Thoughts about Design Thinking
While everyone is hyped about Design Thinking, I’ll be researching (as a designer) the dos and don’ts. Finding the best practices to improve our company.
Just to clear the picture for myself I have to define design thinking. Although it’s within the name, design thinking is not specifically meant for designers. It’s originally developed for other industries to tackle problems. As designers we’re used to tackle problems every day. Sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves why we do it, and perhaps change the way we think.
In the end design thinking is not focused on the way it looks, but it’s focused on empathising with the human experience and improving it. Sometimes the results will be innovative, sometimes it’s going back to the basics.
Definition
Design thinking is a hybrid form between divergent and convergent thinking. Where divergent thinking means going through all possibilities. And convergent thinking is pretty much like a multiple-choice question, in which case only one answer is right based on facts. In the basics design thinking forces you to explore all possibilities and choose one or more best options in order to tackle the problem.
But before you can start thinking out of the box, perhaps it’s good to first find the problem you’re dealing with. To analyse a problem you can ask yourself the 5 Why’s (a technique developed by Sakichi Toyoda).
The 5 Why’s
Do you know (or have) those annoying kids who keep on asking ‘why’? Perhaps they do this to not just only be annoying, but to get to the core of the problem. Asking yourself ‘why?’ five times, will bring you to the core of the problem you’re facing. Once you’ve found it, you can try to fix it.
“If it stops us from noticing the problems that are around us, well… that’s bad. And if it stops us from noticing and fixing those problems, well… that’s really bad!
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It’s our job to not just notice those things, but to go one step further and try to fix them.”
This is a quote from Tony Fadell (product designer, known for the iPod and Nest) in his TED-talk. A true inspiration to some of us because we’re geeks and ambitious.
Solution
At some point design thinking can seem endless, and in a way it is (unless you live in an utopian world), but at some point you get the a-ha moment. The moment when everything suddenly is clear and everything comes together. From that point it’s a clear path forward.
But the problem isn’t solved yet, many problems still have to be tackled, so it’s important to stay sharp and on top of your game. Keeping the focus and truly fix the problem you tried to fix in the first place. At some point perhaps you have to make some concessions, but don’t let them influence the result.
Point of view
I challenge myself everyday to get to the core of the problems I’m trying to tackle. My approach has a lot of similarities with design thinking, although I may not realise it for myself (perhaps the definition of design thinking is too vague, too abstract, so everyone can relate).
Tackling the problem at its core is the most important. Just like design thinking I go through all possible solutions in my mind, imagining what it will be like. I write my solutions down and erase them if they’re not good enough. Writing them down gives me time to overthink my thoughts.
During the process I keep the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) in mind. If it gets too complicated, people won’t understand it. By clearing all fuzziness everyone will understand your product without any explanation.
In the end I’ve a core solution to achieve my goal and the proper translation. This solution and goal must be able to convince everyone involved. From that point on it’s important to not get lost in translation. Stick to the goal you’re trying to achieve.
It’s good to list your thoughts, defining them as nice to have or need to have. Concessions can be made in the nice to have part, or keep them for later updates. But the need to haves, need to be spot on.
“In the end we’re not trying to recreate the scientifically correct real world. We’re trying to create a believable world. One the audience can immerse themselves in, to experience the story.”
This quote is by Danielle Feinberg (Pixar Director of Photography) in her TED-talk.
As mentioned before; this is just a personal research and point of view in design thinking, with the intention to find the best practices for our company. Suggestions and comments are more than welcome.
