Triple Diamond

Complete product development cycle from discovery to iteration

The Triple Diamond framework extends the traditional Double Diamond design model to encompass the full product lifecycle, adding dedicated phases for measurement and continuous improvement.

Workflow Metadata

Field	Value
Workflow	Triple Diamond
Command	No dedicated command yet — reference file directly
Skills	All 25 phase skills across 6 phases
Phases Covered	All 6 (Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver, Measure, Iterate)
Estimated Duration	Weeks to months (comprehensive)
Prerequisite Inputs	A new product or major initiative
Final Output	Complete product development cycle from research to iteration

Overview

The Triple Diamond consists of six phases organized into three diamonds:

Diamond 1: Discovery & Definition
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                         │
│    DISCOVER          DEFINE             │
│    (Diverge)         (Converge)         │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Diamond 2: Development & Delivery
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                         │
│    DEVELOP           DELIVER            │
│    (Diverge)         (Converge)         │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Diamond 3: Measurement & Iteration
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                         │
│    MEASURE           ITERATE            │
│    (Diverge)         (Converge)         │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

graph LR
    subgraph "Diamond 1: Discovery"
        A["Discover"] --> B["Define"]
    end
    subgraph "Diamond 2: Development"
        C["Develop"] --> D["Deliver"]
    end
    subgraph "Diamond 3: Measurement"
        E["Measure"] --> F["Iterate"]
    end
    B --> C
    D --> E
    F -.->|"next cycle"| A

When to Use

Use the Triple Diamond when:

Starting a new product or major initiative . need comprehensive discovery and validation
Building features with significant uncertainty . multiple unknowns about users or solutions
Establishing a new team or practice . want structured approach to build discipline
Working on high-stakes projects . cost of failure is high, need thorough validation

Consider a lighter approach (see feature-kickoff.md) when:

Requirements are well understood
Building incremental improvements
Time-constrained rapid development

Phase 1: Discover

Goal: Understand the problem space through research

Activities:

User research and interviews
Market and competitive analysis
Stakeholder mapping
Opportunity identification

Skills

Skill	Description
`discover-interview-synthesis`	Synthesize user research into actionable insights
`discover-competitive-analysis`	Map competitive landscape and identify opportunities
`discover-stakeholder-summary`	Document stakeholder needs and constraints

Key Outputs

Research synthesis with themes and patterns
Competitive landscape map
Stakeholder map with communication plan
List of opportunities to explore

Transition Criteria

Move to Define when:

Conducted research with target users (5+ interviews recommended)
Understand competitive landscape
Identified key stakeholders and their needs
Have clear opportunities to evaluate

Phase 2: Define

Goal: Frame the problem and form hypotheses

Activities:

Problem definition and scoping
Opportunity prioritization
Hypothesis formation
Jobs-to-be-done analysis

Skills

Skill	Description
`define-problem-statement`	Create clear problem framing with success criteria
`define-hypothesis`	Define testable assumptions with metrics
`define-opportunity-tree`	Map outcome-driven opportunities
`define-jtbd-canvas`	Apply Jobs to be Done framework

Key Outputs

Problem statement with success criteria
Prioritized opportunity tree
Testable hypotheses
Clear understanding of the job to be done

Transition Criteria

Move to Develop when:

Problem is clearly defined and scoped
Have measurable success criteria
Hypotheses are specific and testable
Team is aligned on what problem to solve

Phase 3: Develop

Goal: Explore solution approaches

Activities:

Solution ideation and exploration
Technical spikes and feasibility analysis
Design exploration
Architecture decisions

Skills

Skill	Description
`develop-solution-brief`	Document proposed solution approach
`develop-spike-summary`	Capture time-boxed exploration results
`develop-adr`	Record architecture decisions
`develop-design-rationale`	Document design decision reasoning

Key Outputs

Solution brief with trade-offs
Technical spike results
Architecture Decision Records
Design rationale documentation

Transition Criteria

Move to Deliver when:

Solution approach is validated
Key technical decisions are made and documented
Team is confident in feasibility
Major risks are identified and mitigated

Phase 4: Deliver

Goal: Specify, build, and ship

Activities:

Requirements specification
User story creation
Edge case analysis
Launch preparation

Skills

Skill	Description
`deliver-prd`	Write comprehensive product requirements
`deliver-user-stories`	Generate user stories with acceptance criteria
`deliver-edge-cases`	Document error states and recovery paths
`deliver-launch-checklist`	Pre-launch validation checklist
`deliver-release-notes`	User-facing release documentation

Key Outputs

Complete PRD
User stories with acceptance criteria
Edge case documentation
Launch checklist (signed off)
Release notes

Transition Criteria

Move to Measure when:

Feature is shipped to users
Instrumentation is in place
All launch checklist items complete
Release notes published

Phase 5: Measure

Goal: Validate with data

Activities:

Experiment design and execution
Analytics instrumentation
Dashboard creation
Results analysis

Skills

Skill	Description
`measure-experiment-design`	Design A/B tests and experiments
`measure-instrumentation-spec`	Define event tracking requirements
`measure-dashboard-requirements`	Specify analytics dashboard needs
`measure-experiment-results`	Document experiment outcomes

Key Outputs

Experiment design with success criteria
Instrumentation specification
Dashboard with key metrics
Experiment results documentation

Transition Criteria

Move to Iterate when:

Experiments have reached statistical significance
Results are documented and communicated
Have clear learnings (positive or negative)
Data supports next steps decision

Phase 6: Iterate

Goal: Learn and improve continuously

Activities:

Team retrospectives
Lessons documentation
Backlog refinement
Pivot/persevere decisions

Skills

Skill	Description
`iterate-retrospective`	Facilitate team retrospectives
`iterate-lessons-log`	Build organizational memory
`iterate-refinement-notes`	Document backlog refinement outcomes
`iterate-pivot-decision`	Framework for pivot/persevere decisions

Key Outputs

Retrospective action items
Lessons log entries
Refined backlog
Clear decision on next iteration

Cycle Continuation

Based on learnings, return to:

Discover . if fundamental assumptions were wrong
Define . if problem needs reframing
Develop . if solution needs significant changes
Deliver . if incremental improvements are needed

Full Skill Inventory

By Phase

Phase	Skills (4)
Discover	interview-synthesis, competitive-analysis, stakeholder-summary
Define	problem-statement, hypothesis, opportunity-tree, jtbd-canvas
Develop	solution-brief, spike-summary, adr, design-rationale
Deliver	prd, user-stories, edge-cases, launch-checklist, release-notes
Measure	experiment-design, instrumentation-spec, dashboard-requirements, experiment-results
Iterate	retrospective, lessons-log, refinement-notes, pivot-decision

By Category

Category	Skills
research	interview-synthesis, competitive-analysis, stakeholder-summary
problem-framing	problem-statement, opportunity-tree, jtbd-canvas
ideation	hypothesis, solution-brief
specification	prd, user-stories, edge-cases, adr, design-rationale
validation	experiment-design, instrumentation-spec, dashboard-requirements
reflection	experiment-results, retrospective, lessons-log, pivot-decision
coordination	spike-summary, launch-checklist, release-notes, refinement-notes

Suggested Sequence

For a typical feature development, follow this path:

1. competitive-analysis     → Understand market context
2. interview-synthesis      → Gather user insights
3. stakeholder-summary      → Map organizational context
         ↓
4. problem-statement        → Frame the problem
5. jtbd-canvas              → Understand the job
6. opportunity-tree         → Identify opportunities
7. hypothesis               → Form testable assumptions
         ↓
8. solution-brief           → Propose solution
9. spike-summary            → Validate feasibility
10. adr                     → Document architecture decisions
11. design-rationale        → Document design decisions
         ↓
12. prd                     → Specify requirements
13. user-stories            → Break into stories
14. edge-cases              → Cover edge cases
15. instrumentation-spec    → Plan measurement
16. launch-checklist        → Prepare for launch
17. release-notes           → Communicate to users
         ↓
18. experiment-design       → Plan experiments
19. dashboard-requirements  → Build visibility
20. experiment-results      → Analyze outcomes
         ↓
21. retrospective           → Reflect as team
22. lessons-log             → Capture learnings
23. refinement-notes        → Plan next iteration
24. pivot-decision          → Decide direction

Not every project needs every skill. Use judgment to select the appropriate subset based on project scope, uncertainty level, and team needs.

Quality Checklist

Before considering this workflow complete, verify:

Research covers at least 5 user interviews or equivalent
Problem statement is validated with stakeholders
Architecture decisions are documented with context and alternatives
All user stories have acceptance criteria
Experiment design includes guardrail metrics
Retrospective action items have owners and deadlines

Triple Diamond

Workflow Metadata

Overview

When to Use

Phase 1: Discover

Skills

Key Outputs

Transition Criteria

Phase 2: Define

Skills

Key Outputs

Transition Criteria

Phase 3: Develop

Skills

Key Outputs

Transition Criteria

Phase 4: Deliver

Skills

Key Outputs

Transition Criteria

Phase 5: Measure

Skills

Key Outputs

Transition Criteria

Phase 6: Iterate

Skills

Key Outputs

Cycle Continuation

Full Skill Inventory

By Phase

By Category

Suggested Sequence

Quality Checklist

See Also