Automated summary
Walks through a full design thinking cycle — empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test — emitting structured tables and statements at each phase.
Strengths
- Provides a fixed, reusable output scaffold: user profile, pain-point table, empathy map, point-of-view statement and How Might We questions
- Cleanly separates idea generation (tagged Safe / Moderate / Wild) from selection through a feasibility table
- Explicitly closes the loop with a checkable Next Iteration section naming which phase to revisit
- Takes the challenge as $ARGUMENTS, so one pass yields the whole cycle
Limitations
- Personas and pain points are model inferences, not real user research, despite the reminder to talk to actual users
- No method for synthesizing raw interview notes or guidance on how many users to talk to
- One-shot output that is not persisted or diffed across iterations
Use it at the outset of a product or feature effort when the problem space is still fuzzy and you need a structured first pass before writing specs.
Skip it when the problem and the users are already well understood and only a defined implementation remains.
Security analysis
SafeThe skill is a pure prose template for the design thinking process. It declares no allowed-tools, contains no executable commands, network calls, file operations, or credential handling. The only embedded variable is a trailing $ARGUMENTS placeholder for the user's challenge description, which is standard and non-exploitable here. There is no meaningful execution risk; the agent simply emits a structured worksheet.
No concerns found
How this analysis is madeExamples
Run the design thinking process on this: our internal onboarding for new engineers takes six weeks and almost nobody finishes the setup checklist. I don't know what's actually blocking them.Use the design skill to explore why small-business owners abandon our invoicing app right after sending their first invoice.I need help framing How Might We questions for reducing support tickets in our B2B dashboard — we haven't talked to users yet and I'm not sure what they really need.name: design description: Design Thinking process—Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test. Use for product design, solving ambiguous problems, or when you don't know what users really need. user-invocable: true
Design Thinking Process
Work through the full design thinking process—Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test.
Instructions
Move through each phase, building on insights from the previous one. The process is iterative—expect to loop back based on what you learn.
Output Format
Challenge: [What we're trying to solve] Users: [Who we're designing for]
1. EMPATHIZE
Understand the user and their context
User Profile
| Attribute | Description | |-----------|-------------| | Who are they? | [Demographics, role] | | What's their context? | [Environment, circumstances] | | What are they trying to do? | [Goals, tasks] |
User Pain Points
| Pain Point | Severity | Current Workaround | |------------|----------|-------------------| | [pain] | High/Med/Low | [how they cope] |
Empathy Map
| Quadrant | Observations | |----------|--------------| | Say | [Quotes, statements] | | Think | [Beliefs, concerns] | | Do | [Actions, behaviors] | | Feel | [Emotions, reactions] |
2. DEFINE
Frame the problem worth solving
Point of View Statement
[User] needs [need] because [insight].
How Might We Questions
- How might we [opportunity 1]?
- How might we [opportunity 2]?
Problem Statement
The Challenge: [Specific, actionable problem to solve]
3. IDEATE
Generate many possible solutions
Ideas Generated
| # | Idea | Type | |---|------|------| | 1 | [idea] | Safe / Moderate / Wild | | 2 | [idea] | Safe / Moderate / Wild | | 3 | [idea] | Safe / Moderate / Wild |
Top Ideas to Prototype
| Idea | Why This One? | Feasibility | |------|---------------|-------------| | [idea] | [rationale] | High/Med/Low |
4. PROTOTYPE
Make ideas tangible quickly
Idea to prototype: [Which idea]
Prototype type: Paper mockup / Wireframe / Physical model / Storyboard
What we're testing:
- [Assumption/question 1]
- [Assumption/question 2]
5. TEST
Learn from real users
Who to test with: [User profile]
Questions to answer:
- [Question]?
- [Question]?
Success indicators: [What would indicate this works]
Failure indicators: [What would indicate this fails]
Next Iteration
Based on what we learn, we'll likely need to revisit:
- [ ] Empathize / [ ] Define / [ ] Ideate / [ ] Prototype / [ ] Test
Guidelines
- Empathy is research, not assumption—talk to real users
- "How might we" keeps problems open and generative
- Prototype to think, not just to test
- Test early, test often, test cheaply
$ARGUMENTS
From the file to a first result
The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.
View the source and supporting filesThis download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.
1. Download the file
Download SKILL.mdFrom the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.
Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.
mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/download' --output '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/SKILL.md'2. Check prerequisites
Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.
No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.
The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.
3. Load the skill
After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.
Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/design' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i' '.claude/skills/design'Cursor
test -f '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.cursor/skills' && test ! -e '.cursor/skills/design' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i' '.cursor/skills/design'OpenSkills
OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.
Official OpenSkills installationopenskills install './.skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i'openskills read 'design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i'Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.
For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.
openskills syncManual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.
4. Try a first task
Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:
Read .skill-downloads/design-thinking-process-ms47vp9i/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.
PDF Reader
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Discord Messaging Workflows
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Use the message tool to send, edit, and moderate Discord messages with interactive components.
Interactive Verdict Preview
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Generate an interactive HTML preview of keep/drop verdicts for maintainer review, then process the pasted feedback JSON.