Finding The Story
My first phase is simple: talk to users. I dive deep into their world to uncover their biggest pain points, frustrations, and unmet needs. I make insights memorable (and actually fun), by transforming interviews into 'Popcorn Time' - A complete 'movie' with real quotes, visuals, and a narrative that brings user pain points to life. We simply grab some popcorn, dim the lights, and hit play on the big screen.
Popcorn Time ensures that everyone (not just product) internalises the challenges users face, so our solutions aren’t just based on assumptions, but on real human experiences.
Defining The Problems
I map out the most pressing challenges and run a series of activities such as Impact vs Effort Matrix, Timeboxing, Pain & Gain Graphs, Problem Statements, Newspaper Headlining and Fix it, Build it, Park it to separate nice-to-fix from need-to-fix.
This enables a clear roadmap for action and a shared understanding of what’s worth solving first. This ensures that when we move into design, we’re tackling real, high-value problems, not just guessing what might work.
Design Sprints
I plan high-energy, multi-disciplinary Design Sprints where we tear, rebuild, and test solutions through Affinity Mapping, Assumption Busting, The Worst Idea Ever (Creative Chaos Mode), User Journey Mapping, Story Mapping, Empathy Mapping, Crazy 8s, Lightning Idea Rounds, Solution Funneling, Impact-Effort Matrix, Sketches, Card Sorting and Ideation Stations.
Break Testing
At this stage, I care more about user reactions than pixel perfection. I run Usability Tests, Think-Aloud Sessions, Task-Based Challenges, Reverse Testing, Observation-Only Testing, Red Pen Reviews and try to find all the ways a user can break things so we fix them before launch. If users struggle, I don’t defend my designs, I fix them.
No matter how much we prepare, there’s always something unexpected, an edge case we didn’t anticipate, a workflow that needs tweaking... Launch isn’t the end of the process, it’s the beginning of continuous learning and refinement. Real user feedback and data helps us fine-tune, optimise, and ensure we’re delivering something that not only works, but truly improves digital experiences.
Power to the Problems!