At the Develop stage the project has been taken through a formal sign-off, which has given the corporate and financial backing to the development of one or more concepts that have addressed the initial problem
During our in-depth study of the design process in eleven global brands, we found that Microsoft refer to this process as Implement, while Virgin Atlantic Airways call it Design.
Key activities and objectives during the Develop stage are:
During the Develop stage, the design team, either together with key internal partners (such as engineers, developers, programmers, and marketing teams) or via external design agencies, refine one or more concepts that will address the problems or issues identified during the Discover and Define stages.
Design development methods used here include creative techniques and methods such as brainstorming, visualisation, prototyping, testing and scenarios. The methods and working processes are in many cases similar to those during the Define stage, but are this time focussed on bringing the agreed product or service to fruition.
At the end of the Develop stage, the design process will have brought the product development team to a stage where the product or service is ready for delivery to production.