Most of us are familiar with the Double Diamond…

It’s a trusted and true method that has guided us through the complex landscape of problem-solving and innovation. For years, I’ve relied on it, referenced it, and explained its principles. Yet, despite its effectiveness, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.

That’s why I’d like to introduce you to the Quadruple Diamond — an evolution of the Double Diamond methodology. Think of it as an expansion pack, designed to delve deeper into the complexities of problem-solving and innovation.

End to End Quadruple Diamond

While the Double Diamond has served us well, the Quadruple Diamond takes things a step further. Rather than squeezing divergent tasks into convergent areas, the Quadruple Diamond offers ample room for exploration and refinement. It’s about creating a home for every aspect of the journey, ensuring that nothing gets left out because it doesn’t fit into the space provided.

Additionally, instead of using quadrants, we embrace the concept of Octants.

About the Quadruple Diamond

The Quadruple Diamond is divided into four phases, each with its own divergent (where ideas are generated, explored, and expanded upon) and convergent (where ideas are narrowed down, refined, and consolidated) sides, called Octants.

The Four Diamond phases are:

1. Framing the Universe

2. Designing the Right Thing

3. Designing the Thing Right

4. Delivering the Right Thing

1. Framing the Universe

This diamond represents the foundational phase of the process, where the focus is on understanding the entire universe of a company or perhaps just a part of it — a (solar) system.

Exploration (Octant 1)

During this phase, we explore goals, opportunities, objectives, blockers, drivers, and people involved.

As an example, during this phase, you might identify various challenges such as a company losing customers due to a complicated ordering system, employee dissatisfaction with work hour flexibility, communication gaps between departments, and the need for more sustainable practices in the supply chain. While all these issues are important, addressing them simultaneously may not be feasible due to financial limitations and potential impacts on other areas. Prioritising these findings and identifying what is important to the client’s objectives becomes essential…let’s go to North Stars and Roadmaps.

Possible Activities:

Retrospective, Lean Business Canvas, SWOT Analysis, Landscape Mapping, Stakeholder Mapping, User Persona Mapping, Value Proposition Canvas, Empathy Mapping.

North Star Identification (Octant 2)

In this phase, we identify the North Star and develop the roadmap required to reach it. To do this, we group all the findings, play them back to the client, and find out what opportunity is the most important to them — their North Star. The things that need to be resolved before the North Star can be reached become the roadmap.

For example, ‘Enhancing Customer Experience’ might be the client’s main priority (North Star), and to achieve this, we might want to improve a pain point such as a bad user interface, streamline an ineffective customer service process, and/or digitise a cumbersome offline activity. These tasks can become your roadmap to success.

Possible Activities:

Affinity Mapping, Insight Synthesis, How Might We (HMW), Prioritisation Matrix, Voting or Dotmocracy, Impact-Effort Matrix, Roadmaps.

3. Designing the Thing Right

This phase of the process focuses on designing the thing right. Through exploration and collaboration, we can create multiple options that can be tested and validated. This is the final gate; after this point, it becomes more difficult to make changes.

Ideation and Prototyping (Octant 5)

Most designers are familiar with this phase of the process, where creativity flourishes and ideas begin to take shape. While many of us are eager to dive into design tools like Figma, there are numerous collaborative brainstorming activities that we can do with our SMEs, Product Owners, Customers, and Stakeholders before we dive into building wireframes and visual designs. This is a Divergent Octant, so you really want to take the time to explore all the possible options instead of visually designing one idea in a silo.

During this phase, you will of course create wireframes and prototypes for testing. It’s important to generate a variety of options for testing purposes. In the next phase, it’s not just about testing whether our one idea is good, but rather, determining if it’s the best among all the ideas we have discovered.

As ideas materialise, discussions of feasibility with the development team will also commence. There is no point in validating an idea if it’s not feasible within the constraints of time or budget.

Possible Activities:

Design studio workshops, Worst possible idea, Co-design sessions, Wire-framing, Usability, Desirability and Feasibility Reviews, High Fidelity Design, 5 Ws and H, Crazy 8s, Creative Design Thinking exercises.

Concept Validation (Octant 6)

During this phase, we test our ideas not only to assess their user-friendliness but also to determine if they align with the goals we set up in our Benchmarking and Impact Matrix. If our objective was to enhance a service by 15 minutes, we want to make sure that this is achieved. This is where we are held accountable for the work we’ve created. If the timing doesn’t meet our targets, we revisit the Ideation and Prototyping phases until we achieve the desired outcome.

Although the process may seem linear, the Quadruple Diamond is inherently iterative. It is particularly so during this stage, where ideas fluidly transition between ‘Ideation’ and ‘Validation’ until the desired outcome is achieved. Don’t move into the ‘Delivering the Right Thing’ phase until you have achieved your goals.

Possible Activities:

To measure success, there are a range of qualitative and quantitative research techniques, including AB testing, usability testing, analytics review, shadowing, and surveys.

2. Designing the Right Thing

The Diamond is about selecting the right thing to design. We drill down and uncover what is the thing that will give the best return.

Targeted Expansion (Octant 3)

Now that you have a North Star and a problem to tackle, it’s time to start investigating. During this phase, we deep dive into the problem space. For example, if we are trying to understand why a ‘Customer Service Process’ is ineffective, we might create a service design blueprint, interview a few customers, analyse some analytics, shadow some salespeople, and/or examine how competitors are handling similar processes. Using primary and secondary research techniques, we can get to the root of most problems and opportunities.

During this stage, we can also start to identify benchmarks to improve upon. For instance, if it takes 20 minutes to complete an order, we might want to reduce that to 5 minutes. To achieve this, we need to understand the types of things that need to be done for this to occur.

Possible Activities:

Customer Interviews, Analytics Analysis, Service Design Blueprint, Competitive Analysis, Shadowing, Persona Development, Storyboarding, Customer Journey Mapping, SCAMPER.

Setting the Course (Octant 4)

After Solution Discovery, we’ll have a plethora of actions that can help the client reach their North Star. However, determining which ones to tackle first is crucial, as they can’t all be addressed simultaneously. Identifying the Minimal Viable Product(s) is essential. A useful approach is to organise ideas through techniques like affinity mapping, evaluating them using an Impact-Effort Matrix, and then Voting on what matters and what aligns to the North Star.

In this context, “Impact” refers to the potential benefits that each action or feature can deliver, while “Effort” refers to the level of difficulty in building a feature or the amount of red tape that needs to be navigated. It’s important to recognise that both impact and effort are subjective terms, varying based on perspectives and circumstances. The most effective approach is to present the research in an unbiased manner and allow the Product Owner to determine what is important to them.

Possible Activities:

Affinity Mapping, Insight Synthesis, How Might We (HMW), Prioritisation Matrix, Voting or Dotmocracy, Impact-Effort Matrix, Roadmaps.

4. Delivering the Right Thing

This phase is about delivering the thing right. We build thin vertical slices of features, validating released features early and often. We report back when adjustments, complete changes, or retirements are necessary. RIP bad idea.

Development and Deployment (Octant 7)

This is where we start building our validated ideas. There is still a lot of work to be done for designers during this phase. We support development by providing estimation, crafting (design elements only) user stories, refining interaction design, preparing design briefs, and conducting design reviews. We need to stay connected with the development team just in case the designs need to pivot during the build phase. We need to make changes to the designs and then assess if further testing is needed. For instance, if a minor adjustment, such as curving an edge instead of keeping it squared, is made, retesting may not be necessary. However, if significant changes, such as removing entire steps due to feasibility issues, are required, it may be necessary to revisit the ‘Ideation and Validation’ phase for reassessment.

Possible Activities:

• Support Development by Providing Estimation

• Crafting (Design Elements Only) User Stories

• Refining Interaction Design

• Preparing Design Briefs

• Conducting Design Reviews

Value Realisation (Octant 8)

During this phase, we assess if we’ve achieved our goals in real-time. We are not looking for perfection, and we expect to encounter adjustments, complete changes, or retirements. What matters is learning from these insights, reporting them, and then going through the process again. Most digital products and services undergo multiple iterations, and that’s how they grow and evolve. That’s why Design Roadmaps are crucial. Planning the entire journey and envisioning the evolution of products and services is important, knowing that sometimes we may need to take a step back to go two steps forward.

Possible Activities:

• Reporting

• Assessments

• Benchmarking

• Surveys

In conclusion, the Quadruple Diamond is an enhanced approach that embraces the complexity of modern problem-solving. It provides a structured yet flexible framework for navigating the various stages of design and development. It acknowledges that each phase is important, and every octant has its role to play. By adopting this methodology, we can ensure a comprehensive and thorough process, leading to better outcomes for our clients and their customers.