• All Methods
    • Strategize
      • 5D Framework
      • Break Down 4
      • Business Model Canvas
      • Competitive Analysis
      • Could, Should, Must
      • Dot Coding
      • Eisenhower Matrix
      • Future Trends
      • Golden Circle
      • HEART Framework
      • How Might We
      • Innovation Board
      • Knowns and Unknowns Framework
      • KPI Tracking
      • Minimum Viable Product
      • One-Minute-Pitch
      • Stakeholder Map
      • SWOT Analysis
      • User Stories
      • Value Proposition
    • Observe
      • 5 Whys
      • 6 Thinking Hats
      • AEIOU Framework
      • Challenge Assumptions
      • Content Audit
      • Contextual Inquiry Plan
      • Emotional Journey Map
      • Empathy Map
      • Field Study
      • Focus Groups
      • Jobs-to-be-done
      • Journey Mapping
      • Mental Models
      • Mobile Diaries
      • Mystery Shopping
      • Netnography
      • Observation
      • Personas
      • Poems
      • Product Love Letters
      • Search-Log Analysis
      • Social Media Monitoring
      • Surveys
      • User Interviews
    • Ideate
      • 6-3-5 Brainwriting
      • Bodystorming
      • Brainstorming
      • Card Sorting
      • Collage
      • Crazy Eights
      • Dark Horse Prototyping
      • Mind Mapping
      • Moodboards
      • SCAMPER
      • Service Blueprints
      • Storyboards
      • Walt Disney Method
      • Worst Possible Ideas
      • Wow-How-Now Matrix
    • Validate
      • A/B Testing
      • Click Dummy
      • Concept Testing Plan
      • Eye Tracking
      • High-Fidelity Prototyping
      • Hypothesis Testing
      • Lessons Learned
      • Low-Fidelity Prototyping
      • Pluralistic Walkthrough
      • Poster Session
      • Remote Usability Test
      • User Testing
      • Wizard of Oz
      • World Café
    • Warm-up
      • 5 Whys
      • Brainstorming
      • Break Down 4
      • Crazy Eights
      • Destroy and Defend
      • Emoji Challenge
      • Hidden Similarities
      • Impromotion
      • Mind Mapping
      • Product Pitch
      • The Aliens Have Landed
      • Touch Blue
      • Two Truths and a Lie
      • Viewpoint Spectrogram
      • What's on your Desk?
  • Workshop Bundles
  • About us
  • Meet the Creators
  • Get Support
  1. UX Strategy Kit
  2. Methods
  3. 5D Framework
advancedstrategize
5D FrameworkSolve problems in a structured and focused way by recalling different methods and techniques.
2 days – 4 weeks1 – 10 Participantsbrainstormingcreativeideation
+6
Summary

This method strives to get a problem solved quickly and user-oriented. It really consists of several different techniques from deconstructing the issue to its core to finding and reviewing the best solutions. In the end, this method gives you suggestions and best practices but also the freedom to tailor the process to your specific needs by using respective methods from the UX Strategy Kit. Therefore the depth and thus the time and effort you are investing strongly rely on the complexity of the problem in question. 

Step-by-step
  1. Clearly define the problem that needs to be solved. It is helpful to restate your problem in form of a question. Use the How Might We method to concretize this question iteratively.

  2. There are different ways to examine your problem more closely. One of the most simple yet effective is the 5 Whys method which allows you to deconstruct the problem further with each iteration to find the poodle's core. In the end, you should have collected a variety of issues that form the basis of your defined problem.

  3. Before finding fixes you should seek further insights into the defined facets of your problem. Typically, this is done through user research and interviews. Field study, Observation, Focus Groups, or methods from the Observe category, in general, are great ways to gather these insights. 

  4. Now it is time to find possible solutions for your problem(s). For this step, items from the Ideate section of the UX Strategy Kit would be extremely helpful. The most commonly used methods would be Brainstorming or Crazy Eights but it's advisable to look out for the ones fitting best to your use case. Also categorise and evaluate your solutions using the Wow-How-Now Matrix.

  5. To make sure that your solutions are effective and accepted by your target group it is important to verify them. Methods from the Validate category are tailored to fulfill this purpose, especially User Testings have proven themselves to be an excellent way of validating your product. Keep testing and implementing your insights by repeating steps four and five until your problem is solved to fit users' needs.

What you need
  • No tools needed
Do you have a question?
These methods might seem simple, but applying them in a real project is another story. We’re there to help. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with us at the User Experience Strategy & Design team.
Ask Away!
Explore similar methods
Mystery Shoppingobserve
5+ Participants
3 h – 2 d

Observe people having a shopping experience in a store while observing and understanding their behaviour.

Content Auditobserve
1+ Participants
60+ min

Get to know existing content and become able to rate it.

Dot Codingstrategize
2 – 20 Participants
20 – 60 min

Define and organize expectations and opinions on a projects facets within a team or even between multiple teams.

User Storiesstrategize
2+ Participants
5 – 15 min

Describe what requirements a task must fulfil from the user's perspective.

Low-Fidelity Prototypingvalidate
1+ Participants
30 – 70 min

Develop innovations, by going new and previously unexplored ways.

© Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, 2025.
Follow us
  • Dribbble
  • Instagram
  • Medium
  • Behance
Categories
  • Strategize
  • Observe
  • Ideate
  • Validate
  • Warm-up
Learn more
  • About Us
  • User Experience Strategy & Design
  • Liquid Design System
Legal
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Imprint
Follow us
  • Dribbble
  • Instagram
  • Medium
  • Behance