Talk to people

In this stage we focus on collecting a broad mix of real-life experiences without worrying about what a solution would look like or whether a solution is even possible.

By the end of this stage, you’ll have a set of real-life, specific experiences from people who do or rely on the work of your newsroom, captured into three categories:

• 😣 Pain Points: frictions felt or seen
• 🐢 Inefficiencies / Bottlenecks: time sinks, brittle processes, or repetitive steps
• 🧙 Aspirational Capabilities: things your team and/or readers wish existed, or ideas you’d be excited to explore if there were no constraints

💡 Collecting a super broad mix of experiences helps your team better understand your organization by discussing challenges and ideas aloud.

🌟 Often things come up in this step that someone else on your team has already solved - a quick win just from saying experiences and needs aloud.