TOOLS FOR DESIGN THINKING

1. Visualization is about using images. It’s not about drawing; it’s about visual
thinking. It pushes us beyond using words or language alone. It is a way of unlocking a
different part of our brains that allows us to think nonverbally and that managers might
not normally use.
2. Journey mapping (or experience mapping) is an ethnographic research method that
focuses on tracing the customer’s “journey” as he or she interacts with an organization
while in the process of receiving a service, with special attention to emotional highs and
lows. Experience mapping is used with the objective of identifying needs that customers
are often unable to articulate.
3. Value chain analysis examines how an organization interacts with value chain
partners to produce, market, and distribute new offerings. Analysis of the value chain
offers ways to create better value for customers along the chain and uncovers important
clues about partners’ capabilities and intentions.
4. Mind mapping is used to represent how ideas or other items are linked to a central
idea and to each other. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify
ideas to look for patterns and insights that provide key design criteria. 5. Rapid concept
development assists us in generating hypotheses about potential new business
opportunities.
6. Assumption testing focuses on identifying assumptions underlying the
attractiveness of a new business idea and using available data to assess the likelihood
that these assumptions will turn out to be true. These assumptions are then tested
through thought experiments, followed by field experiments, which subject new
concepts to four tests: value creation, execution, scalability, and defensibility.
7. Prototyping techniques allow us to make abstract new ideas tangible to potential
partners and customers. These include storyboarding, user scenarios, experience
journeys, and business concept illustrations—all of which encourage deep involvement
by important stakeholders to provide feedback.
8. Customer co-creation incorporates techniques that allow managers to engage a
customer while in the process of generating and developing new business ideas of
mutual interest. They are among the most value-enhancing, risk-reducing approaches to
growth and innovation.
9. Learning launches are designed to test the key underlying value-generating
assumptions of a potential new-growth initiative in the marketplace. In contrast to a full
new-product rollout, a learning launch is a learning experiment conducted quickly and
inexpensively to gather market-driven data.
10. Storytelling is exactly how it sounds: weaving together a story rather than just
making a series of points. It is a close relative of visualization—another way to make
new ideas feel real and compelling. Visual storytelling is actually the most compelling
type of story. All good presentations—whether analytical or design-oriented—tell a
persuasive story.
Creative Problem Solving Process
What is Creative Problem Solving? Creative problem solving (CPS) is a method that
encourages you to find new perspectives and come up with innovative solutions.
Conventional thinking is countered with looking at the problem in a different way.
Principles of Creative Problem Solving
Divergent and convergent thinking must be balanced – know when to practice each
one Rephrase problems as open-ended questions Defer or suspend judgement – let
the ideas flow Focus on “yes, and” rather than “no, but” language
Creative Problem Solving Techniques & Activities
There are many techniques and activities that can be used to apply the creative problem
solving methodology to your unique challenge. Here are a few basic techniques to get
started:
1. Ask Compelling Questions Phrase your challenge or problem in different ways. Use
“what if” “why not”, etc.
2. Explore Context Make sense of your challenge by examining it from many angles
and putting it in context.
3. Switch Roles Shift your perspective in order to see the challenge or possible
solutions in a new light. For example, put on a “marketing hat” if you are an engineer.
4. Take a Break Sometimes you need to walk away from the challenge and give your
mind some time to reflect and think in the background.
5. Generate Many Ideas Generate as many ideas or thoughts as you can related to the
challenge. Don’t eliminate anything (even ideas that at first glance seem incorrect) until
after you are done with the ideation process.
6. Get Visual with an Action Plan Draw up an action plan with the simple, basic steps
you’d need to take in order to implement your idea. Make it visual and break down
these steps into more complex tasks and requirements.
7. Prototype and Test Solutions One mistake many organizations make is not
properly testing their ideas before implementation. Take the time to prototype your
identified solution. Get real feedback from the people who would be impacted by the
solution if possible.
CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING TOOLS
While there are many useful tools in the creative problem-solving process, here are
three you should know: Creating a Problem Story One way to innovate is by creating a
story about a problem to understand how it affects users and what solutions best fit their
needs. Here are the steps you need to take to use this tool properly.
1. Identify a UDP
Create a problem story to identify the undesired phenomena (UDP). For example,
consider a company that produces printers that overheat. In this case, the UDP is "our
printers overheat."
2. Move Forward in Time To move forward in time, ask: “Why is this a problem?”
For example, minor damage could be one result of the machines overheating. In more
extreme cases, printers may catch fire. Don't be afraid to create multiple problem stories
if you think of more than one UDP.
3. Move Backward in Time To move backward in time, ask: “What caused this
UDP?” If you can't identify the root problem, think about what typically causes the
UDP to occur. For the overheating printers, overuse could be a cause. Following the
three-step framework above helps illustrate a clear problem story: The printer is
overused. The printer overheats. The printer breaks down. You can extend the
problem story in either direction if you think of additional cause-and-effect
relationships.
4. Break the Chains By this point, you’ll have multiple UDP storylines. Take two that
are similar and focus on breaking the chains connecting them. This can be
accomplished through inversion or neutralization. Inversion: Inversion changes the
relationship between two UDPs so the cause is the same but the effect is the opposite.
For example, if the UDP is "the more X happens, the more likely Y is to happen,"
inversion changes the equation to "the more X happens, the less likely Y is to happen."
Using the printer example, inversion would consider: "What if the more a printer is
used, the less likely it’s going to overheat?" Innovation requires an open mind. Just
because a solution initially seems unlikely doesn't mean it can't be pursued further or
spark additional ideas. Neutralization: Neutralization completely eliminates the
cause-and-effect relationship between X and Y. This changes the above equation to "the
more or less X happens has no effect on Y." In the case of the printers, neutralization
would rephrase the relationship to "the more or less a printer is used has no effect on
whether it overheats." Even if creating a problem story doesn't provide a solution, it can
offer useful context to users’ problems and additional ideas to be explored. Given that
divergence is one of the fundamental practices of creative problem-solving, it’s a good
idea to incorporate it into each tool you use.
Brainstorming Brainstorming is a tool that can be highly effective when guided by the
iterative qualities of the design thinking process. It involves openly discussing and
debating ideas and topics in a group setting. This facilitates idea generation and
exploration as different team members consider the same concept from multiple
perspectives. Hosting brainstorming sessions can result in problems, such as groupthink
or social loafing. To combat this, leverage a three-step brainstorming method involving
divergence and convergence: 1. Have each group member come up with as many ideas
as possible and write them down to ensure the brainstorming session is productive. 2.
Continue the divergence of ideas by collectively sharing and exploring each idea as a
group. The goal is to create a setting where new ideas are inspired by open discussion.
3. Begin the convergence of ideas by narrowing them down to a few explorable options.
There’s no "right number of ideas." Don't be afraid to consider exploring all of them, as
long as you have the resources to do so.