You got hired as a UX or a product designer, but something doesn't feel right.

There's never enough time to talk to customers. Instead of satisfying customer needs, you spend all of your time satisfying the product manager.

As time goes on, you get pushed further and further towards the end of projects. As the deadlines get shorter, the list of "required" screens grows.

You wonder if the only reason you have a job is because you know Figma, and your product manger doesn't.

You feel under-challenged and overworked. What's happening here?

You, my friend, are stuck in the Delivery Trap.

Many companies think of design as a delivery phase, especially in the agency world. These companies may sell you on the idea of user-centered design but when the job starts, it's all about output...not customer outcomes.

Design should never be a phase.

Design isn't gold plating you can add to the end of a project. It's not a workshop you can run with your team. It's an end-to-end process that turns customer insights into valuable experiences.

If you're a UX or a product designer, you literally cannot do your job if you're stuck in the delivery phase. You need to start at the beginning with the customer.

But how do you communicate that?

Problem Work

One of the easiest ways to communicate end-to-end design is to talk about the design work in two domains: problem work AND solution work.

This split makes it easier to communicate the non-obvious part of design: the problem work.

Problem work is all about exploring and understanding the problem from the customer's perspective. The learnings from this type of work frame and shape the solution work that comes later.

Problem work looks like this:

• Uncovering existing data on the problem
• Running research with customers to discover problems
• Analyzing customer data to find root causes
• Synthesizing research data to create new understanding
• Checking the company's assumptions about the customer's experience

Many of these activities will not seem like design activities to your colleagues, but that's ok. Problem work only hit the mainstream for design in the early 2000s. Be patient with colleagues that don't get it yet.

Solution Work

Non-designers usually get solution work, but even solution work can be misunderstood.

Solution work should look like this:

• Iterating on different ways to solve a problem
• Testing different approaches with customers
• Working with engineers to design feasible solutions
• Adapting solutions to fit the company's business model
• Designing experiences that are usable and seamless
• Designing things that are pleasing to use

Solution activities shouldn't include too much focus on how things look. If all you get is feedback about aesthetics, you might be stuck in the delivery trap.

A Guide to Design for Non-Designers

The misconceptions about design are abundant, and communicating the true nature of design takes up more time than it should.

That's where a framework comes in handy. It allows you to show, not just tell.

A useful framework for communicating the full design process is the Double Diamond Design Process. The Double Diamond's emphasis on the four phases of design will help your colleagues understand that you can do more than delivery.

Next time you run into a colleague that thinks designers should only deliver solutions, send them this article:

It might wake them up to the power of modern design, and hopefully they will understand what you're capable of.

View the Guide

Until next week, communicate your process clearly and confidently.

-Jeff Humble

Designer & Co-Founder of the Fountain Institute

P.S. If you're a designer stuck in the Delivery Trap at a startup, watch this video by John Cutler.