into actionable problem statements.

Guide through problem framing (phase: define methods):

1. Create Point of View statement: "[User type] needs [need] because [insight]"
2. Generate "How Might We" questions that open solution space
3. Identify key insights and opportunity areas

Ask probing questions:

• What's the REAL problem we're solving?
• Why does this matter to users?
• What would success look like for them?
• What assumptions are we making?

pov_statement hmw_questions problem_insights

Review ideation methods from {design_methods} (phase: ideate) and select 3-5 methods appropriate for the context. Consider:

• Group vs individual ideation
• Time available
• Problem complexity
• Team creativity comfort level

Offer selected methods with brief descriptions of when each works best.

Walk through chosen method(s):

• Generate 15-30 ideas minimum
• Build on others' ideas
• Go for wild and practical
• Defer judgment

Help cluster and select top concepts:

• Which ideas excite you most?
• Which address the core user need?
• Which are feasible given constraints?
• Select 2-3 to prototype

ideation_methods generated_ideas top_concepts

Guide creation of low-fidelity prototypes for testing. Explain in your own voice why rough and quick prototypes are better than polished ones at this stage.

Review prototyping methods from {design_methods} (phase: prototype) and select 2-4 appropriate for the solution type. Consider:

• Physical vs digital product
• Service vs product
• Available materials and tools
• What needs to be tested

Offer selected methods with guidance on fit.

Help define prototype:

• What's the minimum to test your assumptions?
• What are you trying to learn?
• What should users be able to do?
• What can you fake vs build?

prototype_approach prototype_description features_to_test

Help plan testing (phase: test methods):

• Who will you test with? (aim for 5-7 users)
• What tasks will they attempt?
• What questions will you ask?
• How will you capture feedback?

Guide feedback collection:

• What worked well?
• Where did they struggle?
• What surprised them (and you)?
• What questions arose?
• What would they change?

Synthesize learnings:

• What assumptions were validated/invalidated?
• What needs to change?
• What should stay?
• What new insights emerged?

testing_plan user_feedback key_learnings

Define clear next steps and success criteria.

Based on testing insights:

• What refinements are needed?
• What's the priority action?
• Who needs to be involved?
• What timeline makes sense?
• How will you measure success?

Determine next cycle:

• Do you need more empathy work?
• Should you reframe the problem?
• Ready to refine prototype?
• Time to pilot with real users?

refinements action_items success_metrics

Output Template

Design Thinking Session: {{project_name}}

Date: {{date}} Facilitator: {{user_name}} Design Challenge: {{design_challenge}}

🎯 Design Challenge

{{challenge_statement}}

👥 EMPATHIZE: Understanding Users

User Insights

{{user_insights}}

Key Observations

{{key_observations}}

Empathy Map Summary

{{empathy_map}}

🎨 DEFINE: Frame the Problem

Point of View Statement

{{pov_statement}}

How Might We Questions

{{hmw_questions}}

Key Insights

{{problem_insights}}

💡 IDEATE: Generate Solutions

Selected Methods

{{ideation_methods}}

Generated Ideas

{{generated_ideas}}

Top Concepts

{{top_concepts}}

🛠️ PROTOTYPE: Make Ideas Tangible

Prototype Approach

{{prototype_approach}}

Prototype Description

{{prototype_description}}

Key Features to Test

{{features_to_test}}

✅ TEST: Validate with Users

Testing Plan

{{testing_plan}}

User Feedback

{{user_feedback}}

Key Learnings

{{key_learnings}}

🚀 Next Steps

Refinements Needed

{{refinements}}

Action Items

{{action_items}}

Success Metrics

{{success_metrics}}

Generated using BMAD Creative Intelligence Suite - Design Thinking Workflow