May 12
5 methods to add to your Design Thinking process today
Design thinking is a very useful tool and structure to help you find solutions for complex problems. However, adding these methods to my process has really made my design thinking process stronger.
1. User Interviews
Interviews are a primary research method for gathering firsthand personal narratives of experience, opinions, attitudes, and perceptions from participants. Letting your users speak about the problem they are facing will tell you so much about the pain points. But pay attention to their body language, when do they raise their eye brows? when do they grunt? Chances are, you will be able to spot an underlying problem that has been there all long and went unnoticed.
2. Shadowing
Shadowing is the process where the researcher closely follows the subject throughout their routine, it provides valuable insight into the participant’s actions and decision patterns. When we keep doing the same thing everyday, it becomes a habit and we are on auto pilot mode while doing it. This is a great way for you to identify a pattern of problems.
3. Cognitive Mapping
A cognitive map depicts how people interpret a problem space. Empathise with the user and from all the data you have so far, try to brainstorm the best possible solutions for the problems faced.
4. Cognitive Walkthrough
The cognitive walkthrough method assesses whether the sequencing of signifiers and affordances in a system reflects how people perform activities and anticipate next move in a system. Create low fidelity wireframes and question your solutions. Try to find “synonyms of your solutions.” That way you will find a solution that helps the user better.
5. A/B Testing
A/B testing compares two iterations of the identical design to see which operates better against a set goal. Testing your prototypes to see which version makes the user’s life simpler and their job smoother.
