What it is?
You may ask yourself what design thinking is, is it something that you do, or is it something that you make or draw or what is it really? Well, a lot of persons have come up with various definitions, but the general idea is that it is a cognitive, strategic and practical process, where brainstorming is done to come up with solutions to address challenging problems. It is rooted in empathy and it welcomes feedback. This concept can be applied to everything we do in life no matter what our professions are or what walk of life or faith we belong to, this is not restricted to any particular field of expertise or sectors in which we work.
What is it used for?
As previously stated, design thinking can be used to solve the most difficult challenges which we face, which can range from the simplest to the most complicated; writer’s block, whether it is coming up with new features or bug fixes for Apps, wedding ideas, projects titles, it can be used in the classrooms to help children learn a particular subjects, and many other everyday problems we may encounter. It can be used by anyone in any field of work as it is not limited to any specific industry or any area of expertise.
How do we use Design Thinking?
Design thinking is considered to be rooted in empathy; therefore, it is driven by the reflection of iteration and by ongoing feedback. It also uses various methods of experimentation to arrive at innovative solutions. We look at the problems from different viewpoints and see how best we can satisfy the customers needs and expectations. We also try to come up with ways to see how it can be used in the future and not just the present time or with present problems, which means we take a lot of risks not knowing if the ideas and solutions that we arrived at would work or not. The final decisions are not always based on evidence or proven systems.
Unlike other strategies which focuses on the problems, design thinking is more solution-focused and action-oriented, it pushes you to use your imagination more and do a lot of analyzation of the challenges which you are faced with. It allows you to come up with solutions that are geared towards building better ideas, thus improving the future of the product and services which you are working on.
Why is Design thinking so important?
We consider it to be a tool that is used to help merge different departments and disciplines together within an organization. Every person comes together with one aim which is to create a solution to whatever the task is at hand, therefore everyone comes with their own ideas and opinions, which eventually leads to the development of innovative ideas of services and products which are aligned to meet the customers needs and satisfaction.
Design Thinking states that in order for it to work or be effective, there are three factors which must be present which are; the human aspect, the economic aspect and the technological aspect, when all three of these are combined it is considered to be the holistic approach to innovation.
It can be applied to anything from procedures to any system and even help to tap into the estimated users experiences. It is a tool that helps organizations learn the strengths and weaknesses of the team players, and it can also help them to learn from each other while exploring new horizons and beyond.
What are the stages of Design Thinking?
According to the model proposed by Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, there are five stages of Design Thinking, they are as follows: Empathize, Define( the problem), Ideate, Prototype, and test.
- Empathize:
- This is considered to be the first stage in the design thinking process, it is where you get an empathic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve, which involves consulting experts to find out more about the area of concerns through observing, engaging and empathizing with people to understand their experiences and motivations, as well as immersing yourself in the physical environment so you can gain a deeper personal understanding of the issues involved. Empathy helps the design thinkers to set aside their own assumptions in order to gain insight into the users and their needs.
- Define (the problem):
- This stage is where all the information which was gathered during the empathic stage is now analyzed in order to define the core problem which the team has identified. Here the designers in the team has gathered the ideas to establish the functions and features of all the elements which will allow them to solve the problem or the users may be able to resolve the issues themselves.
- Ideate:
- This is the stage that follows directly after the Defining stage, this is where the designers are ready to start generating ideas. With the general understanding of the expected users after you have gone through the first two stages, your team can now think outside the box to identify solutions to the problem statement which was defined, and can now find alternative ways of viewing the problem.
- Prototype:
- The team now builds a number of inexpensive versions of the product or specific feature found within the problem so that they can properly investigate the problem solution. This is the experimental phase and is aimed to identify the best solutions to each of the problems. The prototypes may be tested by the team working on it or can be given to other departments to get feedback which can help find solutions to the problem. At the end of this phase, the design team should have a better understanding of the product and the problem and how the users would interact with the final product.
- Test:
- This is the final stage the results which are put together in this phase are normally used to redefine one or more of the problems and inform the understanding of the users, the condition of use, how people think, behave and feel to empathize. It is during this stage that alterations and refinements are made in order to rule out problem solutions and derive a deep understanding of the product and its users as possible.
Design Thinking is now a forward-thinking approach which most businesses are now adopting and making a part of requirements for each team to use for solution solving. It is also found within the doors of software and technology companies.
There are also many educational institutions which teach and offer degrees about Design Thinking, it is fast becoming one of the greatest skill an individual can acquire in order to be an essential asset to any team or organization in which they work.
