Make to learn
Put the design in design research. Design is giving form to your ideas, which allows you to quickly learn, reflect, and iterate. By testing your ideas, you provide forward motion through the Loop and create momentum within the team.
Make with your hands
What is the lowest fidelity that communicates intent and can elicit feedback from your users? Depending on your goals and the stage in the project, this can range from a low-fidelity paper prototype to a high-fidelity interactive prototype. Invite your users to make with your team.
Consider others
At the end of the day, a real person will use what you make. Consider their needs, their environment, and the not-so-obvious impact of your ideas. How many people might it affect, and would it be a positive or negative outcome for those individuals?
Measure success
Start with the end in mind. How will your users measure success? Make sure to address both utility and emotion when you build. Start with the basic metrics of usable, useful, and desirable. Consistently measure your product or service’s experiences. Build upon these metrics to ensure your user experiences are continually improving.
Never stop learning
Test early and often. There are low-impact methods of making and testing as a team, such as an A/B testing, a service prototype, or a pilot. Perfect is the enemy of done. In order to test your experience in its true context, you have to ultimately release the offering.