DESIGN THINKING WORKSHOP

1. Learn about design thinking 2. Experience some of the tools, methods, and methodology of

design thinking3. Consider how you might use design thinking in your senior

design project4. Have fun!

Goals

design thinking is about applying the typical design cycle to new domains. The design cycle moves from (user centered) research to creative thinking to prototyping to testing and implementing or indeed going back to the beginning of the design cycle to start again.

design thinking

Human-centered & creative

Learning and growth

Scaffolded

Wealth of resources

Collaborative

What is design thinking?

Sanders, 2008

What is design thinking?

Methods &Methodology

• Series of phases (with some overlap)• Frequent iteration• Convergence and divergence

What is design thinking?

Mindsets

What is design thinking?

Tools

Do Say

Think Feel

Personas

Empathy Map

Abstraction Laddering

Creative Matrix

• Team• Organization/school• Department• Profession• Nation• …What else?

What is design thinking?

Culture

How might you use design thinking?

Plug and play as neededStructure to promote methods and mindsetsGet “unstuck”

Awareness of where you are in the processDevelop situationally appropriate methods and methodologies

Developed over time and in contextBuilding culture w/in the team, organization, etc.

Let’s try it out!

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The first step is called empathy. The focus here is understanding the people and context involved in the problem to develop a better understanding of what the problem is

Goals:1. Learn about users and

their contexts2. Engage users in the

process to build trust3. Develop insights that

inform problem definition and concept development

empathy: what?

when you FEEL and UNDERSTAND what the other person is feeling and experiencing. When you can MIRROR their expression, their opinions, their hopes.

Designers approach empathy…

without judgment

with a beginner’s eyes

with curiosity

optimistically

respectfully

empathize: how?

Designers build empathy by…

talking with stakeholders

observing people in their daily lives

collecting artifacts

role-playing and building personas

co-constructing problems and concepts

empathize: who?

many different people may use or be affected by what you design, beyond the obvious (e.g., your direct client)

what they need might not be immediately obvious or fit your/their initial expectations

Empathy: how?

1

2

3

4

Building a persona

• Identify a target userWhose needs are most important to consider in your project?

• A persona typically represents a composite of your users, but can refer to a single user

• Fill out the template as best you can. It’s okay if you don’t know something, you can learn this later (e.g., through interviewing the stakeholder).

Photo/Picture

Do Say

Feel Think

Insights about user needs

Tool: Empathy Map If you don’t know something about your users, list what you don’t know and come up with a plan to learn more.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The first step is called empathy. The focus here is understanding the people and context involved in the problem to develop a better understanding of what the problem is

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Next step is called DEFINE. Remember I showed you that focus and flare part? When you gather information you are flaring, when you are defining, you’ll be focusing.

Goals:1. Identify user needs and

core issues2.Focus design work on a

specific target3.Reframe the problem to

reflect new knowledge and perspectives

usergirl

needbook, lower shelves, a safety device, etc.

insightshe commonly reaches for books on high shelves without paying much attention to balance

A 10-year old girl who just moved into a new house

She needs a way to play and explorein her new home

While she likes to read, she enjoys the adventurous aspect of reaching books on the higher shelves as she becomes accustomed to her new home (surprising finding rooted in empathy work)

are human physical, cognitive, and emotional necessities

capture the goals and motivations of the person for whom you are designing (which may be different than you initially think)

are verbs, not nouns (opportunities, not solutions: ladder vs to reach)

Needs…

You may continue to iterate and reframe throughout the project

What does your user need?

Hint: Use your empathy map

Abstraction laddering

1. Start with your needs statement

2. Ask ‘why’ questions to identify deeper, broader problems

3. Ask ‘how’ questions to identify more specific issues to address

4. Build a ‘ladder’ with as many problems as you can identify (ideally with users)

5. Select a problem to address

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Next step is called DEFINE. Remember I showed you that focus and flare part? When you gather information you are flaring, when you are defining, you’ll be focusing.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Ideating (or brainstorming) is a high-energy activity. You gotta get the blood flowing. We never brainstorm alone but this time we will.

Goals:1. Generate a lot of

ideas2.Go beyond the obvious3.Defer judgment4.Engage everyone in the

process

Ideate

ideate: how?

Tool: Lotus Blossom

General approaches

1. Place the need at the center

2. Identify potential approaches to address the problem

3. Identify specific ways to implement those approaches

4. Generate as many ideas as you can, adding levels as needed

NOTE: If you’re having trouble getting started, identify a few ideas and generate the approaches from there.

Volume, wild ideas,NO evaluation!

More specific ways to implement that approach

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Ideating (or brainstorming) is a high-energy activity. You gotta get the blood flowing. We never brainstorm alone but this time we will.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Now you have some ideas, it’s time to start refining and realizing these ideas. During this next step, you’ll be creating quick models of you best ideas to better understand how they might work in the user context and how the user might react to them.

Goals:1. Develop rough

models to share with users

2.Frequently iterateand improve

3.Learn from “failure”

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Rough prototyping makes it easy to get feedback on. Project timeline against cost. You want to test often. You start making it through paper, and continue changing the fidelity/quality of your prototype. Through all these testings, you learn and iterate on better versions. Fail early and test often. Testing is another way to get feedback.

Prototypes come in many forms

StoryboardLabeled sketch

Physical model

Product simulationTimeline

Rapid Prototyping and Testing

Choose the most promising concept(s) to develop.

Describe a scenario where the solution would be used.

Add details that demonstrate “functionality” and features

Share prototype with your users and see how they react.

Iterate on the solution as you prototype.

Some things to consider

Think beyond what users say they want

Consider whether your insights come from assumptions or authentic user perspectives

Find the appropriate scopeDon’t be afraid to reframe

Don’t worry about feasibility yetTake some time and push yourself

Prototype early and oftenUse a variety of prototype formats

Some things to think about…

How did it go?• E.g., what was surprising? Why?

How might you use design thinking in your project?

Any questions or final thoughts?