Design thinking seeks to discover and solve the actual problem

Good designers do not start by trying to solve the given problem immediately. Instead, they seek to understand the real issues in order to solve the actual problem. They do so by diverging from the initial problem, studying people, and generating multiple ideas. Designers use methods like human-centered design and the double-diamond model, which involve identifying the root issue and exploring a wide range of potential solutions before converging on a final proposal. This process is known as design thinking.

Good designers never start by trying to solve the problem given to them: they start by trying to understand what the real issues are. As a result, rather than converge upon a solution, they diverge, studying people and what they are trying to accomplish, generating idea after idea after idea. It drives managers crazy. Managers want to see progress: designers seem to be going backward when they are given a precise problem and instead of getting to work, they ignore it and generate new issues to consider, new directions to explore. And not just one, but many. What is going on?
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Designers resist the temptation to jump immediately to a solution for the stated problem. Instead, they first spend time determining what basic, fundamental (root) issue needs to be addressed. They don’t try to search for a solution until they have determined the real problem, and even then, instead of solving that problem, they stop to consider a wide range of potential solutions. Only then will they finally converge upon their proposal. This process is called design thinking. … Two of the powerful tools of design thinking are human-centered design and the double-diamond diverge-converge model of design.^[1]

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