The design phase involves coming up with a mechanism that addresses a particular problem and can be captured in smart contract form. The output is usually a written or executable specification and/or a whitepaper. Good design outputs can make implementation easier.

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Design may involve some of the below activities:

• Protocol and mechanism research
• Economic simulation
• Smart contract language research (e.g., Solidity research)
• User testing
• Prototyping and experimentation
• Software architecture
• Specification writing
• Whitepaper writing