Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. - revised edition by BIS Publishers

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. A Handbook of Methods

ISBN 978-90-636958-5-9

9 789063 695859

Authors Martin Tomitsch Madeleine Borthwick Naseem Ahmadpour Clare Cooper Jessica Frawley Leigh-Anne Hepburn A. Baki Kocaballi Lian Loke Claudia Nunez-Pacheco Karla Straker Cara Wrigley

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

In this revised edition, the authors look beyond the human-centred design paradigm and provide an introduction to life-centred design. This extended focus is reinforced through design methods for considering the broader ecosystem in which products and services are used, including the use of natural resources, ethical concerns and the long-term impact of design decisions.

A Handbook of Methods

This book introduces the reader to the changing role of design as a way of thinking and a framework for solving complex problems and achieving systemic change. It documents 80 methods that cover all stages of a design process, providing actionable guidance for applying the methods across a range of projects. The methods are complemented by seven case studies to demonstrate their application in different domains, from designing interfaces for autonomous vehicles to addressing health and wellbeing. Free templates and resources, available at designthinkmakebreakrepeat.com, make this a great resource for design educators as well as practitioners leading workshops in their organisation or looking for inspiration to transform their practice.

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. A Handbook of Methods

Revised: 20 new methods and an introduction to life-centred design

Table Of Contents Preface.............................................................................................................................. 7 Foreword......................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction

Design Evolution............................................................................................................. 10 Design Process................................................................................................................. 12 Life-centred Design...................................................................................................... 14 Using the Book................................................................................................................ 16

Methods

5 Whys.................................................................................................................................... 18 A/B Testing.......................................................................................................................... 20 Affinity Diagramming................................................................................................. 22 Autobiographical Diaries........................................................................................... 24 Backcasting........................................................................................................................ 26 Body Mapping.................................................................................................................. 28 Bodystorming................................................................................................................... 30 Brainwriting 6-3-5.......................................................................................................... 32 Business Model Canvas.............................................................................................. 34 Business Model Experimentation....................................................................... 36 Card Sorting....................................................................................................................... 38 Cartographic Mapping............................................................................................... 40 Channel Mapping........................................................................................................... 42 Co-design Workshops................................................................................................. 44 Competitor Analysis...................................................................................................... 46 Context Mapping............................................................................................................ 48 Contextual Observation............................................................................................. 50 Cultural Probes................................................................................................................. 52 Decision Matrices........................................................................................................... 54 Design by Metaphor..................................................................................................... 56 Design Critique................................................................................................................ 58 Design Team Cards....................................................................................................... 60 Design Timescapes....................................................................................................... 62 Direct Experience Storyboards.............................................................................. 64 Empathic Modelling..................................................................................................... 66 Empathy Mapping......................................................................................................... 68

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. Experience Prototyping.............................................................................................. 70 Experience Sampling................................................................................................... 72 Extreme Characters...................................................................................................... 74 Focus Groups..................................................................................................................... 76 Forced Association......................................................................................................... 78 Future Workshops.......................................................................................................... 80 Group Passing.................................................................................................................. 82 Hero Stories........................................................................................................................ 84 Heuristic Evaluation...................................................................................................... 86 Impact Ripple Canvas.................................................................................................. 88 Interaction Relabelling............................................................................................... 90 Interviews............................................................................................................................. 92 KJ Brainstorming............................................................................................................ 94 Laddering............................................................................................................................ 96 Local Orbits......................................................................................................................... 98 Low-fidelity Prototyping............................................................................................ 100 Mapping Space................................................................................................................ 102 Material Exploration...................................................................................................... 104 Mind Mapping (WWWWWH)................................................................................. 106 Mock-ups.............................................................................................................................. 108 Mood Boards..................................................................................................................... 110 Morphological Charts.................................................................................................. 112 Non-human Personas................................................................................................. 114 Online Ethnography..................................................................................................... 116 Perceptual Maps............................................................................................................. 118 Persona-based Walkthroughs............................................................................... 120 Personas............................................................................................................................... 122 Pop-ups................................................................................................................................. 124 Questionnaires................................................................................................................. 126 Reframing........................................................................................................................... 128 Research Visualisation................................................................................................ 130 Role-playing....................................................................................................................... 132 Scenario-based Thinking........................................................................................... 134 Scenarios.............................................................................................................................. 136 Science Fiction Prototyping.................................................................................... 138 Service Blueprints.......................................................................................................... 140 Sketching............................................................................................................................. 142 Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

By Martin Tomitsch and Cara Wrigley

Design Evolution 10

Introduction

Design is no longer a discipline limited

Over the past few decades, global

to the concerns of a singular specific

and lived environments as well as the

domain. Like most other industries,

networks on which those environments

the field of design is being challenged

operate have continued to become

by the transformation of the world

more complex. The world has seen

around us. Systems are becoming

unprecedented global challenges,

more complex, requiring a better and

such as population growth and mass

more detailed understanding of how to

urbanisation, and technology has been

design user interfaces that are intuitive

advancing and penetrating all aspects

and meaningful. Our interactions with

of our lives at a rapidly increasing rate. In

products and services involve an ever-

response to these challenges, design has

increasing array of touch points, from

been adopted as an approach for solving

wearable devices to embedded displays.

complex nonlinear problems, which can’t

Digital channels are extending into

be solved with technological or scientific

physical environments and augmenting

approaches alone. Design provides a

products, from Internet of Things devices

framework for understanding the needs

in smart homes and cities to medical

of the people, as well as the space to

appliances in hospitals. Technological

translate these needs into solutions.

advancements are also changing the

Importantly, the use of design methods

process of design.

for problem solving is no longer limited to skilled design professionals. As a way

Over the past century, the responsibility

of thinking, design can offer a strategic

of design has evolved along with

advantage across many professions.

industrial, technological and market

Design is, therefore, becoming a

shifts1. Since the time of the Bauhaus

capability-enhancing skill, equipping

movement in the 1920s, design has been

people with the ability to deal with

adopted for achieving a competitive

uncertainty, complexity and failure.

advantage across industries (Figure 1). At the beginning of design as a profession,

The popularity of design as an approach

this involved designers working with

to problem-solving and its adoption as an

engineers to achieve better construction

alternative approach to business strategy

techniques. As markets changed and

development has given widespread rise

caught up with this trend, the role of

to the term ‘design thinking’. Herbert A.

design shifted to delivering a strategic

Simon first referred to design as a ‘way

advantage by having products with

of thinking’ in his book The Sciences of

better appearance, better human

the Artificial2, proposing a structured

factors or usability and better market

approach for translating an existing

performance. Around the turn of the

situation into a preferred situation

century, the role of design changed

using design methods. This contributes

again, with companies seeking designers

to a solution by connecting different

to help them develop better ideas and

elements. In the 1980s, design thinking

better integration, now also including

was used to describe the process of

better experiences and social inclusion.

designing in architecture and urban planning3. Since then, several models

have been proposed to provide guidance

diamond encourages divergent thinking

for when, how and which methods to

followed by convergent thinking. The

apply at the various stages of a design

first diamond focuses on understanding

process.

the problem, starting from a problem situation and ending with a problem

Two widely used design models are the

definition. The second diamond uses the

‘honeycomb model’ proposed by the

resulting problem definition as a design

d.school at Stanford University and the

brief and is concerned with finding the

‘double diamond model’ popularised by

right solution.

the UK Design Council. The honeycomb model involves the stages of empathising,

Despite being criticised by some scholars

defining, ideating, prototyping and

for their simplified view of design as a

testing, and stresses the importance

process, models like the honeycomb and

of iteratively moving between those

double diamond contribute valuable

stages. The double diamond model

perspectives and guidance for how to

entails the phases of discover and define

approach a design process, in particular

(the first diamond) and develop and

for novice designers and people that

deliver (the second diamond). Each

don’t have a formal education in design.

1. Owen, C. L. (1991). Design education in the information age. Design Issues, 7(2), 25-33. 2. Simon, H. A. (1969). The sciences of the artiﬁcial. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 3. Rowe, P. G. (1991). Design thinking. Cambridge, MA: MIT press. 4. Owen, C. L. (1990). Design education and research for the 21st century. Design Studies, 11(4), 202-206.

Figure 1: The changing role of design to provide a competitive advantage by achieving products, services, systems and environments of better quality. Levels 1 to 3 are based on the diagram originally published by Owen4.

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

5 Whys Uncovering root causes behind a problem statement ACADEMIC RESOURCES: Andersen, B., & Fagerhaug,

The 5 whys method helps to uncover

same project. It is important that everyone

a potential root cause to any surface

involved in the method is familiar with the

level problem. The method provides

problem situation.

T. (2006). Root cause

a structured approach for repeatedly

analysis: simplified tools and

asking ‘why’ in order to provide

The method starts with a first level surface

deeper insight into the given problem.

problem statement, which should be

Originally developed by the Toyota Motor

based on findings from previous research

Corporation, this iterative method was

activities. For example, an initial interview

company’s vision. Harvard

first deployed to discover root cause

or questionnaire might have revealed

business review, 74(5), 65.

analysis issues in manufacturing. Despite

a problem situation. Once the problem

its engineering foundations, 5 whys

statement has been identified, we ask

is a popular design method used to

ourselves ‘why’ the problem occurs. In

want it: Traditional market

identify any assumptions made and

order to get to the root cause of the

research to deep customer

gain a deeper level understanding of a

problem, we continue asking ourselves

Research: An International

problem situation. The aim of continual

to explain the previous answer. Typically,

Journal, 18(2), 230-248.

questioning is to ensure that the right

the question ‘why’ is asked five times, but

Semler, R. (2004). The seven-

problem is examined and made central to

the number of iterations can be adapted

day weekend: a better way to

the design process.

until a satisfactory root cause is identified.

techniques. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press. Collins, J. C., & Porras, J. I. (1996). Building your

Price, R. A., Wrigley, C., & Straker, K. (2015). Not just what they want, but why they

insights. Qualitative Market

work in the 21st century. New

The amount of questioning may also

York, NY: Random House.

This method can be done independently

depend on the persistence of the person

by members of the design team or with

answering the question. The method is

stakeholders that have an involvement

useful during the early phase of a design

with the initial problem statement. For

process to identify the right problem

example, this can be a client or someone

statement.

from a different team working on the

5 Whys

EXERCISE

YOU WILL NEED Pen

In this exercise, you will practice the method of 5 whys and create a problem statement to summarise your findings. Use the template on the companion website to track the responses. Start at the top of the template and work your way down.

Choose an initial problem statement and write it into the ‘challenge’ section of the template. E.g. most inner-city dwellers shop at the supermarket closest to their home. How can a supermarket brand become the preferred choice, rather than just the closest option? [1 minute] Ask yourself why this situation exists and write down your response in the first box. Answers should be longer than one word to provide enough detail to continue questioning. E.g. people choose this supermarket because it is on the way home from work. [3 minutes]

Ask why for the second time. Write down your response in the second box. E.g. because they like the convenience of choosing what to buy each night. [3 minutes]

Ask why for the fourth time. Write down your response in the fourth box. E.g. because changing plans at the last minute can lead to bought food going off in the fridge. [3 minutes]

Ask why for the fifth time. Write down your response in the fifth box. E.g. because wasting food is bad for the wallet and bad for the environment. [3 minutes]

Once you feel you have discovered the root cause of the problem, describe it in detail and ideate some possible solutions to address it. E.g. design a service for inner-city dwellers that takes away the importance of the supermarket’s physical location by offering pick-up options suited to customers’ needs and timetable. [25 minutes]

Ask why for the third time. Write down your response in the third box. E.g. because sometimes plans change at the last minute. [3 minutes]

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

Brainwriting 6-3-5 Building on each other’s ideas Brainwriting 6-3-5 is a form of

five-minute cycle, they pass it to the team

brainstorming that was developed as a

member on their left. In the second round,

way of getting around the group dynamic

each team member reads the entry from

nach Regeln – Methode 635,

issues that can plague conventional

the previous round and records three

eine neue Technik zum Lösen

brainstorms (Rohrbach, 1969). For

new ideas in the second row that each

example, shy people do not contribute

build on the idea from the row above. This

as much as they have to offer, strong

step is repeated until the sheet returns

personalities dominate the conversation

to the person that started the first row.

and existing power relationships (e.g.

That way people are encouraged to build

between employees and managers)

on each other’s ideas by reviewing what

can influence the ideation process.

has already been recorded and adding

Brainwriting 6-3-5 overcomes these issues

to it or changing it. Brainwriting 6-3-5

by combining individual and collaborative

can yield more ideas in less time than a

ideation. Like brainstorming, it aims to

conventional brainstorm session, up to 108

stimulate creativity in the early phases of a

ideas in 30 minutes.

ACADEMIC RESOURCES: Rohrbach, B. (1969). Kreativ

von Problemen [Creative by rules - Method 635, a new technique for solving problems]. Absatzwirtschaft (Vol. 19, pp. 73-75).

design process. The brainwriting 6-3-5 session should be Brainwriting 6-3-5 received its name

started with a general discussion of the

from the set-up of the session: six team

problem area between the participants

members record three ideas in five-

(potentially guided by a moderator).

minute cycles. In the first round, each

This ensures that all team members are

participant records their idea in the first

aligned regarding the topic to be tackled

row on a piece of paper. At the end of the

in the session.

32 Brainwriting 6-3-5

EXERCISE

YOU WILL NEED 4–6 people, pens, paper

In this exercise, you will generate a range of concepts by building on each other’s ideas. Use the template on the companion website or an A4 sheet folded into 3x6 rectangles. You can also vary the number of people, e.g. brainwriting 4-3-5 with four people.

Choose a topic for your brainwriting session: a design problem that you would like to solve. If you don’t have a topic at hand, you can choose one from the design briefs (p.180). Discuss the topic with your group.

Repeat the process until everyone has recorded three ideas on each of the brainwriting sheets and the sheets have returned to their original owners. [20 minutes]

Record three different ideas in the top row of the brainwriting sheet. The ideas should be possible solutions related to your design topic, and draw on your knowledge of user needs within this area.

Present some of the ideas. Each person picks their favourite idea recorded in their own brainwriting sheet and explains it to the group. You can also cut the sheet so that each idea is represented on an individual piece of paper, which allows for collaboratively sorting the ideas.

[5 minutes]

[10 minutes]

[5 minutes]

Pass your brainwriting sheet to the person on your left, then begin the next round. Review the sheet you have received and the ideas recorded by the person before you. In the next row, record three more solutions inspired by what the person before you has written. Try out the following options: • recording new ideas • adapting the existing ideas • combining ideas with each other • modifying or adding to ideas. [5 minutes]

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

Co-design Workshops Designing with your participants Co-design workshops bring users,

concept that users can respond to, for

customers, stakeholders and designers

example, a low-fidelity prototype (p.100) or

together to rapidly and iteratively critique

a storyboard (p.150). During the workshop,

user-centered to participatory

design concepts, ensuring that the needs

participants are taken through several

design approaches. Design

of the people we are designing for remain

stages. They are immersed in the problem

at the centre of the design process. Co-

by talking about current experiences,

design and similar methodologies, such

before moving on to a discussion of ideal

as participatory design, invite users and

experiences and finally evaluating and

of co-design in service design

other stakeholders to build on concepts

iterating the initial concept. Comments

projects. International Journal

they are presented with (be it a current

from participants along with any artefacts

user experience or a new design concept)

that were co-designed during the

and inform the future direction of the

workshop are then analysed and fed back

design. The principle of co-design is to

into the design process.

ACADEMIC RESOURCES: Sanders, E. B. N. (2002). From

and the social sciences: Making connections, 1(8). Steen, M., Manschot, M. A. J., & De Koning, N. (2011). Benefits

of Design 5 (2) 2011, 53-60.

‘design with’ rather than ‘designing for’ people. Users and other stakeholders

Co-design workshops can be employed

are in an active role, contributing to the

at any stage of the design process.

design, rather than passively responding

During the research phase, they can

to design decisions.

be used to inform a complete view of people’s circumstances and situations. For

Co-design workshops build on this

projects that focus on the redesign of an

principle and include a preparation phase,

existing product or service, this includes

recruitment phase, the workshop itself,

developing an understanding of how

interpretation and action. The preparation

people currently make use of the product

phase is used to determine the overall

or service. During the prototyping phase,

direction for the workshop. This can

co-design workshops can be used to

involve the development of an initial

rapidly iterate concepts.

44 Co-design Workshop

EXERCISE

YOU WILL NEED 3+ people, pens, paper

In this exercise, you will learn how to design and conduct a co-design workshop. You will decide what the purpose of the workshop is, who the participants are and which methods to use. Focus on your own design problem, or follow the ‘Supermarket of the Future’ brief (p.196).

Decide what you want to achieve f rom the co-design workshop and write it down. E.g. a better way of buying fresh produce

[5 minutes]

Consider the logistics of your co-design workshop: • What kind of people should be there? E.g. frequent shoppers, avid cooks • How will you record it? E.g. notes, written feedback, observations, video • What is the order of activities and their duration? E.g. immersion, talking about current experiences, describing ideal experiences, evaluating initial concepts • Prepare a script.

[10 minutes]

[20 minutes]

Prepare the workshop materials. Use printed images to immerse participants in the problem space. Leverage existing sketches or prototypes of initial concepts, or select examples from the resources on the companion website for ‘Supermarket of the Future’. Identify methods to complete during the workshop such as: • low-fidelity prototyping • storyboarding.

Prepare key questions for participants to use throughout the workshop. E.g. ‘what do you currently enjoy/not enjoy about shopping?’ E.g. ‘what would an ideal shopping experience look like for you?’ E.g. ‘what are some features of this design that you like?’ E.g. ‘what would you change?’ Run the workshop. Be sure to communicate the purpose and intended outcomes. Explain the purpose of the design, without too much detail, as this can limit the creativity of the participants. Introduce each activity as it starts. Allow participants to design concepts and augment existing ideas with their suggestions. Offer templates and frameworks to assist participants with completing the chosen methods. [1–4 hours]

After the workshop you can interpret the collected data using affinity diagramming (p.22) or thematic analysis (p.156). Gather the feedback and concepts from the co-designers. How does this influence the design concept?

[20 minutes]

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

Empathy Mapping Making visible the invisible to better understand your user and their experiences Empathy is the ability to understand the

Empathy maps can take different forms.

experience of others. Being immersed in

One approach is to place the user at the

someone’s experience, or putting yourself

centre and to explore four key areas, each

Oliveira, E., & Conte, T.

in someone else’s shoes, is a critical skill

responding to a different part of the user

(2015). Designing Personas

for designers to understand the perceived

experience, in order to capture what the

and actual challenges that a user faces.

user thought and felt, what they saw,

However, experiences are subjective, and

what they heard and what they said and

it can be difficult to ‘feel’ or ‘understand’

did. Each area of the map is populated

the experiences of others.

with insights gathered from existing user

ACADEMIC RESOURCES: Ferreira, B., Silva, W.,

with Empathy Map. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Software Engineering & Knowledge Engineering (SEKE 2015). Skokie, IL: KSI Research Inc. and Knowledge Systems Institute

experience data, collected, for example, by Empathy mapping is a visual method

observing a user interacting with an existing

that can support the understanding and

or envisioned product or service. The quality

Macanufo, J. (2010).

interpretation of previously collected data.

of empathy maps is directly linked to the

Gamestorming: A Playbook

While personas (p.122) use an aggregation

quality of the previously collected data.

Graduate School. Gray, D., Brown, S., &

for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers. O’Reilly

of data from multiple participants, the

Media, Inc.

empathy mapping method directly

Well-developed empathy maps offer

represents the experience of an individual

rich and deep insights into the context

person. Empathy maps help designers

of the user. Additionally, the completed

to better understand a user within a

map remains a valuable visual tool for

particular context, building an awareness

evaluation, encouraging regular review of

of the factors that influence and inform

the design development against the user

specific user needs. This is particularly

needs identified. Like empathic modelling

important in the problem-framing stage

(p.66), empathy mapping can be

of a design process.

especially valuable for considering people with reduced physical or perceptual abilities in a design.

68 Empathy Mapping

EXERCISE

YOU WILL NEED Pen

In this exercise, you will create an empathy map to visualise a set of qualitative data and to develop empathy with your user. If you don’t have your own data, use the resources provided on the companion website. Focus on your own design problem, or follow the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ brief (p.201). See p.202 for an example of an empathy map.

Identify your user and write their name in the centre of the template. You can also add a sketch or photograph.

• •

[5 minutes]

Gather the raw data you have from one user. This should be data that has been generated through qualitative research methods, e.g. interview transcripts (p.92), contextual observation notes (p.50) or video recordings. It doesn’t matter if this data is in different formats. Begin with the ‘Think and Feel’ area of the map. Using the questions below as prompts, review your data and identify as many relevant insights as you can. Write these on the map. • How does your user feel? • What are the negative and positive thoughts described by the user? • How does your user describe their situation or issues? • What matters most to your user? Don’t worry about putting data in the ‘wrong area’ of the map. Some insights might fit across multiple areas, so just make sure you’ve captured them somewhere. [15 minutes]

Move to the ‘See’ area of the map and repeat this process, using the following questions as prompts: • What external factors impact your user?

What people, places, activities or experiences influence your user? What is your user watching, reading, using or being exposed to?

[15 minutes]

Move to the ‘Hear’ area of the map and repeat this process, using the following questions as prompts: • Who does your user hear from? • What media sources influence your user? • Whose opinion does your user value? [15 minutes]

Move to the ‘Say and Do’ area of the map and repeat this process, using the following questions as prompts: • What are the behaviours and attitudes of your user? • How have these adapted, changed or responded to the challenges faced? • What actions did your user take? • What are the direct quotes that illustrate your user’s perspective? [15 minutes]

Share your map with your user to check that you’ve represented the insights accurately, or share with your team to verify your interpretation of the data. Review your map regularly throughout the design process to ensure you’re responding to the user needs you identified. [10 minutes]

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

Morphological Charts Breaking a big, messy problem into bite-sized pieces When designing, the problems that we

that can eventually be combined into a

deal with are usually big, nebulous and

final solution. This makes sure the really

messy, making it hard to maintain an

tricky issues don’t get neglected while we

Design Methods: Strategies

overview. Problems may have a variety of

pursue our final design.

for Product Design (4th ed.).

conflicting and contradictory constraints,

ACADEMIC RESOURCES: Cross, N. (2008). Engineering

New York: Wiley.

which means that sometimes solving

However, the problem is not solved by just

one part of the problem can cause issues

pasting the different individual solutions

with another. Balancing all these diverse

together. Large ‘wicked’ problems cannot

for concept design in

concerns in your head at once can be a

be addressed simply by designing

collaborative product

challenging task, and it is difficult – if not

solutions for their constituent parts.

impossible – to solve the entire problem

It is, therefore, important to carefully

at once.

synthesise all ideas into a single solution

Huang, G. Q., & Mak, K. L. (1999). Web-based morphological charts

development. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 10(3), 267-278.

as a final step of this process. This step is Morphological charts were originally

nicely illustrated by a quote attributed to

popularised in engineering and are now

the designer of the Mini, Alec Issigonis,

used for a wider range of design problems.

who stated that ‘a camel is a horse

They offer a structured way of breaking

a big problem down into manageable

solution that makes a camel survive in

parts and tackling these one at a time,

harsh environments is well-designed,

with the aim of finding the optimum

yet the focus on individual functional

solution. Often these sub-problems can

solutions results in an overall solution that

be paradoxical – for example, making

is perhaps not as elegant as a horse. The

a compact, simple product, while still

process of synthesising ideas is a complex

including a lot of features. By listing the

task itself that may involve using some of

sub-problems and focusing on each one

the ideas, changing some of them and

individually, we can explore strategies

discarding some altogether.

112 Morphological Charts

EXERCISE

YOU WILL NEED Pen, paper

In this exercise, you will break your problem down into 15–20 sub-problems and generate ideas for solving each one using the template provided on the companion website. Focus on your own design problem, or follow the ‘Environmentally Resilient Communities’ brief (p.205).

Start with a well-defined design problem. If you need to, first spend more time formulating your design problem effectively using reframing (p.128) or gaining a deeper understanding of it with mind mapping (p.106). E.g. water infrastructure that helps communities to manage and use their water more efficiently. Write a list of the most difficult subproblems you are facing in your design task. Start each of these by asking yourself ‘How can you?’ questions, which you write on your template. E.g. how can you catch and re-use stormwater? E.g. how can you retro fit existing homes to use grey water? E.g. how can you offer insight into personal water usage? [10–15 minutes]

Consider if there are any paradoxical sub-problems, which are often a feature of design problems. These are issues where you are trying to resolve two contradictory requirements. E.g. how can you let people take a longer shower that uses less water? E.g. how can you get rid of floodwater quickly but save it for later?

Generate 1–3 solutions for each of these individual problems, using a method such as brainwriting (p.32) or KJ brainstorming (p.94). Don’t limit yourself to just one idea for each of the sub-problems, but make sure you have a range of options. This will help give you choices and variety later. Write all your ideas down in the relevant row of the template. [2–3 hours]

List the pros and cons of each idea. Consider minor design improvements that would help address the cons you identified. Select the best idea in each row and circle it. [1–2 hours]

Identify feasible combinations that could be synthesised into concepts, and sketch each of these on a new piece of paper. Be selective; don’t try to force your ideas into inelegant combinations. Use a decision matrix (p.54) to help you decide which combination to pursue, but keep your other ideas in case you wish to return to any later on down the track. [1 hour]

[10 minutes]

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

113

STEP Cards Turning a web of external factors into actionable insights When we design a new product or service,

knowledge across the factors. The first

it is important to remember that it is

step is to decide which factors are relevant

embedded and used within an existing

for the design situation. Depending on

R. A. (2003). Strategic

ecosystem that is created from and

the situation, we might decide to swap

Management: Formulation,

influenced by various external factors.

economic factors in the STEP cards with

While user research methods, such as

environmental or ethical factors or to add

interviews, focus on understanding user

additional cards to include other factors.

ACADEMIC RESOURCES: Alkhafaji, A., & Nelson,

Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment. New York: Routledge. Paul, C. L. (2008). A modified

needs within a particular context, the

Delphi approach to a new

STEP cards method allows us to capture

Using cards, the method offers a way

card sorting methodology.

those broader macro-environmental

of capturing, sorting and presenting

external factors. Originating in the field of

secondary data from multiple

management, where the method is also

perspectives, exploring the external

to solve problems: Elements

known as ‘PEST analysis’, the acronym

factors that influence, inform and shape

of a theory of problems

‘STEP’ stands for social, technological,

the adoption and use of a design. The

economic and political. Variations known

cards can be populated with primary

as PESTLE, STEEP and STEEPLE have been

and/or secondary research, for example,

devised to include legal, environmental

by drawing on examples from practice,

and ethical factors.

literature, local projects or international

Journal of Usability studies, 4(1), 7-30. Wickelgren, W. A. (1974). How

and problem solving. San Francisco: WH Freeman.

initiatives. Once cards have been

148 STEP Cards

The STEP card method can be used

populated, they can be reviewed and

individually or as a group during the

grouped in multiple forms to create

early stage of a project as a visual way

new ways of looking at a dataset. The

of capturing external factors. It can be

knowledge gained through this process

useful to include people from other

can be used to determine the next steps

teams and backgrounds in the method,

in a design project and to guide how these

to provide complementary expertise and

factors are addressed in the final solution.

EXERCISE

YOU WILL NEED Pen, paper, 2+ people, internet access

In this exercise, you will populate a set of STEP cards representing the forces relevant to your chosen context, using the template on the companion website. Focus on your own design problem, or follow the ‘Supermarket of the Future’ design brief (p.196). See p.199 for an example of a set of STEP Cards.

Select at least four factors from the template that are relevant to your project, and cut out the corresponding cards. You can also use the blank card to list an additional force that is important within the context of your design problem. E.g. for the ‘Supermarket of the Future’ brief you might choose: social, technological, economic and political.

[15 minutes]

[10 minutes]

Read broadly to identify data sources and collect data about the factors selected in step 1, using newspapers, academic articles, trend-watching sites and online forums/blogs. Save or bookmark the data that you find.

[1–4 hours]

Search through your collected data, adding any additional data you might have from primary research, to identify insights that are relevant to your identified factors. Highlight sentences that seem particularly relevant while you browse. [30 minutes]

Populate your STEP cards by recording each of the insights from step 3 on individual cards. Include a summary heading, a detailed description of the insight, a supporting quote or sentence from the data, an image and a link to the original source.

Collate the completed STEP cards. Begin to sort the cards by factor (e.g. all the social cards together). Don’t worry if you have duplicates. You can pin your cards on the wall, sort them on a table or use a digital tool such as Trello. Discuss your findings and take a photograph of the groups you created. Try organising your STEP cards in alternative ways. Can you identify categories that make sense within your dataset? For example, can you sort the cards using a timeline? Or can you sort them hierarchically? From local to national to international perspectives? Discuss your findings and take another photograph of the grouping. [15 minutes]

Consider the impact of your new insights on your design project, and write a list of actions emerging from these insights. These could be design features that need more consideration, additional research that needs to be done or information to keep in mind. [10 minutes]

[20 minutes]

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. 149

Which Brief?

This book is for anyone with an interest in design. You might not have used any of the methods in this book before, or you might be an experienced designer looking to elevate your current practices. In the following pages, we have curated seven case studies related to different design briefs. The book is structured so that you can dip into any method at any time, but for a more guided approach you can also choose a design brief and follow it, trying out the recommended methods. Help me get started Are you new to human-centred design? Or perhaps you work in another area and are keen to add design thinking to your skill set? If that is the case, we recommend one of the following design briefs to learn about the basics of a design process: Autonomous Vehicles (p.181) Designing Space travel (p.186) Teach me more Have you been practicing design for a while and would like to learn about new methods to add to your repertoire. Or perhaps you’d like to broaden your practice to include service design, business models or co-design? In that case, we recommend the following design briefs: Museum Visitor Experience (p.191) Supermarket of the Future (p.196) Health and Wellbeing (p.201) Push my boundaries Being a reflective practitioner means questioning the status quo and how we do things. Do you feel like trying something new? To dip your toes into more advanced methods, we recommend the following briefs: Environmentally Resilient Communities (p.205) Future Campus (p.208)

180 Case Studies – Which Brief?

Autonomous Vehicles Self-driving cars are becoming a reality due to

•

measurement drones

robots disguised as cars, using sensors and actuators to navigate roads and respond to features in the

•

autonomous systems in future cities.

a visual, tangible or pervasive control interface integrated into a driverless car

environment. They are joined by many other robotic systems that are lining up to become part of the fleet of

a dashboard to control a fleet of garbage collection robots, street cleaning robots or air quality

advancements in machine learning and AI. They are

•

city infrastructure that enables autonomous systems and our interactions with them, such as charging stations for drones or solutions for receiving parcels

Today, Google has several driverless cars that have proved

delivered by drones.

capable of manoeuvring the roads. Likewise, in 2014, Tesla rolled out a new autopilot feature. The feature

Design task

was released in the form of a software update: no new

How can we create user interfaces and user experiences

car required. Although completely self-driving cars are

that ensure that new autonomous solutions consider

estimated to be some years away, these first attempts

people and their needs rather than being driven by

at mass-producing autonomous vehicles for today’s

technological advancements? This project brief invites you

cities demonstrate that as designers we need to start

to take on this challenge by specifically focusing on the

thinking about how people in the future will interact with

interaction between people and autonomous vehicles.

autonomous vehicles.

Your task as a designer is to identify a specific use case or problem area, and design a solution that showcases what

The futuristic nature of the design brief will make it

autonomous future products or services might look like.

difficult to gather first-hand experience of autonomous vehicles and their usability issues. You may have to base some of your research on pre-existing documentation

Getting started

and research found online, such as driving tests of

If you choose to follow this brief, we recommend

autonomous vehicles or academic research papers. This

using the following set of foundational methods.

can be used in combination with data about user needs

Use questionnaires (p.126) and interviews (p.92) to

that you identify through primary research methods. You

gather data from users and thematic analysis (p.156)

should identify either a problem scenario (e.g. garbage

to analyse the resulting data. Translate this into

collection in cities) or a type of autonomous vehicle

personas (p.122) that are used to represent key user

(e.g. delivery drones).

needs. Develop your initial ideas using storyboarding (p.150) and then develop these further by creating

Possible areas of interest that you could consider are:

wireflows (p.172). Once you are satisfied with the

•

a mobile app or digital technology used to book

design, create low-fidelity prototypes (p.100) that can

shared autonomous vehicles

be used for usability testing (p.160). Create mock-ups

a mobile app or web interface to order and track

(p.108) to represent your final design ideas.

•

products delivered by urban drones

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

181

Future Campus University is about more than just learning. Students

•

spaces that promote different kinds of learning (e.g.

spend many hours each day at their university campus,

quiet study, conversation, hands-on)

and for many it becomes their home away from home. Many students look back at university as a time of

offering digitally enhanced, fit for purpose teaching

•

promoting the use of research findings in real-

intense self-development, where they met new people,

world applications and helping students and the

were exposed to new ideas and began to discover

community to understand the value of these innovations

who they really are. A supportive physical and digital environment that meets the genuine needs of the

•

leave memories that last a lifetime.

supporting healthy lifestyles for people living and working on the campus

students using it can make studying a breeze – and •

enabling a seamless transition of learning and activities between physical spaces and online.

The creation or expansion of a university campus is a unique opportunity to intentionally design a learning

Design task

environment that meets the needs of students in an

How can we capture these qualities in a specific place

optimum way. But projects like this don’t happen

and time? This project brief invites you to take on this

overnight; realisation may be 10 to 20 years down the

challenge: design or redesign a university campus,

track. So how do we design for these future students?

including the ecosystem of intangible qualities that help

Developing a solid understanding of the fundamental

it become a dynamic, successful place. The brief is not

needs of students now can contribute to creating a

limited to universities, similar questions can also drive the

great experience for students of the future.

design of work campuses.

But a campus is more than just bricks and mortar. It also consists of physical and intangible qualities that

Getting started

create and nurture innovative, confident individuals.

If you choose to follow this brief, we recommend

It includes research facilities, teaching spaces,

that you significantly expand the ‘think’ phase of

support services, leisure activities, online and digital

your design process using the following selection

infrastructure and a supportive environment that helps

of methods. Use local orbits (p.98) to better

distill a sense of belonging in those using the campus.

understand the existing site. Create pop-ups (p.124) and employ experience sampling (p.72)

Possible areas of interest that you could consider are:

to gather data about how it is used. Consolidate

•

attracting and retaining high-quality teachers and

your understanding with mind mapping (p.106).

promoting teaching excellence within university

Use design by metaphor (p.56) and science

departments

fiction prototyping (p.138) to enhance your

facilitating clear communication channels and

ideation process. Evaluate these ideas using

offering supportive administrative processes between

scenario-based thinking (p.134) to help you

students and staff

determine how future-proof they are.

•

208 Case Studies – Future Campus

Figure 1 Figure 1. Artefacts from a speculating preferred futures workshop, which focused on exploring possible implementations to make urban campuses ‘smarter’. Credits: research project by Phil Gough, Leigh-Anne Hepburn

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. 209

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. A Handbook of Methods

ISBN 978-90-636958-5-9

9 789063 695859

Authors Martin Tomitsch Madeleine Borthwick Naseem Ahmadpour Clare Cooper Jessica Frawley Leigh-Anne Hepburn A. Baki Kocaballi Lian Loke Claudia Nunez-Pacheco Karla Straker Cara Wrigley

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

A Handbook of Methods

Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. A Handbook of Methods

Revised: 20 new methods and an introduction to life-centred design