Our methodology / IV³
Every challenge begins in a different place. What matters is being clear about the opportunity, testing the assumptions and making the next move count.
IV³ gives growth and transformation work its decision discipline. Human-centred design gives us the process to put it into practice.
One joined method
This is not another four-step framework with a trademark on it. IV³ is how we agree what good looks like, keep decisions grounded in evidence and build momentum. We use established human-centred design methods to do the work.
A sprint might move through the cycle in weeks. A larger transformation programme may revisit it across workstreams and decision gates. Either way, the principles don't change.
Where are we starting, and what do we actually know?
The standards that govern the work and its decisions.
How we learn, make, test and prepare for delivery.
The three IV³ principles apply throughout every stage. The four human-centred design phases describe a repeatable process, not a rigid sequence.
The starting point
The starting point changes what we need to ask first, where the risks sit and what requires validation.
Insight, Idea and Innovation are alternatives, not sequential stages. We can move between them as the evidence develops.
We've seen a signal in the data.
A retention drop, changing behaviour or unexpected segment performance. The signal is real, but its meaning isn't yet certain.
FIRST MOVE
Interrogate the data and assumptions. Ask who is affected and why.
WHAT WE CHALLENGE
Meaningful customer truth, misleading correlation or measurement artefact?
A validated opportunity and hypothesis.
We have a move we want to make.
A new proposition, service, journey or product. There's energy and a sponsor, but customer appeal, feasibility and economics may not be proven.
FIRST MOVE
Expose assumptions and risks. Agree what would count as success or failure.
WHAT WE CHALLENGE
Do people want it, can we deliver it and does it work commercially?
Evidence to back, reshape, pilot or reject the idea.
Something has changed. We need to respond.
A cultural shift, competitor move, new technology or unmet need creates urgency. Urgency is not the same as direction.
FIRST MOVE
Map the external signal, response options and changing customer needs.
WHAT WE CHALLENGE
Is the opportunity material, relevant and emerging, or just topical?
A prioritised opportunity and smallest credible experiment.
Different starting points. The same three operating standards.
Explore the three VsIV³ / The discipline
IV³ is not three consecutive phases. Every V is an operating standard, held from the first conversation to the final decision. That is how we move with pace without mistaking confidence for evidence.
Everyone sees the same challenge, the evidence and the decision.
We agree what we're trying to achieve, what we know, what remains an assumption and how success will be measured. The right stakeholders are present; decision rights and constraints are explicit. An idea remains an idea until it has earned the right to be treated as more.
What are we really trying to solve, who needs to be involved and what would change our minds?
Shared brief, assumptions log, stakeholder map, decision owners, success measures and progress visibility.
Customer evidence and real-world testing earn the confidence to act.
No confirmation bias and no ego-led decisions. We triangulate research, behaviour and business evidence, test hypotheses with prototypes or experiments, and deliberately seek evidence that contradicts the preferred answer. We evaluate desirability, feasibility and commercial viability.
What is the riskiest assumption, and what is the lightest credible test that could disprove it?
Test plan, research findings, hypotheses, prototypes, measured outcomes and a record of what changed.
Speed with direction. Momentum towards a useful decision, not just busyness.
We time-box the work, remove blockers, stay close to decision-makers and use clear gates to decide when to move, iterate, pivot or stop. Visibility and Validation are what create Velocity; rushing past the evidence simply builds rework into the plan.
What's the next meaningful decision, who owns it and what must be true to make it?
Decision cadence, milestones, named owners, focused work backlog, pilot plan and next steps.
The entry point changes the risks we investigate. These three principles determine the standard we uphold, whatever the project.
The intersections
IV³ isn't bolted on after the starting point is chosen. The nature of the starting point changes what we need to make visible, what to validate and where velocity comes from.
What the data really says, what it doesn't say and who agrees on the interpretation.
Challenge the pattern with qualitative, behavioural and commercial evidence; test alternative explanations.
Prioritise a measurable hypothesis and the simplest experiment that can act on it.
Make the sponsor's assumptions, success criteria and uncertainty explicit.
Prototype the proposition, test customer demand and evaluate feasibility and economics.
Make an early back / iterate / park decision before sunk cost builds.
Agree why the external signal matters now and how it connects to business ambition.
Investigate real unmet needs, emerging behaviour and viable opportunity territories.
Test a small, credible response instead of launching a large programme on instinct.
The delivery process / HCD
IV³ governs the work. Human-centred design is how we move through it: open up the problem, narrow to what matters, explore solutions and test them in the world.
We use the Design Council's established Double Diamond framework. We adapt its scope and depth to the job, rather than presenting it as a proprietary invention.
Discover
Explore the problem
Define
Frame the opportunity
Develop
Shape and test options
Deliver
Pilot, refine and scale
One connected learning journey, adapted as the evidence changes.
Explore the problem
Frame the opportunity
Shape and test options
Pilot, refine and scale
A map for divergent and convergent thinking, not a one-way waterfall. Evidence can send us back to any earlier step.
Explore the real problem, not just the brief.
Start by interrogating the brief and identifying assumptions. Bring stakeholders together, identify decision owners and explore what is happening for customers, competitors and the business. Research can include interviews, behavioural and commercial data, journey analysis and secondary evidence.
Stakeholder interviews · research design · customer interviews · data and journey analysis · market scan
Evidence map, research findings, baseline and a sharpened picture of the challenge.
Are we looking at the right problem?
Turn findings into a question worth solving.
Cluster findings, identify patterns and tensions, separate insights from opinions and size the opportunity. Use jobs-to-be-done and How Might We questions where useful. Establish success measures, feasibility constraints and the decision rights needed to move on.
Research synthesis · themes and insight clusters · opportunity mapping · HMW framing · prioritisation
Reframed brief, agreed opportunity, hypotheses, measurable goals and decision gate.
Which opportunity is most worth pursuing, and what would count as progress?
Make options tangible enough to challenge.
Run ideation and co-design sessions, shape multiple potential solutions and make them tangible early. Define hypotheses and practical tests. Bring desirability, viability and feasibility together, searching for evidence against the favoured concept as actively as evidence for it.
Workshops · concepting · storyboards · service blueprints · rapid prototypes · customer testing
Shortlisted solutions, test plans, early prototypes and evidence for investment decisions.
Which options work for customers and make sense for the business?
Test in the real world. Then prepare to make it stick.
Refine the strongest concept through testing and, where appropriate, a live pilot. Agree build requirements, ownership, capabilities, measurement and the conditions for scaling. Kithe can lead the design, orchestration, experimentation and enablement; specialist build partners join where implementation calls for them.
Pilot design · live experiments · iterative refinement · handover plans · benefits tracking
A decision-ready, tested move; pilot or release plan; named owners and next-scale criteria.
Do we scale, improve, return to an earlier question or stop?
For defined projects, discovery often involves the 4Cs. They are research lenses, not four additional phases. They help us challenge the internal view with what is happening outside it.
Progress without guesswork
The point of a gate isn't a presentation to satisfy a stage-gate process. It's an explicit decision, taken by the right people, with the strongest evidence available.
Each gate can mean proceed, improve, pivot, park or stop. Choosing not to spend is a valid output if the evidence doesn't support the move.
Is the question shared?
Brief interrogated, stakeholders and decision rights aligned, assumptions and success criteria visible.
Is this the right problem?
Customer and business evidence supports a defined opportunity, hypothesis and decision to pursue it.
Is the concept worth testing further?
Early tests have challenged desirability, commercial viability and feasible delivery, with the biggest risks understood.
What should happen next?
Pilot evidence, costs, owner, measurement and capability requirements are sufficient to scale, iterate, pivot or stop.
It's a map, not a march.
Research might contradict the brief. Testing might show a prototype is solving the wrong problem. A pilot might expose a capability gap. When evidence changes the question, we loop back. The standards stay; the path adapts.
Applying the method
We don't sell a process for its own sake. We use the amount of research, exploration and testing the decision requires.
The standards remain constant. The depth, timeline and deliverables change with the engagement.
A sharply framed question, explored and tested in a short, focused cycle.
Define the entry point, align stakeholders and identify the riskiest assumptions. Use targeted research, workshops, concepting and lean tests to make the next decision. Some sprints need a prototype; others need a clear operating-model or strategic recommendation.
A clear decision, evidence behind it and a practical next move.
A broader programme with more dependencies and people to bring together.
Interrogate the brief. Use stakeholder interviews, 4Cs research and customer evidence to sharpen the problem. Agree gates and work through design and testing into pilots, implementation and enablement. Specialist partners join when technology or build work calls for them.
A tested solution, defined ownership and a route to implementation or scale.
An interim leader works to the agreed remit: owning the commercial agenda, building teams, developing capabilities and accountability. Advisory brings independent senior judgement to live decisions. Both use Visibility, Validation and Velocity without being artificially pushed through four design phases.
Clarity. One understood challenge, measurable goals and named decision-makers.
Evidence. Findings, prototypes or experiments appropriate to the risk.
Direction. A decision to back, change, test, pause or stop.
Ownership. A plan, accountable people and capability to make the next step stick.
Where to begin
An early idea, an uncomfortable insight, or a programme that needs direction. Start with a conversation, not a lengthy brief. We'll work out what needs to be known before anyone commits to making it.