In the Design Thinking framework, what does the 'Define' stage involve?

The 'Define' stage in the Design Thinking framework is crucial because it involves articulating the users' needs and problems based on the insights gathered in the previous stage. During this phase, teams synthesize the information collected from the research on users' experiences and challenges to clearly define the problem statement. This clarity helps ensure that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the issue at hand and sets the direction for subsequent stages of the design process.

By focusing on stating users' needs and problems, teams can identify the key pain points that require innovative solutions, enabling a targeted approach in the later stages of ideation, prototyping, and testing. Successfully defining the problem ensures that efforts are aligned with actual user needs, which is fundamental to the effectiveness of the Design Thinking process.