Discovery operations guide

Our frame of reference largely defines our idea of what is possible. For this reason, creating new solutions and contributing value to systems and organizations often means reframing our perceptions. Narrow thinking limits our ability to generate forward-thinking solutions. Framing and reframing helps us see more options.

Framing isn’t relevant only in design; it’s a critical sensibility that you can apply across your life. For example, puns are reframes of a word or phrase: the author takes the expected meaning of a word and changes the context to create a comedic effect. As in, “Thanks for explaining the word “many” to me, it means a lot.” More seriously, in recent years the healthcare industry has reframed medical treatment to include prevention as well as intervention. Medical providers used to define care narrowly as a reaction to a specific event. Now, they define healthcare to include both prevention and treatment.  An example of this is not only resetting a broken arm in an elderly patient,  but also working to prevent osteoporosis so the arm won’t break in the first place.

The following sections will help you step through constructing a frame that is wide enough to create new solutions, but narrow enough to be realistic about constraints such as skills, personnel, time, and budget. As a rule of thumb, a narrow frame produces more thorough work, while a larger frame might be harder to produce or implement.

Framing checklist

Use this checklist as you move through this section to ensure you’re set up for success in the framing phase.