Double Diamond in Project Management

Developed by Jacopo Renzi

Abstract

Every company could have its own method to face the process behind the design of a new product or for solving a problem but it has been observed that all firms go through the same steps when they have to think, design or solve and this is the reason why Design Council developed and launched the Double Diamond in 2005.

The Double Diamond is a model which aims to let design teams visualise the main steps they have to follow in order to achieve the best result in the best possible way. Richard Eisermann, Design Council’s Director of Design and Innovation at the time, together with his team decided to extrapolate a model which described the stages behind design processes. From an analysis of previous Design Council’s works, it came up that all firms followed a similar, if not the same, procedure and the Double Diamond model gathers all moves in four principal phases: discover, define, develop and deliver.

The scope was to “create something that would be applicable in any field”, and despite its recent introduction into the process design market, that is why it is widely utilised because thanks to its adaptability it can be used whether you have to develop a new product or you have to face a problem. The Double Diamond model has to be seen like a guideline for the project manager who has to plan, coordinate and assess the project’s activities understanding and evaluating possible dangers and problems for the purpose of successfully conclude the project respecting time, performance and cost.

This article aims to be a useful tool even for people who don’t know about this model because it gives them a full overview and some practical examples and also for people who already know about it but it could be a brief reading for getting some inspiration on how to implemented it in their projects.

The basis idea

In 2003 Design Council was focused on the importance of the adoption of a strategic approach to design and how much significant was the design management. Richard Eisermann had just started his new position at the company when he asked his team to describe what design process is. They had regular meetings during which they were sharing their respective researches on the design methods used across the organisation’s previous works in order to elaborate and design an adaptable structure that could fit all methods.

Richard came across the basis concept of the Double Diamond years before, in particular he remembered that "Dave Duncanson, an engineer at IDEO, talked to me about the product development process as being like the classic diamond-shaped kite, with a tail composed of progressively smaller diamonds. […]"[2]. So, the idea of divergent and convergent diagrams had already been founded although it did not have a name yet.

The model

As the name can suggest, the Double Diamond’s graphic represents two connected diamond shapes which aim to guide designers, engineers and project managers through the process starting from an initial challenge or problem to the best final solution.

There are two main partitions, one between the two diamonds and the other is a sub-division of each diamonds. From the external division you can notice how the model emphasize the initial challenge or problem on the far left, then the final solution is on the far right and the middle breaking point is where the design brief occurs. Anna White, one of the people behind the Double Diamond, said: “For me the first part of the diamond is about questioning the brief and defining the problem statement. I explain it as ‘designing the right thing’. The second part of the diamond is about exploring possibility, iteration, testing and developing, so ‘designing the thing right’.”[3]

Moreover, each diamond’s sub-division brings to the four main stages of the model: discover, define, develop and deliver. The idea behind the diamond-kite shape is that you start from a specific point, then you have to space and consider numerous different alternatives and at the end only one will be chosen. This explains the divergent and convergent trend of the diagram that reflects what happens in real design processes.