Design thinking for ed wbk-1c - for screen

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Design Thinking For

Educators

A Radford University Methodology Workbook Version 1.c

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© 2013 Radford University / Department of Interior Design and Fashion. All Rights Reserved Design Thinking for Educators - Methodology Workbook

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“We could feel them releasing their tension about problems, because they were learning how to overcome obstacles. They could be part of the problem solving process and not have to look to someone else to provide a solution.” - Radford University—ID&F Advisory board.

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Design Thinking for Education

There are a great many obstacles that educators face within the classroom environment. With so many factors competing for their time, it is no wonder educators are often stressed-out and their resources are stretched thin. All teachers work toward providing the best education possible,. However, when teachers spend much of their time trying to work around obstacles, they divert efforts and energy away from their mission—teaching and improving the lives of students. It is an exciting moment when teachers see how the Design Thinking process of problem solving can be applied to their own challenges. Everyone is, and can be, a designer. Design Thinking can help.

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Human centered problem solving

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Design Thinking: What is Design Thinking? Why we are doing this? Who are we? Where do we begin?

Process: The Design Thinking process / getting started Design and education Problem based learning Learning objectives and needs

Discover & Define: Finding common themes The 5 Whys/Whats

Generate Empathy: Stakeholder diagrams User Interviews Role-play & storyboarding

Imagine, Explore, Create: Generate ideas Thorns, buds, & roses Round robin

Implement & Evolve: Prototyping Fail early—fail often Implement & Evolve

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“Design is an opportunity to continue telling the story, not just sum everything up.” - Tate Linden, President, Stokefire

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Design Thinking

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Simply put, Design Thinking is the application of the design process to solve difficult challenges. Design Thinking is a mindset, and the willingness to explore many possibilities in the pursuit of solving

complex problems. The first step is to realize that as an educator, you already possess the necessary tools needed to solve these challenges. You are already designing every single day!

What is Design Thinking?

Good question! Ultimately the goal is to find ways to empower teachers to individually improve the way students are taught.

We believe every teacher has a unique role in impacting the lives of their students. That role includes shaping the learning environment .

Why are we doing this?

This exercise is a joint effort sponsored by the Radford University Department of Interior Design and Fashion, The College of Education and Human Development, and members of the ID&F advisory board. Additional partners and sponsors include the commercial interior design firm KSA Interiors, the Council for Certified Virginia Interior Designers (CCVID), and the consulting firm Motivate Forward.

Utilizing tools and processes developed by our multi-disciplinary design team and inspired by the industrial design firm IDEO and the LUMA Institute, we are looking to gain an insight into how collaboration can lead to better educational environments.

Who are we?

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Our team of educators, certified design professionals and researchers apply the methodologies of Design Thinking in their daily activities. Through their support and guidance, we have developed this design manual and we ask that you join our team as an active partner. By sharing your experiences, you can help us improve this methodology. Learn more about our research partners, volunteers and sponsors:

Radford University Radford University Department of Interior Design & Fashion Radford University MFA Design Thinking Radford College of Education and Human Development

KSA Interiors www.ksainteriors.com Council for Certified Virginia Interior Designers (CCVID) www.ccvid.org Motivate Forward www.motivateforward.com Additional Resources: IDEO http://www.ideo.com/ LUMA Institute http://www.luma-institute.com/

Research, guidance and inspiration

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Where do we begin?

The first task is to realize what it means to think like a designer.

Design thinking is:

Human Centered. Well attuned solutions are derived by forming a deep empathy with those impacted by complex problems. Teachers are some of the most caring and attuned people we know. Collaborative. Bringing together various perspectives is what Design Thinking is all about. Non-linear challenges are rarely solved by one viewpoint. Thinking like a designer means engaging others with different skills and experiences. The first step is to realize, as an educator, you already possess the tools to solve complex challenges. You are already designing every single day!

Optimistic. Design Thinking lives in a world where all challenges can be solved, and no idea is too far fetched for consideration. Experimental. This process implores you to take risks. In fact it’s a requirement. Thankfully we also give you permission to fail. An open willingness to try ideas and explore why they work, (or do not), is the most important aspect of Design Thinking.

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Design thinking is as much a mindset as it is a process. It is a methodology that asks you to explore new perspectives and to apply critical thinking, visualization, collaboration, and empathy to better understand the context of a problem. Design thinking resides at the nexus of three parameters—the Problem, the Solution, and the Operational Environment in which the problem and solution co-exist. Using a Venn diagram similar to the one shown below, you can visualize how these different parameters share overlapping impacts. Why are people looking to design as a new way to solve problems? The world is increasingly becoming a non-linear place. Old structures, protocols, practices, and procedures no longer ensure the results we once could trust. Predictions, models and projections that used to be reliable are now failing.

Designers appear to have the mindset / approach best suited to solve what many people are now calling “wicked problems”. Add to this the challenge that many people have replaced the old measures of quality with new measures. We increasingly seek purpose and meaning over longevity or functionality; a greater connection with the things we associate ourselves with, buy, and use. Design is the differentiator that distinguishes successful services, products and solutions from mediocre attempts. The key to the success of design thinking is that it can be adopted by anyone since it taps into the inherent attributes that make us human—intuition, empathy, and reason. Designers naturally balance these human attributes in the problem solving process, consciously taking logical leaps of faith and exploring “what might be” with every turn or twist in the lifespan of generating a solution. Everyone has the capacity to think like a designer. Design Thinking is a process that makes it easier to see how to hone that capacity—to repeat it, improve it, share it, and learn from it.

Problem

Solution

Operational Environment

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Origins

Many of the exercises that make up the core of this workbook have been developed by the Design Thinking MFA Program at Radford University and the commercial interior design firm KSA Interiors. Additional exercises have been adopted from other sources such as IDEO, the LUMA Institute, and the Stanford d. School.

Supported by a diverse advisory board with professional and academic members from across the country, Radford University has developed this toolkit for sharing the design thinking methodology. Working with public school systems in Virginia, this methodology has been honed through workshops where educators have been engaged in activities and tools to explore the Design Thinking process. Over time this methodology will be refined through future workshops and will continue to evolve.

The root inspiration for this workshop comes from IDEO – a leader in Design Thinking.

Inspired by IDEO’s methodology, Radford University undertook the challenge of developing a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Design Thinking. The new MFA program is the centerpiece in an additional goal of the University to engage the resources of the College of Education and Human Development and communities across the state in expanding the role of design in problem solving. Early learning from this workbook and associated workshops will culminate when Radford University hosts their first Design Thinking Conference in Summer 2014. This conference will be centered around using Design Thinking to improve educational environments.

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The lessons learned through this workbook and associated workshops, will guide the planning and development of future conference topics and activities, as well as improve this workbook and future workshops.

We cordially invite you to join in this process and to share your experience using this workbook. Good luck and best wishes as you begin using design to open new worlds of opportunity in solving complex challenges. Sincerely, Radford University Department of Interior Design and Fashion, Advisory Board

Join us

The Design Thinking methodology can only improve with your help. Please contact us with your thoughts, ideas, suggestions or critique and help us evolve and grow. Contact: Radford University Department of Interior Design and Fashion Department Chair Holly L. Cline, Ph.D., LEED AP, IDEC, NCIDQ #12833 [email protected]

Share your experience

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“Think, set the point of view, plan to implement, implement.” - Jim Hackett, CEO, Steelcase

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Process

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The Design Thinking Process

Radford University’s Design Thinking MFA Program defines Design Thinking as a non-linear four stage process. Each stage can be operationalized out of order due to a continuous cycle of iteration.

Design Thinking is an iterative and empathic process of synthesis and experimentation. Each phase asks designers to apply intuition in taking a logical leap of faith in identifying potential solutions. This workbook explores each stage of the process by identifying exercises, tools,

expectations, and opportunities for reflection, self learning, and improvement. It is best to think of this methodology as a primer to get the creative juices flowing and to feel free to adapt or modify this tool to meet your specific problems or needs.

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Getting Started

First things first, if you are looking to utilize this tool, you have likely identified a problem and found others who share that problem. Before you get ahead of yourself, we ask that you begin by making a simple sounding (but difficult to implement) pledge to open your mind to all possibilities, to take an optimistic approach, and not try to solve the problem before you understand it properly. Once you make that pledge, your next step is to identify a well-rounded team of individuals impacted by this problem. Limiting your team to individuals from one or a small number of disciplines runs the risk of self-reinforcing insular

ideas and decisions which may not survive when exposed to the real environment. With a problem and a team in place all you need now is a common place for your group to collaborate. Try to find a place that is comfortable yet varied from your regular daily experience. A fresh location will help promote new ideas and discourage subconscious sabotage—when worries of “what can’t be done” seep into your thinking.

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Activity 1: Identify a Common Issue

Begin the design thinking process by outlining a very broad and generic issue that you wish to explore. Avoid identifying very narrow and acute issues.

1. Identify a common issue Write a broad description of an issue faced by your organization, group, or team. … … ...

Activity 2: Identify a Diverse Team

Select a diverse group of individuals to participate in a collaborative effort to explore the common issue. Consider selecting as broad a coalition of impacted individuals as possible. Design Thinking thrives when many divergent viewpoints come together. Do not worry if early team discussions revise the definition of your original issue. Design Thinking will continuously ask you to revise your position or reevaluate your assumptions. If your team is large, consider dividing into “groups within a group”. Each sub-group can tackle the same issue simultaneously but separately—Make sure to take time to regularly catch-up or even frequently redistribute team members.

2. Identify a diverse team

Identify a diverse team of collaborators. … … … … …

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Activity 3: Identify a Location

Select a convenient location for your team to meet for discussion and exploration of your issue. Depending on the scope of your problem, this space may be needed for a few hours, or as many as several days. Any space will do so long as it can accommodate the entire team when collaborating as a single unit. Consider a location that is diverse from your typical daily experience as a tool for generating fresh and new ideas.

3. Identify a Location

Identify a convenient location to host your collaboration. … … … … …

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Design and Education

So, what does design have to do with education? In short, everything. Education and Design Thinking share a common purpose. They are both human centered and rely on engagement, collaboration, and intrinsic motivation. A variety of pedagogies, including Problem Based Learning (PBL), share similarities with Design Thinking, as do learning classification systems such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, and psychological theories, including Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

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Problem Based Learning (PBL) and other active learning pedagogies are a perfect pairing for the Design Thinking methodology. Human-Centered (or Student-Centered) problem solving is at the core of each school of thought. Design Thinking resides at the nexus of at least three interrelated parameters. In the case of education, one logical deduction is that opportunities exist at the nexus of curriculum, student and teacher needs, and physical space. At any given time, any of these parameters may present an avenue to defining a problem, proposing a solution, or identifying the operational environment in which the problem and solution co-exist.

Design Thinking represents a process to solve challenges within active learning environments as well as an active learning tool to directly assist students facilitate Self –Directed Learning (SDL), stimulate the cognitive process, and engage their peers. Consider not only engaging your students through Design Thinking, but also sharing the Design Thinking methodology with your students as a tool for them to use.

Problem Based Learning

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Learning objectives and needs

Bloom’s Taxonomy

The various stages of the Design Thinking process bear an uncanny resemblance to the framework within Bloom’s Taxonomy classification for learning objectives within education. Both learning and problem solving share core foundations upon which

discovery and understanding lead to exploration, application, evaluation, and creative evolution. Similarly, one can find relationships to the Design Thinking process in psychological theories, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Design Thinking

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“The real voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” - Marcel Proust, La Prisonnière'

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Discover & Define

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Activity: Finding Common Themes

Overview:

Finding Common Themes is an active group session intended to build initial group self purpose and camaraderie, while generating broad topics for discussion.

Many brainstorming sessions result in narrow perspectives and ideas. This exercise allows many smaller and narrow ideas to be generated and then compiled into larger, more universal categories.

Group discussions can often lead to unwanted side effects of “Group Think”: fear of criticism, desire for acceptance, or reprisal for offering suggestions or ideas. By removing critique from these sessions, a safe and accepting environment is created where all ideas and participants can have room to flourish.

Benefits:

Engages a wide variety of stakeholders

Establishes a common language for discussing a problem

Develops a divergent field of issues to address

Pools related issues into broad themes

Builds a sense of common purpose and camaraderie

Creates a safe atmosphere for collaboration

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Instructions:

1. Develop a team of varied stakeholders with unique perspectives. 2. Divide into small sub groups each with their own facilitator/group leader. 3. On Post-it Notes write down many different issues related to the problem. 4. Each team member presents their Post-its, giving a description of each issue.

- Only the presenter of each issue is allowed to speak. - No external critique or comment is allowed from other team members.

5. Gather all groups together and ask the larger group to consolidate all issues into specific themes. 6. Give each themed group a heading or title representing a broad issue to be addressed. Resources: KSA Interiors Process Story The KSA Way http://www.slideshare.net/ksainteriors/ksa-the-ksa-way-process-story

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Activity: The 5 Whys/Whats

Overview:

Sometimes the underlying reason for an issue is hiding in plain sight. Consecutively asking “why?” or “what?” is at the root of a problem helps uncover a better understanding of the problem.

This can be especially true when trying to identify issues related to preferences, emotions, or instinctual reactions as people can be notoriously bad about explaining their own feelings.

This exercise allows a safe and easy way to probe responses, to get past face-value interpretations, and identify underlying issues.

Example:

The vehicle will not start. (the problem). 1. Why? - The battery is dead. (first why) 2. Why? - The alternator is not functioning. (second why) 3. Why? - The alternator belt has broken. (third why) 4. Why? - The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and not replaced. (fourth why) 5. Why? - The vehicle was not maintained according to the recommended service schedule. (fifth why, a root cause)

Benefits:

Explores cause and effect relationships

Sees past face-value responses and issues

Provides a safe way to probe personal, or emotional responses to issues

Uncovers root causes behind problems

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Instructions:

1. Using an Ishikawa or “fishbone” diagram identify one broad theme to address. 2. On one end of the diagram indicate the problem. 3. Ask “Why?” or “What?” causes that particular issue. 4. Continue asking “Why?” or “What?” consecutively up to five times. 5. Ask open ended questions such as “What do you mean by?”, “Why is that a

problem?” or “Why does that occur?” 6. Determine root cause or issue. Resources: KSA Interiors “Best in the World” “Best in the World, A Client-Centric Approach” http://www.slideshare.net/ksainteriors/ksa-bestintheworld-ebook “Customer Centered Growth” , by Richard Whiteley and Diane Hessan The 5 Whys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys

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Activity: Visual Discovery

Overview:

a “Visual Discovery” exercise. Can assist your team in effectively building consensus among team members and developing a common visual vocabulary for the design process.

Ask group members to individually select imagery from a variety of sources, magazines, books, and the internet, which represent ideas, concepts, ideas, or emotions they wish to express in identifying the problem.

As a group, label, draw, and mark up all of the imagery. Define each visual with describing words to categorize the imagery. Feel free to indicate contradictory viewpoints or descriptions of each image. There is no wrong description.

Benefits:

Identifies a common visual language for team members

Allows all team members to see that different members may have opposing perspectives of similar ideas

Provides a safe way to probe personal, or emotional responses to issues or ideas

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Instructions:

1. Ask the team to find imagery representing issues close to them 2. Post all imagery on a common wall with room to markup and annotate images 3. As a group ask the entire team to label all images with descriptions of how these images make them feel 4. Engage in a group discussion focusing on images with the strongest responses. - Pay close attention to images which garnered highly similar or significantly contradictory responses. 5. Ask the team to describe why they feel so strongly about those issues. 6. Keep the most significant issues posted on a wall visible to all team members and reference them often. Make note if perspectives change over the course of future activities. Resources: KSA Interiors Process Story The KSA Way http://www.slideshare.net/ksainteriors/ksa-the-ksa-way-process-story

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“People ignore design that ignores people.” - Frank Chimero, Designer and Illustrator

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Generate Empathy

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Activity: Stakeholder Mapping

Overview:

Used to understand who is impacted by the problem.

Helps teams visualize and understand the relationship, hierarchies and interactions between all of the people who have an interest (or stake) in the system or product being designed.

Typically teams work together to map all of the individuals who will potentially touch the product from purchase decision through use, maintenance, repair, and disposal.

This activity typically reveals that the product or service has a lot more stakeholders than the obvious end-user.

With this information, the team can determine which of these people they should consider as the primary audience and create a research plan for interviews and/or contextual inquiry.

Stakeholder maps can also be used to help new team members get up to speed on a project.

Finally, stakeholder maps are an excellent way to present the findings from research, since they can be formatted to display a rich contextual picture of the individuals associated with the product or system.

Benefits:

Generates shared ideas about all involved parties

User/human centered

Can be used as research documentation

Empathy is developed through identification and understanding

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Instructions:

1. List all people and groups who might be impacted by the problem 2. Draw simple representations of the people and groups. Keep it simple (no

artistic abilities needed!!) 3. Draw clusters of icons to represent groups of people 4. Label each person/group 5. Use dialog bubbles to capture thoughts and feelings 6. Draw lines and arrows to illustrate relationships between people and groups

Resources: From the LUMA Institute The theory behind concept maps, and making and using them: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryCmaps/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.htm Engaging the right people using stakeholder maps: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm

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Activity: User Interview

Overview:

Interviewing users of a space, process, or tool highlights key issues which may need to be addressed.

Users are often able to provide unique insight into why an issue exists, or at least identify specific parameters which affect it.

By understanding the role and mindset of a user, the need for specific design improvements can be uncovered.

Benefits:

Engages a wide array of perspectives and mindsets

Values the opinions of users affected by an issue

Establishes “Buy-In” with those most impacted by the success or failure of new solutions

Builds empathy for the needs of others impacted by the issue

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Instructions:

1. Identify individuals who are both extremely familiar or unfamiliar with the issue. 2. Put emphasis on selecting students as well as instructors or staff. 3. Conduct interviews and ask subjects to evaluate their experience with the issue.

Resources: IDEO IDEO Method Cards

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Activity: Role-Playing & Storyboarding

Overview:

By enacting the activities within a real or imagined context, the team can trigger empathy for actual users and raise other relevant issues.

Putting yourself in the role of other stakeholders by way of character profiles is a fun and useful way to bring a particular issue to life and to communicate the value of different perspectives among different stakeholders.

Using observations of real people, character profiles can uncover specific archetypes and details of behavior of stakeholders.

This process may also uncover unanticipated issues inherent in the circumstances of a particular issue.

Recording interactions and discussions using a storyboard is a quick and expressive way to document information uncovered by the activity. Consider the use of video and audio as an additional method for recording interactions.

Benefits:

Communicates the value of different concepts to various stakeholders

Brings issues or people impacted by issues to life

Builds empathy for those impacted by issues

Uncovers unanticipated issues

Uncovers specific behaviors and perspectives

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Instructions:

1. Based on observations of real people, imagine characters representing those who are impacted by the issue.

2. Assign specific characters to different members of your team. 3. Establish a situation where the various characters face the issue. 4. Enact or act-out a scene involving the established situation with each team member playing a specific character. 5. Draft a story-board recounting the interactions, perspective, or mindset, of the

characters in your scene. 6. Make sure to use captions and dialogue bubbles to capture important

interactions.

Resources: IDEO IDEO Method Cards

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“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Imagine Explore Create

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Activity: Generating Ideas—Reverse Brainstorming

Overview:

Reverse brainstorming helps you solve problems by allowing you to see all possible causes of a problem in order to ensure effective solutions.

This process frees up the group to think about a problem in a different way making it easier to come to solutions.

To use this technique, you start with one of two "reverse" questions: - Instead of asking, "How do I solve or prevent this problem?" ask, "How could I possibly cause the problem?" - Instead of asking "How do I achieve these results?" ask, "How could I possibly achieve the opposite effect?" in effect identifying a “Reverse Solution”

Once the team has a long list of "reverse" solutions, now it is time to look at flip each one to think about real potential solutions.

Do not evaluate, criticize or critique ideas/solutions presented. It is important to ensure participants do not pass judgment on even the most unlikely suggestions.

Benefits:

Promotes creative problem solving

Leads to robust solutions

Opens dialogue and gets past “brain freeze”

Creates a safe atmosphere for collaboration

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Instructions: 1. Reference previous exercises and engage in a work session to generate ideas. 2. Clearly identify one or more large themed issues to solve. 3. Reverse the problem or challenge by asking, "How could I possibly cause the

problem?" or "How could I possibly achieve the opposite effect?" 4. Brainstorm the reverse problem to generate reverse solution ideas. Allow the

brainstorm ideas to flow freely. Do not reject anything at this stage. 5. Once you have brainstormed all the ideas to solve the reverse problem,

reverse these into solution ideas for the original problem or challenge. 6. Evaluate these solution ideas. Can you see a potential solution? Can you see

attributes of a potential solution? 7. Do not spend time critiquing ideas/solutions presented. All ideas should be

given time and space to stand on their own. Evaluation of ideas will come later.

Resources: Mindtools http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_96.htm

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Activity: Thorns, Buds, & Roses

Overview:

This activity/process organizes, prioritizes, and synthesizes the group’s ideas

This is a stepping stone in moving the problem toward solution.

Benefits:

Each team member has a say

Elicits constructive critique

Provides quick results

Team members develop a collective understanding

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Instructions: 1. Bring together team members from various disciplines 2. Assign three colors of Post-It notes to represent: Roses (positive) Buds (potential) Thorns (problems) 3. Cluster like ideas into groups with common themes 4. Have each team member tag an idea with a Rose, Bud, or Thorn Post-It 5. Review and discuss results

Resources: From the LUMA Institute The origins of rose, bud, and thorn: http://www.longspeakbsa.org/resources/thronsroses.shtml

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Activity: Round Robin

Overview:

This activity is an ideation protocol that promotes group authorship by passing along ideas.

Round Robin is a method teams can use to quickly build a collection of ideas around a particular challenge. It works best with 2-3 small teams containing at least 3 people.

The power of this method lies in the fact that judgment is deferred in the interest of generating a large number and variety of ideas.

It also ensures that the whole team gets involved, since everyone takes a turn.

During a round, each person inherits the idea of the last person and builds on it – therefore, the solution emerges from collective input.

Benefits:

Generates creative ideas within given parameters

Brings together unlikely ideas

Creates group ideas through collective input

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Instructions: 1. Assemble small multidisciplinary teams of 3-5 people. 2. On a blank sheet of paper each person first writes the challenge/problem state-

ment. - each paper rotates to the team member to the right -

3. Next, each person illustrates an unconventional way to solve the problem - teach paper rotates to the team member to the right -

4. Next, each team member critiques the proposal in front of them for potential problems i.e. why it will fail

- the paper rotates one last time to the right - 5. Finally each team member reviews the previous team members critique and pre-

sents a resolution to the identified problems. 6. The full team then reviews all documentation. Resources: From the LUMA Institute The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki, Doubleday, US, (2004).

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“Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” - Guy Kawasaki, founder, Alltop

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Implement & Evolve

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Experience / Wizard of Oz Prototyping

Overview:

Use Experience or Wizard-of-Oz prototyping to fake functionality that you want to test with users, thus saving you the time and resources of actually creating the functionality before you refine it through testing.

Just like the small man behind the curtain faked the power of the Wizard of Oz, your design team can fake features that you want to test.

Use readily available materials and develop a prototype to experience using the product, process, or service.

Can be used for both objects and activities, products or processes.

Benefits:

Quickly simulates a user experience

Reveals unanticipated issues or needs

Evaluates ideas

Provides a safe place to fail

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Instructions: 1. Determine an idea to explore. 2. Devoting minimal resources, and using human intervention behind the scenes,

act out scenarios related to your solution. 3. Write down issues or conflicts that arise which need to be addressed later. 4. Refine your solution and test again.

Resources: The Stanford D.School Bootcamp Bootleg http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf e Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki, Doubleday, US, (2004). IDEO IDEO Method Cards

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Fail Early—Fail Often

Failing early and often is a requirement.

By requiring yourself to take chances, go out on a limb, and make mistakes, you create the opportunity to learn more about your issue than is possible by playing it safe. Mistakes create the opportunity to revisit, refine, and reformulate solutions.

Failing early also eliminates the risk of catastrophic failure further down the line. Make an effort to fail—intentionally—when failure is still inexpensive, and be amazed by those solutions which manage to survive.

“There is no failure, only feedback.” - Robert G. Allen

“Fail often so you can succeed sooner.” - Tom Kelley, General Manager, IDEO

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Implement & Evolve

Implementing your ideas is the hardest part of any process. This is where action replaces thinking—and where an idea is the most vulnerable. These ideas are Vulnerable not due to their merit, but rather, vulnerable to fear and other outside sources beyond your control. Here are a few tips to help you implement your ideas—and bypass any vulnerability.

-Get widespread support Build a large and diverse team to establish a built-in support structure for your ideas.

-Start Small Don’t overwhelm yourself or your idea. Start small and let the idea grow and spread.

-Failure is feedback Remember, evolution of your idea is a good thing. Let the idea find its own way, don't force it, and if something doesn't work—fix it.

-Share the credit If you did something right, you likely didn't do this alone. Share credit where credit is due and continue building a wider support structure by sharing the love.

-Aggregate, multiply, and evolve We live in an “Aggregation Age”. The resources of the networks surrounding us allow you to aggregate influence and support from many sources. Give others the power to share, expand, and modify your solution—and watch it multiply, evolve, and succeed.

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About the workbook

This workbook is a collaborative educational effort that is designed to grow, expand, and evolve. We are deeply appreciative of the many volunteers who have participated in developing this tool academically and in practice. This includes the many educators who have shared with us their stories, ideas, challenges, and solutions.

A special thanks is given to the administration, staff, and faculty of the Spotsylvania County school system, in particular the educators from Freedom Middle School, for their initial efforts at helping to shape this methodology.

http://designthinkingforeducators.com http://www.ideo.com/work/method-cards/ © 2012 IDEO LLC. All Rights Reserved

http://www.ksainteriors.com © 2010-13 KSA Interiors. All Rights Reserved

http://www.luma-institute.com/ © 2010-13 LUMA Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_96.htm © 1996-2013 Mind Tools Ltd. All Rights Reserved

http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf © 2010 Stanford University D. School. All Rights Reserved

“Change by design : how design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation.” © 2009 Harper Business, Tim Brown, Barry Katz

“The design of business : why design thinking is the next competitive advantage.” © 2009 Harvard Business Press, Roger Martin

“A whole new mind : Why right-brainers will rule the future.” © 2008 Marshall Cavendish, Daniel Pink

Credits and acknowledgments

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Sharing

This workbook is intended to grow and evolve. To do so, this workbook and its ideas must be shared. Please feel free to take this effort to new places, and to use it, share it, modify it, and improve it. All we ask in return is that you let us know about your experience so we too can improve.

Let us know how this works by contacting:

Radford University Department of Interior Design and Fashion Department Chair Holly L. Cline, Ph.D., LEED AP, IDEC, NCIDQ #12833 [email protected] License:

This workbook is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share-Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

Under this license you are free:

To Share - to copy, distribute, and transmit the work

To Remix - to adapt the work

Under the following conditions:

Attribution - You must attribute the work to Radford University, Department of Interior Design and Fashion. You may not suggest that Radford University endorses your work.

Non-Commercial - You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

Share Alike - If you alter, transform, or build upon this work you must distribute the resulting work under the same Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share-Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).