🔍3 UNDERSTAND: What is happening now, and why?

Explore the current situation through research and observation. Uncover the needs, behaviours, and pain points of users and stakeholders.

1. Why this step matters

Before solving a problem, we need to understand what’s really happening—and why. Too often, teams rush to fix a surface issue without seeing the full picture. This step helps you uncover the lived experiences, behaviours, and underlying systems shaping today’s reality. By listening, observing and investigating with curiosity, you build the foundation for more relevant, effective and human-centred solutions.

2. What this step helps you do

• Understand how users currently experience the service or problem

• Identify pain points, workarounds, unmet needs and constraints

• Spot patterns, assumptions and systemic factors that influence the current state

3. How to approach it

Go beyond opinions and assumptions. Spend time with people—observe what they do, listen to what they say, and reflect on what that tells you. Before you start, write down what you think is true about your users and the service. Then use interviews and observations to see where your assumptions are right, and where they might be wrong. Stay open to being surprised: you may discover the problem isn’t what you thought. This helps you design with people, not just for them.

4. Suggested tools

Tool	Outputs
Discovery Planning Canvas	A plan for why, how, where and with whom to conduct research.
Interview Guide	A structured but flexible set of questions to explore people’s experiences.
Observation Notes	Records of what you see and hear in real-world contexts.
Persona Canvas	A composite profile of a key user type, based on real insights.
Today’s Journey / Process	A visual map of the current user or operational experience.

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Share your thoughts 💭

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