What is Design Thinking
Design Thinking is a toolkit that summarises the Design UX process using the most popular of its techniques. A major difference is that Design Thinking can be implemented with very little expertise (it is a ‘democratic’ methodology)
Difference between UX Design and Design thinking
UX Design often applies to a broader process, whereas Design Thinking applies to a short and quick process. This can be explained by the fact that it is ultimately focused on ideation (with minimal research, prototyping and testing).
Name a few design thinking principals
1.Promote crazy and out of the box ideas.
2. Differ judgement. There are no bad ideas. You never know where a good idea is going to come from. Make sure everyone feels comfortable to voice their ideas.
3. One conversation at a time. This way, the group stays focused on the same topic and develops it together.
4. Lean on each other’s ideas: build on each other’s train of thought. Ideas belong to the whole group.
5. Stay focused on the topic. Try to keep the discussion on target. Otherwise, you can diverge beyond the scope of what you’re trying to design for.
6. Be visual: sketch, draw, use scenarios, or anything you seem fit as props to articulate your ideas more clearly. It is the fastest way to get ideas out. No matter your drawing skills.
7. Aim for quantity, not for perfection. The best ideas always come out of a large output of crazy ideas.
8. Leave hierarchy at the door. We are all equal in the ideation space!
Why does design thinking work?
- Design Thinking is an all-inclusive creative process accessible to anyone.
and
- Through empathy , designers are inspired and connect to singular experiences.
What do you do in a situation where there is no analysis phase?
In a situation where there is no analysis phase, you will need to do some data collecting. Enough to make sure you’re grounded in the user experience. Ahead of the Design Thinking workshop,
What is a good way to do gather information on your users quickly?
Guerilla Research Mode
Name some information that is typically collected for the design thinking workshop
- User and stakeholder interviews done in advance:
- Information on end-users:
-“Who are they?”, “What do they want?”, “What do they like or not?”
-“Do we have personas already?” If not, “is it important we build some quickly?” - Information about the organization.
- Project information and data:
-What is the budget for the project? - What resources are available for the project (people, skills, technology)?
-What are the desired deadlines/launch date?
-What types of data can we access?
-Are there platform traffic rates? - Web analytics?
-Etcetera. - What other research work has been done?
-business intelligence, CRM data… - Information on the workshop participants.
Who are the workshop participants?
- Stakeholders from the organization (internal or close to the project);
- End users;
- A lead facilitator and a few assistants (who are internal to the project or who have familiarized themselves with the project before the workshop).
What responsibilities does a UX Lead have in a design thinking workshop?
- Plan and prepare the workshop ahead of time;
- kick-off and guide the workshop:
-introducing the theme, presenting the scheduled activities, presenting participants;
-managing time and keeping the enthusiasm up;
-reassuring participants new to this process; encouraging them to share their ideas;
-shepherding the group, helping them to diverge AND stay on topic;
-empathizing with the users (through personas and participants who are end-users);
-if need be, coming up with ideas and potential solutions, stimulating the group to keep exploring the solution space;
- once the brainstorm is done, guiding the prioritization activities;
-directing prototyping and testing activities;
-wrapping up the workshop by creating a road map for the next steps.
What responsibilities does an assistant have in a design thinking workshop?
- explain and guide their smaller team during the activities;
- encourage participants to express themselves;
- reassure them if they are not sure where the process is heading;
- help craft an unusual proposal into a really good idea (often people don’t realize how good their “weird” ideas are);
- stimulate ideation if it ever falls flat.
How to make a design thinking workshop run like clockwork?
Select assistants: find good assistants. You cannot be the workshop master and physically be in all the teams at the same time.They will help you do the pre-workshop research and conduct the workshop.
Assign participants to different team configuration according to activity.
Script the workshop down to the minute. Golden rule: the more scripted the workshop, the better it goes! In a Design Thinking workshop, ideas fly all over and it’s easy to lose track of time. Scripting promotes good timing for each step to get a max of ideas without letting the creative tension fall.
A Good Design Thinking workshop scenario will include?
- A task guide for the lead facilitator (you!);
- A short text in bullet points for each of your interventions (including a strong introduction to the workshop, a detailed presentation of the project, a presentation of the teams, the workshop itself, and a conclusion);
- The time allocated for each task;
- A shortlist of possible “unforeseen twists”. You will meet some for sure, Design Thinking is a creative workshop after all, plan ahead!
How should teams be set up in a design thinking workshop?
For most Design Thinking workshops, you will want about 12 to 24 participants. Break the group down into teams of three or four. More than four is too many - some people may never put a word in. Make sure each team has at least one end-user (external to the project team), one assistant, and of course, a stakeholder from the organization.
Plan for no-shows: invite a few more participants than what you aim for.
How should you share information in a design thinking workshop?
Be careful, do not give too much information to participants; you want your guests to chime in with their own experience and points of view. If you give too much, the participants will feel tied to what they heard, thus feeling less empowered to speak and share their experience. Keep it short. Give them space so that their voice is fresh for this group.
What does divergent thinking do?
Divergent thinking produces a multitude of alternate solutions.
What are the divergent-convergent cycle steps?
- the intro
- the warm up
- The first ideation (Divergent)
- Prioritize the results
- Pause
- Second Ideation (Divergent)
- Third Ideation (Convergent)
- Debrief
What does convergent thinking do?
Convergent thinking seeks a single best solution.
What is the advantage of sketching?
The advantage of sketching is that it allows a fairly direct link
between your thoughts and their representation.
