Design Compass® setting

Team ahead 2, customer behind 1

The team is two steps ahead of the stage: the answer was chosen before any research. Reopen those calls as assumptions. The work looks a step behind what customers have reached: it fixes friction without asking what they would value.

The five questions for this setting

  1. 1. Plan

    When planning, what have we decided about what customers desire?

    Distance from home: Team +2, Customer +4

    Read "decided" as "decided to act on": the team's call about what to do, not a choice made for anyone else.

  2. 2. Research

    With research, what have we agreed about what customers overlook?

    Distance from home: Team +2, Customer -1

    Methods that help you find out

  3. 3. Design

    When designing, what have we tracked about what customers avoid?

    Distance from home: Team +2, Customer -1

  4. 4. Test

    When testing, what have we assumed about what customers accept?

    Distance from home: Team -3, Customer -1

    Methods that help you find out

  5. 5. Embed

    When embedding, what have we learned about what customers value?

    Distance from home: Team -3, Customer -1

See where you really stand

Answer a question for each stage and we'll suggest methods that turn guesses into evidence.

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All 25 Design Compass® settings