HSX MODULE:
INTRODUCTION TO
DESIGN THINKING
(VERSION 1)
APRIL 2017
WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?
Design thinking is a systematic approach to problem solving
that is human-centered, that is, the problem and its solution is
defined with the user in mind.
WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?
It involves a process
of understanding,
experimenting,
testing, and iterating
to create a solution
that is most suitable
for the user.
DESIGN THINKING PROCESS
Basic Steps
Source: Adapted from Stanford [Link]
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ORIENTING YOURSELF FOR DESIGN THINKING
Design Thinking Perspectives and Approaches
User focused as opposed to Problem focused
Expansion of thinking and creativity
Emphasis on quantity over quality of ideas
Hands-on Approach: Learning by doing
Trial and Error: Fail fast, fail forward - Speed over
accuracy of ideas
Group oriented Synergies - design thinking is
meant to be done in a group because the best
ideas don’t often happen in a vacuum
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DESIGN THINKING: LEARNING BY DOING
An Exercise for practicing Design Thinking
In order to truly understand the merits of design thinking, we
will go through a short design thinking exercise. While
normally done in pairs or groups, this short exercise will take
you through the normal phases of the design thinking
process to understand the importance of each phase.
To begin, you should have:
– Pen, pencil, or marker
– Blank sheets of paper or post-its
– Timer
– 30 minutes of uninterrupted time
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STEP 1: EMPATHIZE
Source: Adapted from Stanford [Link]
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EMPATHIZE
Begin by understanding the user.
This is Tim.
Tim is 8 years old.
He loves playing soccer.
He’s so good, his
coaches are talking of
him playing
professionally one day.
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EMPATHIZE
Begin by understanding the user.
But Tim is in a terrible
car accident.
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EMPATHIZE
Begin by understanding the user.
Because of the accident,
Tim’s eyes are
permanently damaged.
He is now completely
blind.
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EMPATHIZE
Take one minute to empathize with Tim and answer the following
questions.
Put yourself in Tim’s shoes.
Write down your answers to the following questions:
What does it feel like to lose your sight at age 8?
What are the things you are discovering you can’t do
anymore?
What are the things you are going to miss the most?
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EMPATHIZE
Making observations and gaining insight
You observe Tim adapt to his new
life at his new school for children
with disabilities.
You notice that Tim is withdrawn
and disengaged. He still carries
his soccer ball with him wherever
he goes.
The only time he perks up is when
he hears other children playing
with a ball on the playground.
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EMPATHIZE
Making observations and gaining insight
WHAT IS IT THAT TIM REALLY WANTS MORE THAN ANYTHING?
Tim wants to see again.
But there is nothing that can
be done about his blindness.
Tim wants to do what he used to do before he was blind.
Like what?
Tim wants the thrill of playing soccer again.
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STEP 2: DEFINE
Source: Adapted from Stanford [Link]
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DEFINE
What is the real problem?
Exercise: Take one minute to write down 3 ways you would define
Tim’s problem.
1.
2.
3.
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DEFINE
What is the real problem?
Is the real problem:
1. Tim can’t see.
2. Blind people can’t play soccer.
3. We haven’t yet figured out a way to make playing soccer possible
for blind people.
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DEFINE
Reframing the problem.
We can’t make Tim see again, but we can reframe the problem for
one that we can possibly design a solution.
How might we play soccer
without seeing?
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DEFINE: METHODS
Journey Mapping
A Journey Map is a diagram that illustrates the steps it takes for a
user to go through the process of doing something or using a
product.
A sample journey map for a retail store experience: buying almond
milk at Target.
1. Drive to the nearest Target.
2. Park car far away from entrance.
3. Walk to the store in the freezing cold.
4. Orient yourself to the layout of the store.
5. Look for a map of the store and find none.
6. Look for a Target Associate to ask where the almond milk may
be.
7. Ask Target Associate, who misdirects you to the eggs section.
8. Wander through the aisles hoping to find almond milk.
9. Discover Almond milk at the end of the dairy aisle
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DEFINE: METHODS
Identifying pain points
A pain point is a challenge or obstacle in a user’s journey towards
doing something or using a product that causes pain,
inconvenience, or nuisance.
Some examples of pain points include:
Product: A computer that takes a long time to boot up.
Service: Getting shuffled through technical support specialists who
keep asking you the same questions about your faulty device.
Process: Trying to get through airport security as your flight is
boarding.
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DEFINE: METHODS
Journey Mapping: What is the journey of Tim on the soccer field?
Exercise: Consider everything
that Tim would have to do from
the moment he steps onto the
field to the moment he scores a
goal.
Spend 5 minutes drawing it out on
a journey map, indicating all the
points of the journey of soccer
from the moment Tim steps on the
field to the moment he scores a
goal.
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DEFINE: METHODS
Pain Points: Identify what pain points Tim would experience along
his journey due to his blindness?
Exercise: On your journey maps
– label the pain points Tim would
experience.
Spend 5 minutes drawing it out.
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STEP 3: IDEATE
Source: Adapted from Stanford [Link]
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IDEATE
Brainstorming possible solutions
Ideating is the process of rapidly
coming up with as many creative
solutions as possible to the
problem as identified.
Purpose: The focus of this phase
is to focus on quantity and not
quality of ideas.
Tips: Jot down your wildest ideas,
this gets creative juices flowing
whereas shooting down ideas right
away will squelch any creativity
that leads to innovation.
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IDEATE: METHODS
Brainstorming without Constraints
Exercise: On post-its or a sheet of paper, write down as many ideas as
you can come up with in 1-2 minutes to each the following questions:
Looking at the different pain points on your journey to playing soccer
without seeing, how would you solve the problem if:
1. You had complete access to any and all resources available in the
world – time, money, technology, expertise? (1 min)
2. You could only modify the equipment used in soccer? (1 min)
3. You could only change the rules of soccer? (1 min)
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STEP 4: PROTOTYPE
Source: Adapted from Stanford [Link]
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PROTOTYPE
Making your ideas tangible
A prototype is a physical representation of your ideas that can be easily used,
experienced, and tested. This can be a physical object to represent a product, a
diagram to represent a process, or a simulation of an experience.
For a very helpful short tutorial on rapid-prototyping, watch this video of how
Google prototyped the google glass: [Link]
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PROTOTYPE: METHODS
Exercise: Drawing out your soccer game
For the sake of brevity, we will draw our
prototype.
Exercise: How would you change the
game of soccer so that you can play
without seeing? (draw out your best
ideas, label, diagram, explain)
Tip: Remember to maintain basic rules
that make soccer, soccer: using feet,
scoring goals, etc.
For a video on paper prototyping:
[Link]
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STEP 5: TEST
Source: Adapted from Stanford [Link]
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TEST
Trying your prototype and getting feedback.
Testing is the giving your prototype to a potential user and having
them experience it with little or no explanation from you. Your job is
to chronicle their feedback so you can iterate your solution.
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TEST: METHODS
Getting Feedback
Here are a few ways you can test your prototype
1. Try it yourself: blindfold yourself or someone else, and try
some of the solutions you suggested.
2. Post your diagram somewhere and ask someone what they
understand of it without your explanation.
3. Explain your solution to someone and get their feedback.
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TEST: ITERATING
How would you iterate your solution in the following scenarios?
What if Tim is very proud and says he wants to feel like he’s
getting as little help as possible – he doesn’t want anybody’s
sympathy. He just wants to play the game he loves and feel
the thrill of scoring a goal again.
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TEST: ITERATING
How would you iterate your solution in the following scenarios?
What if you had to design a way to play soccer without seeing
for children in rural Africa?
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THE DESIGN THINKING PROCESS
A cycle that repeats itself
From the feedback, you repeat the
design thinking process:
1. gain insight and understanding
(empathize)
2. redefine the problem or another
aspect of it (define)
3. come up with new solutions
(ideate)
4. iterate your prototype
(prototype)
5. Get new feedback (testing)
This cycle repeats itself until you
arrive at a satisfactory solution.
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SAMPLE SOLUTION
The Blind Soccer League
Here is one simple solution to playing soccer without seeing:
[Link]
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HOW CAN YOU USE DESIGN THINKING?
Solving problems big and small
To design:
A disposable coffee cup that keeps
beverage warmer longer
A café that minimizes noise.
Airport security process that is
easy and efficient for the
passenger.
An engine that reduces carbon
emissions.
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DESIGN THINKING FOR INNOVATION
Applying design thinking principles to homeland defense and
security
Some design thinking questions to consider:
Who am I designing for? Who is the ultimate beneficiary?
Have I asked the "customers" about their experience? Their pain points?
How can I redefine the problem from the user's or customer's
perspective?
What ideas can I apply to this problem that were successful in other
industries?
What is the cheapest, fastest prototype that I can create to test my ideas
and get feedback?
How do I need to adapt and change my idea so that it works for my
customer?
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DESIGN THINKING RESOURCES
Additional resources for learning more about design thinking
Stanford [Link] virtual crash course video:
[Link]
Stanford design thinking bootcamp bootleg – manual on design thinking:
[Link]
b29d6cc6c3338f7/1485374014340/[Link]
[Link] methods cards – a collection of different design thinking exercises
for brainstorming, prototyping, testing: [Link]
Ideo Field guide to human centered design (free downloadable pdf) – a varying
approach to design thinking holding basic principles the same:
[Link]
=[Link]&utm_campaign=FGButton
Online course on design thinking from +Acumen:
[Link]
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