IS6117 Ebusiness Development Project Lecture 3: Design Thinking for Radical Innovation Rob Gleasure [email protected] .

IS6117 Ebusiness Development ProjectLecture 3: Design Thinking for Radical Innovation

Rob Gleasure

[email protected]

IS6117

Today’s lecture Reminder Design Thinking

The emergence of design thinking The core concepts Empathising Defining Ideating Prototyping Testing

Exercise

The emergence of design thinking The origins of design thinking are generally associated with Rolf

Faste in Stanford and David Kelley in Ideo

It grew from growing realisation in the 1970s onwards that design problems are not like the ‘solvable’ and quasi-mathematical problems in the natural sciences

Design thinking is now one of the leading business concepts in a range of industries

The core concepts of design thinking Design problems are ‘wicked’

Not bounded – limitless number of variables No stopping rule – they are never completed and each problem is

in some way(s) unique Solutions are not correct/incorrect – some are better/some are

worse

At its core, design thinking is about understanding users’ needs The better defined a problem, the better it can be solved

The core concepts of design thinking Design thinking is as much a mindset, central to which is

Human-centrism Empathy/contact with users Open-mindedness

Design thinking also emphasises the diversity of teams A good designer is ‘T-shaped’ Duplicate expertise is not so much valued

The design thinking process

The design thinking process basically involves five steps

Note: this is not a ‘waterfall’ model – this is an iterative and parallel process

Image from http://joeyaquino.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/want-a-crash-course-in-stanfords-design-thinking-here-it-is-for-free-pt-1-empathy/

Empathising

In order to empathise, we need to understand our users We need to research our market

Some of this can be done through web research, e.g. scaling the problem, gaining a foothold understanding of how users operate

However the real empathising starts in the context of ongoing dialogue with potential users ‘Why-bombing’

The ideal outcomes from this stage are surprises

Empathising

This leaves us with two key dimensions

These are complimentary (most projects will include them all)

Existing information

New information

Detailed view of users

Birds’ eye view of users

Reading cases, forums, reviews,

etc.

Interviews

Market statistics

and competitor analyses

Surveys

Here you are assuming you know the right questions to ask

Here you are trying to figure out the right questions – use observations and ‘why’ bombing

Defining

List pain points, i.e. things that users complain about

List workarounds and awkward behaviours

Formalise these into a problem statement. This statement should:

Make it clear whom the user is Aggregate smaller concerns into one larger issue

This statement should NOT: Narrow the problem down in a way that lends itself towards

specific solutions

Ideating

This stage is where your opportunity to flex your creative muscles comes in

Quantity is your friend! If you are struggling to come up with 20-30 ideas, then your problem statement was too restrictive

Abandon judgement – no idea is a bad idea as long as it fits with the needs identified in your problem statement

Visualise things! Get a pen and paper out (or whatever medium you find comfortable) and draw pictures, bubble-diagrams, etc. You can be surprised what jumps out when you can see what

you’re thinking

Prototyping

Prototypes consist of anything from paper based representations to fully functional websites

It allows three things You can figure out if and how your idea can be implemented It gives you a way of discussing things with users in a shared

language, i.e. “is this what you meant?” Ideas can be tested with users

Types of Prototyping Low-Fidelity Prototyping High-Fidelity Prototyping

Testing

Testing serves two purposes To evaluate ideas To generate new ideas from users

With this in mind, a few tips: Test with users that are representative and appropriately critical Try to minimise users’ nerves/sense that they are being observed Prioritise key tasks (you can’t test everything) Present your task instructions in as natural a way as possible (but

take care not to prompt people with these instructions) If users can’t do something, remind them it’s not their fault and that

this is valuable to you Other than that, stay quiet!

Example 1: An MRI for Children Designers at GE had designed a MRI machine for internally

scanning patients for tissue damage, tumours, etc.

Some of these machines were for paediatrics wards (children)

Children found the machines terrifying, yet the scan only works if you hold completely still inside them Up to 80% of children had to be sedated

The designers adopted a design thinking approach to try and understand the children’s journey, their feelings, and how they were building negative feelings Huge drop in sedation, huge increase in satisfaction

Example 1: An MRI for Children

Images from http://blog2.architech.ca/h/i/124542383-ge-transforms-mri-experience-with-design-thinking

Example 2: Radically Low-Cost Incubation

Image from http://leadershiplearning.org/blog/natalia-castaneda/2010-11-30/learning-and-having-fun-design-thinking

Exercise: The Wallet Project This is a minor amendment of an exercise developed by Stanford

University as part of their design curriculum

The idea is to get you used to the process of design thinking

Some suitably nondescript music at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPf1W5LfsEk

1. Go! (3 minutes)

Design the ideal wallet/purse

This can include material changes, the addition of hardware or software – whatever you like

2 Interview (2x4 minutes)

Form groups of two (these will be your groups throughout the exercise)

One of you should take 4 minutes to ask your partner to describe their wallet/purse, what they use it for, the sorts of things they carry, what they like/don’t like about it.

Take notes as you interview them

After 4 minutes, switch roles so the second person asks the first about their chosen module

2 Dig Deeper (2x4 minutes)

Again taking turns, you should take another 4 minutes to explore some of your partner’s answers. Ask ‘why’ and really search for surprises

Again, take notes as you interview them, particularly of things that surprised you

After 4 minutes, switch roles

3 Capture Findings (3 minutes) On your own, take 4 minutes to jot down

Your partner’s needs from their wallet – these should be verbs

Any insights you learned about your partner (how they feel about their wallet, their worldview, etc.) In particular, try and make note of areas where his/her needs differ

from yours, as well as where they are the same.

4 Define a Problem Statement (4 minutes) Once more on your own, take 4 minutes to create a really rich

problem statement for your partner Remember, this should be juicy enough to afford multiple

different approaches

It should take the rough form

My partner _______partner’s name________

needs a way to ___ partner’s need from their wallet____________.

Unexpectedly, in his/her world,

________________insight________________________________.

5 Capture Findings (8 minutes) Again on your own, take 8 minutes to come up with 3-5 radical ideas

that could meet your partner’s needs

Don’t get hung up on whether they are practical, nor how they could actually be put together – the goal here is to come up with as many interesting and creative ideas as you can

Draw these ideas where possible, use words sparingly

6 Share ideas and Capture Feedback (2x4 minutes) One of you should take 4 minutes to talk your partner through your ideas

Ask them what they like/don’t like but remember The best outcome is new ideas!

Avoid defending ideas, other than to clarify what it is your partner doesn’t like

After 4 minutes, switch roles

7 Reflect and Create a New Solution (4 minutes) This may be a refinement of a previous idea or something

completely new

It’s completely ok (good, even) if you need to change your problem statement as part of this re-design

Try and create some drawing that will really make it clear what you are thinking about creating

8 Discuss New Solution (2x3 minutes) One of you show your partner your new solution

Again, remember – the point is not to confirm your design, it’s to foster discussion and create new insights

After 3 minutes, switch roles

Want to read more?

Links and references For general discussions of design thinking

Brown, T. 2008. Design Thinking, Harvard Business Review (86:6), pages 84-92.

Buchanan, R. 1992. Wicked problems in design thinking. Design issues (8:2), pages 5-21.

Design thinking and innovation at Apple, HBR case study For an in-depth discussion of the philosophy of design (this one isn’t for the faint

hearted) Simon, H. A. 1996. The sciences of the artificial, MIT press, Cambridge,

Massachusetts.