1.3 Design Thinking Process

In this sense, being a design thinker is a bit similar to being a scientist. There is no knowledge without assumptions and hypotheses, we are not able to predict the performance of our product just by imagining it. This is why experimentation is important and, in turn, brings lessons and conclusions that build our entrepreneurial experience.

● Listen If we were required to prepare 10 commandments for designing responsible services, the first one would definitely be about listening. To the users, clients, citizens, beneficiaries... As design thinking is part of human-centred design, this element of listening is the foundation of the discipline and is called empathy. Listening is essential to collect data during the discovery phase (e.g. running interviews with the users), while generating ideas (e.g. organising co-creation sessions with employees or customers or potential customers) or for getting feedback (e.g. during A/B testing phase of your solution in which the user tests two different versions of the product).

● Accept the uncertainty Far too often, we want to innovate but only if we are sure of the result at the end of the creative process. Isn’t that a contradiction? Yes it is. Practising tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty is one of several future skills and we need to understand its potential. The Design Thinking process helps us practice it. The more experienced we are with design tools, the more trust we have in the results that will arrive as part of the solution. This is connected to the fact that there is not just one idea- there are multiple ideas. There is not just one solution- there are multiple prototypes that need to be tested, rather than simply assumed.

● Keep on trying, iterate! And again, what if the feedback shows that we are on the wrong track? This is great! Receiving this feedback early enough prevents us from investing too many resources into a product that won’t succeed in the market. Thanks to feedback, we can spot the functional aspects or touchpoints in the customer journey that do not work and need to be corrected or improved. Iterations are an essential part of the development of the product.

1.3 Design Thinking Process

There are many variants of the Design Thinking process in use today, and they each have from three to seven phases, stages, or modes. Regardless, all variations of Design Thinking are very similar. Here, we will focus on the five-stage model proposed by the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, which is also known as d.school. We have chosen d.school’s approach because they are at the forefront of applying and teaching Design Thinking.

In order to understand the global picture, we might look at the design thinking process presented in the form of the double diamond. Why not two circles or two triangles? The diamond shape is essential, as it reflects two various dynamics that alternate in the process of design thinking: exploration (divergence) and synthesis (convergence). In divergent phases we explore, brainstorm, and collect data. Those team members who feel at ease with inventing new ideas feel very comfortable in this stage. It’s a bit like gathering ingredients before making a cake. In converging phases, we stop multiplication and start analysis and synthesis. We cluster similarities, group elements, organise them and afterwards start dragging first conclusions. Again, the team members who see the patterns are champions of that phase, while natural born creators have a short break :) Continuing with our culinary analogy, this is the moment where various small cookies are created with the ingredients given (and some are left behind, perhaps for the next cake!).

As divergent and convergent processes are repeated twice, therefore the diamond is double. But the focus is different. First, we work on the problem and only during the second stage do we jump into the solution. This is very important, far too often we try to come up with the solution immediately, without really looking at what the problem is. So, if a car is a solution, what is the problem - mobility from A to B. If a toaster is a solution, what is the problem - heating bread.

Design Thinking’s Phases

The five phases of Design Thinking, are as follows:5

● Empathise: Understand whose problem are you solving The Design Thinking process is useful only when the problem is identified. But whose problem? This is where we need to define the user. For example, we have realised that our employees struggle with certain procedures or access to the online platform that they should use in their everyday work. Or perhaps they have a problem reaching the office with the public transport. In the first steps, our task is to understand that problem, deconstruct it or map it. There is no other way than connecting to the target audience that is directly concerned: understanding their pains and needs; habits they developed and the barriers they need to face. Interviewing people and observing their way of dealing with the problematic situations provides the design thinker with the precious insights, answers to question: why.

● Define – your user’s needs and their problem Collecting the data is one thing but analysing it is another task. Collected pieces of data are just the ingredients, like a detective we must make sense of them, build links between them, all the while taking care that nothing is overlooked or left behind. We need a structured approach to name the main findings and turn them into so-called insights - a kind of breakthrough, an in-depth understanding of user behaviour. It might be easier if we corroborate the human stories collected with the interviews and observations and if possible, find the red thread between them. Again, using tools like affinity diagrams, empathy maps and the user journeys nourishes our understanding and helps to define the real problem that our focus users face.

● Ideate – generating ideas for creative solutions Understanding the problem and the reality the user is facing, helps to formulate the challenges using How Might We questions generates. There is a certain magic happening here, if the user research phase is done properly, the ideas will come to mind quickly. As they say, the best way to find a good idea is to have many ideas! As in previous phases of the design thinking process, this is where we often get stuck as individualism therefore the team collaboration is very precious. It allows “attacking” the challenge from different angles, points of view and activating the resources that we might not think about in an individual setting. By using various techniques of brainstorming, brainwriting and storytelling we aim at quantity rather than quality, challenging the way we thought in the past. In the end we want to innovate, right?

5 Source: d.school