Design Thinking
About the process, and a brief description of my way of using it.
In my last post, Quantitative & Qualitative Research, I’ve already mentioned Design Thinking, but very slightly. In this post, I will cover up the whole process as it is and explain the complexity of ways of using it.
Even though Design Thinking is not the only process of development I could describe (Double Diamond, ADDIE, Waterfall, RAD, Agile, …), I will cover up this one, because it is the most discussed and developed one.
Design Thinking allows the potential of any idea to be realized by creating an environment conducive to growth and experimentation, and the making of mistakes in order to achieve out of the ordinary results.
- Starting up with defining a problem. Sounds simple but doing it right is perhaps the most important of all the four (five) stages. The hard thing is to measure and to know your market, you are targeting. As soon as this stage is well-prepared, preferably on the first shot, it is easy to launch the actual project.
- Heading to the second stage — to create and consider many options, you need to think not just in the sense of presence, but the future is the key. Solving the problem to make the solution appear relevant even after some time is a really tough job. Even the most talented individuals, teams, and businesses sometimes fall into the trap of solving the problem the same way every time they do, which is a completely wrong approach.
- Following next — the third stage, to refine selected options. This stage is kind of harsh because you need to put at least the same time and effort into it, as you put in the first stage, where you did your research. I love to call this stage a Polishing Stage because you need to make sure, that everything is perfect and prepared to go to the fourth stage.
- The last stage — pick the winner & execute. It is basically clear because you pretty much just choose the best solution suitable for you (and your client) from stage three and execute it.
At the end of the fourth stage, the problem is solved or the opportunity is fully uncovered. — Well, hopefully. If it’s not, you should go to the optional fifth stage — Evolution, by which you come back to the third, maybe even to the second stage, and repeat the process from there. You should be able to find ways of solving the problem some other way.
It’s not necessarily about solving the solution, but the ongoing evolution afterwards… Sooner or later, your clients will love you for that.
Thank you for your time and if you’d like to share some insights on this topic, just drop me a comment down below.
Erik Fiala
