A list of questions, I refined over the years, that help me in exploring the solution space.

Basics

Do not start UI work without figuring these out. 🛑

Are there any gaps. in knowledge w.r.t the problem?

Double check for knowledge gaps you have with respect to the problem-space. Doing a problem-space analysis should help you unearth these. Not having clarity here can introduce solution risk.

What are all the touchpoints in the user’s journey that
we should address?

What is the user journey and all the touchpoints that need to be addressed to solve the pain? Create a map of the touchpoints involved.

What is the current system model?

How does the current system work? Map it out in collaboration with Engg. / PM.

Ideation

👉🏼 What is your How Might We?

Describe how you are framing your problem? This is the first step before you start ideating.

Sources of inspiration

Share references for any examples of how others are solving for this pain?

Write a scenario to put yourself in the users' context

For every flow, write down a user scenario.

Eg: John, is from the IT admin team from IBM who takes care of software permissions. When they buy a new software, he is responsible for access controls.. They have to..

What is your EXPERIENCE goal for this project?

What are you trying to optimise in terms of user experience? Are you planning to save time? reduce context switching? Improve ease of use? (Write this goal at the start of every flow, in your designs. Mention this whenever you are sharing your work.)

If you had magic, how will you solve the problem?

Try this exploration prompt to kickstart ideation.

What variables have you considered for ideation?

Describe the experience variables that you have considered in each
of your iterations. (Eg: attention required, effort needed, clarity etc.)

After exploration

What are the various explorations you have considered?

Given your HMW, what are the various explorations you have considered to ideate towards your solution?

How do the iterations rank in terms of your experience goal?

Which of your iterations seem most promising? List the trade-offs (pros / cons) w.r.t each of the iterations you have done. Specially consider which of the iterations is simpler to understand and easy to use.