Often the most valued stage in companies, where “stuff gets done”. The team has developers aligned to ship the features and the products. Output is tangible: parts, screens, code, assembly, shipment, etc. Definition of quality is the highest and most predictable.
Most often a business case, but it can be a case for impact. At this stage, we have defined what needs to be delivered: the requirements, and why: the signals validated during discovery. We have also defined how: time & resources.
Now that the experience has been defined, its materiality needs to be crafted. As the saying goes: “The devil is in the Details”. There are a lot of decisions to be taken in this stage. What’s the best way to deliver this user flow? This material? What’s the best shape, visual, font, colour to convey emotion and meaning when interacting with the product? What’s the optimal ergonomic solution? How do we choose and apply design principles?
If the previous stages were well run and documented, delivery should be smooth and minor adjustments easy and natural. Cross-functional collaboration need to be optimum. NIH syndrome and silos have no place here. A lot of innovation towards efficiency will happen: optimisation of the production tool (design system, mould…). The most important milestone is the launch and shipment of the product.