Few Thoughts On Design Thinking
Have you seen the series on Lupin — The Gentleman Burglar? It definitely infuses concepts spoken by Don Norman in chapter 6 of his book — Design of Everyday Things. As you read, sentences in quotes are by Don.
“The secret to success is to understand what the real problem is”. Many times, the problem declared is not the real or better put, the root problem. To remove a tree completely is to uproot it and not just cut down it’s branches. So instead of solving the problem presented, try to go beyond the scope in view, to other perspectives that might be influences on the present stated problem.
“In the real world, the problems do not come in nice, neat packages. The have to be discovered.”
For instance, the solution to the bed bug menace is not only the periodic treatment of affected furnitures and spaces but majorly tracing the source, understanding the organism, it’s spread and inhibiting it.
Moving on, Don says “A brilliant solution to the wrong problem can be worse than no solution at all: solve the correct problem”.
“Designers resist the temptation to jump immediately to a solution for the stated problem”.
Once a problem is presented, examine it. Try to reach beyond the problem and see it’s influencing factors. For instance, is this app really your favourite one? Or do you like it the most because there are no alternatives? Or because its the only one that works on your location? When other options begin to work in your location, would it still be your favourite?
In my words (not Don’s), design thinking is the entire iterative process of considering possible unseen or unsaid conversations, influencing factors that are attached to a stated problem to arrive at a richer problem statement with possible solutions.
Design thinking can be divided into two:
- Human-Centered Design (HCD)
- Double-Diamond Design Model (DDD)
Don says “HCD is the process of ensuring that people’s needs are met, that the resulting product is understandable and usable, that it accomplishes the desired tasks, and that the experience of use is positive and enjoyable”
A design is termed effective if it satisfies these couple-concepts: Shape and form, cost and efficiency, Reliability and effectiveness, understandability and usability, pride/pleasure of ownership and joy of actual use.
An acronym for the iterative process in HCD is OGPT which stands for Observation, (idea) Generation, Prototyping and Testing. Nevertheless this process is useless if it doesn’t SOLVE THE REAL PROBLEM.
DDD was first introduced in 2005 by the British Design Council and it features a double process of divergence and convergence.
First step is to discover. question the problem. This is the first divergence.
The next step is to converge on defining a problem statement. After this is the development stage where we diverge to find possible solutions to finally converge on a deliverable and effective solution.
Going through the process cycles of HCD and DDD can be exhilarating for the Product designers but chaotic for the Product manager. don advises the manager to set a schedule and a budget while bearing in mind that “there is nothing like a firm deadline to get creative minds to reach convergence”.
PS designers: this doesn’t condone nor encourage procrastination in cases where theres a lot of time to deliver.
“Design wants to know what people really need and how they actually will use the product or service under consideration.”
“Marketing wants to know what people will buy, which includes learning how they make their purchasing decisions.”
Marketing deals with big data while design deals with qualitative data — usually from a small group.
I believe both work hand in hand (just like Don Norman); but I also believe Design would make the product more specific to the individual and make usage last considering the quality of research while Marketing might sway with trends and reduce continuous product usage.
When it comes to design research, it is important to brainstorm and generate a lot of ideas, understand that there is no stupid idea. It is also important to question everything — some sort of intelligent paranoia or caution.
It’s also important to build a mockup or prototype to check the understanding of the problem and quality of solution provided. As people test successfully, bear in mind that it signifies space for observation and refinement.
Don says “the day a product development process starts, it is behind schedule and above budget”.
In conclusion, “ Design is a marvelous discipline bringing together technology and people, business and politics, culture and commerce. The different pressures on design are severe, presenting huge challenges to the designer. At the same time, the designers must always keep foremost in mind that the products are to be used by people.”
Thank you for your time.