How LEGO Doubled Down with Double Diamond
How does a creative company like LEGO begin building a new product?
It all starts as an idea. And then it becomes a design. And finally, a product. But not before going through the design process first. What process should be used? It is best to use one that is flexible and involves creative thoughts and ideas from as many people as possible. A great choice for this model is the Double Diamond Design Process, created by the British Design Council in 2005. The Council investigated how eleven large successful, creative companies used best practices in designing their products. One of these companies was LEGO. Companies such as LEGO have steps like those in the Double Diamond method which they go through when they are in the design process. The following links show additional information about Double Diamond and LEGO:
https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-resources/the-double-diamond/
https://thestrategystory.com/2020/08/17/lego-innovation-strategy/
https://zight.com/blog/double-diamond/
What is the Double Diamond Design Model?
“The Double Diamond is a visual representation of the design and innovation process. It’s a simple way to describe the steps taken in any design and innovation project, irrespective of methods and tools used.” — British Design Council
The Double Diamond design process has four steps to help direct the design process as follows: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. What are these stages all about? And how are they successfully used by LEGO? LEGO has developed a design system, called Design for Business (D4B), and that is the power running its whole innovation process. At its core, D4B is a specific application of the Double Diamond design model. Let’s see how LEGO’s DD4B design process maps across to the steps of the Double Diamond:
Discover
“The first diamond helps people understand, rather than simply assume, what the problem is. It involves speaking to and spending time with people who are affected by the issues.” — British Design Council
LEGO begins its design process by using collaboration in its team approach. In its P0 phase (portfolio kick-off) the business objectives for the project are discovered, which asks the key question: “What are the critical issues that should be solved for product groups/lines across the portfolio?” This process requires about two or three months. In like manner, the first stage of the Double Diamond Design Process helps identify and verbalize the main problem being solved. Successful companies put users at the front of the design process. At this stage, market research and user testing are common and very important to successful results at the end of the process. Designers are also involved in the research process and not only the design process. Open-mindedness is also important to make sure all possible solutions are being generated and considered. Good communication is essential.
Define
“The insight gathered from the discovery phase can help you to define the challenge in a different way.” — British Design Council
In the definition stage the data that was collected is gathered in the previous stage and is used. Findings are presented after filtering it. Customer issues are listed along with the good experiences they are having. By the end of this stage, a budget is created and upper management signs off. In LEGO’s P1 phase (opportunity freeze) the team determines what would create solutions for the items listed in P0 that should be brought into development. The marketers add customer insights and start to define the new product requirements. When LEGO created Mindstorms, they discovered that customers were adding their own modifications, so it used customer inputs to enhance and reshape its product.
Develop
“The second diamond encourages people to give different answers to the clearly defined problem, seeking inspiration from elsewhere and co-designing with a range of different people.” — British Design Council
In the development stage, the product is designed. People from across the company form teams and come together to produce a solution to the requirements that were drawn out during the first two stages. These teams include a diverse group of talented people from engineering, design, product development, and marketing divisions, among others. Testing and feedback are essential during this stage. Prototypes are created. If anything is not working, it is reimagined and reworked. LEGO developed a standard sequence of events for its product development along with frequent reevaluation. In LEGO’s P2 (concept freeze) the team decides how the new concepts fit into the overall business. The design team creates and evaluates concepts. Prototyping of the new product takes place. Profitability is analyzed and market analysis is conducted.
Deliver
“Delivery involves testing out different solutions at small-scale, rejecting those that will not work and improving the ones that will.” — British Design Council
LEGO developed standard processes for the outputs of its design process with the ability to compare projects to aid in decision-making. In P3 (portfolio freeze) the team decides which of the ideas should move forward to become projects. Project requirements are established, including staff, tooling and design costs. The full business case is presented to management for approval. Getting all the way from stage P0 through stage P3 can require up to six months. At the end of the delivery stage, the product is tested to make sure it works the way it is intended. The final version is approved by management before the product is ever launched. Every facet of the product is checked and double-checked. The legal team checks to make sure the product does not violate any laws or regulations.
The Results Are In!
As you can see, LEGO’s design process is very much in line with the Double Diamond methodology. Although LEGO has been around for many years, since 1932, it has had some bad years recently due to intense competition. However, the LEGO D4B process, with its underlying Double Diamond Design Process has been instrumental in LEGO’s business successes in recent years.
