MODULE II

SYLLABUS
Design Thinking Approach:-Introduction to Design Thinking,

Iterative Design Thinking Process Stages: Empathize, Define,

Ideate, Prototype and Test. Design Thinking as

Divergent-Convergent Questioning. Design Thinking in a Team

Environment.
 INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN THINKING
Some of the world’s leading brands, such as Apple, Google, Samsung and GE,

have rapidly adopted the design thinking approach.

What’s more, design thinking is being taught at leading universities around the

world.

Put simply, design thinking is a human-centered approach to creative

problem-solving.
Formally defined as:

Design thinking is an iterative process in which we seek to

understand the user, challenge assumptions, and redefine

problems in an attempt to identify alternative strategies and

solutions that might not be instantly apparent with our

initial level of understanding.

 DESIGN THINKING: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Good design is characterized by buttery smooth user experience.

By thinking from the needs of the user, a design thinking approach helps designers

bridge the gap between something that just works and something that solves a problem.

The ‘Norman Door’ phenomenon might just be the best illustration of why design

thinking and a human-centred approach are important.

‘Norman Door’ is a figurative term for any product that is cumbersome to use and was

designed poorly.

A Norman Door has a handle that you can grab, so you think that you need to pull it. But

when you pull you realize it’s actually a push.

While logically thinking, placing a handle on the door is perfectly normal, in the world of

real people and real experiences, the handle is obsolete and confuses the user.
Design thinking revolves around a deep interest in developing an

understanding of the people for whom we’re designing the

products or services.

It helps us observe and develop empathy with the target user.

Design thinking helps us in the process of questioning: questioning

the problem, questioning the assumptions, and questioning the

implications.
Design thinking is extremely useful in tackling problems that are ill

defined or unknown, by reframing the problem in human-centric

ways, creating many ideas in brainstorming sessions, and adopting a

hands-on approach in prototyping and testing.

Design thinking also involves ongoing experimentation: sketching,

prototyping, testing, and trying out concepts and ideas.

The 3 pillars of design thinking are:

1. Empathy

2. Ideation

3. Experimentation
 1. Empathy
Empathy is the foundation of design thinking.

Unless you get into the wants and needs of people you are designing for, what you’re
doing can’t be considered design thinking.

2. Ideation
Ideation is the core of creative activities in the design thinking process.

Simply put, it is when multiple ideas are pitted against each other, where creativity is
unleashed and innovation happens.
 3. Experimentation

Are your assumptions correct?

Did you hit the right spot with your product?

What are users thinking about it?

Don’t just guess – test it!

 DESIGN THINKING PHASES

Design thinking has five steps:

1. Empathise – with your users
2. Define – your users’ needs, their problem, and your insights
3. Ideate – by challenging assumptions and creating ideas for innovative
solutions
4. Prototype – to start creating solutions
5. Test – solutions
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It is important to note that the five phases, stages,
or modes are not always sequential.

They do not have to follow any specific order.

What’s more, they can often occur in parallel

and repeat iteratively.

As such, you should not envision the phases as a

hierarchal or step-by-step process.
 1. EMPATHISE
The first stage of the Design Thinking process is to gain an empathic understanding of the

problem you are trying to solve.

This involves consulting experts to find out more about the area of concern through

observing, engaging and empathizing with people to understand their experiences and

motivations, as well as immersing yourself in the physical environment so you can gain a

deeper personal understanding of the issues involved.

Depending on time constraints, a substantial amount of information is gathered at this

stage to use during the next stage and to develop the best possible understanding of the

users, their needs, and the problems that underlie the development of that particular

product.
 2. DEFINE
During the Define stage, you put together the information you have created and gathered

during the Empathise stage.

This is where you will analyse your observations and synthesise them in order to define the

core problems that you and your team have identified up to this point.

You should seek to define the problem as a problem statement in a human-centred manner.
To illustrate, instead of defining the problem as your own wish or a

need of the company such as, “We need to increase our

food-product market share among young teenage girls by 5%,” a

much better way to define the problem would be, “Teenage girls

need to eat nutritious food in order to thrive, be healthy and grow.”

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 The perfect problem statement should clearly answer the following
questions:

✔●What are we trying to solve?

✔●For whom are we trying to solve it?

✔●What are the different ways we can approach this from?

✔●How can we act on it?

 3. IDEATE
During the third stage of the Design Thinking process, designers are ready to start

generating ideas.

You’ve grown to understand your users and their needs in the Empathise stage, and

you’ve analysed and synthesised your observations in the Define stage, and ended up

with a human-centered problem statement.

It is important to get as many ideas or problem solutions as

possible at the beginning of the Ideation phase.

You should pick some other Ideation techniques by the end of the

Ideation phase to help you investigate and test your ideas so you

can find the best way to either solve a problem or provide the

elements required to circumvent it.

 What are the techniques for ideation?

✔●Brainstorming

✔●Bodystorming

✔●Lightning Demos

✔● 4 Step Sketching
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Body storming
LIGHTNING DEMOS
 4. PROTOTYPE
The design team will now produce a number of inexpensive, scaled

down versions of the product or specific features found within the

product, so they can investigate the problem solutions generated in

the previous stage.

Prototypes may be shared and tested within the team itself, in other

departments, or on a small group of people outside the design team.

This is an experimental phase, and the aim is to identify the

best possible solution for each of the problems identified

during the first three stages.

The solutions are implemented within the prototypes, and, one

by one, they are investigated and either accepted, improved

and re-examined, or rejected on the basis of the users’

experiences.
By the end of this stage, the design team

will have a better idea of the constraints

inherent to the product and the problems

that are present, and have a clearer view

of how real users would behave, think,

and feel when interacting with the end

product.
 5. TEST
Designers or evaluators rigorously test the complete product using the best solutions

identified during the prototyping phase.

This is the final stage of the 5 stage-model, but in an iterative process, the results generated

during the testing phase are often used to redefine one or more problems and inform the

understanding of the users, the conditions of use, how people think, behave, and feel, and to

empathies.

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Even during this phase, alterations and refinements are made in order to rule out

problem solutions and derive as deep an understanding of the product and its users

as possible.

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 NON-LINEAR
We may have outlined a direct and linear Design Thinking process in which one stage
seemingly leads to the next with a logical conclusion at user testing.

However, in practice, the process is carried out in a more flexible and non-linear fashion.

For example, different groups within the design team may conduct more than one stage
concurrently, or the designers may collect information and prototype during the entire
project so as to enable them to bring their ideas to life and visualize the problem solutions.

Also, results from the testing phase may reveal some insights about users, which in turn
may lead to another brainstorming session (Ideate) or the development of new prototypes
(Prototype).
 DESIGN THINKING AS

DIVERGENT-

CONVERGENT QUESTIONING
DESIGN THINKING AS DIVERGENT- CONVERGENT QUESTIONING

Divergent and convergent thinking are two complementary methods to explore ideas, work

towards goals, and address challenges.

In the design world—where we’re constantly employing design thinking in our

work—both approaches are necessary and lead to unique solutions for challenges that

require exploration and creativity.

Divergent and convergent thinking are both methods of thinking that are so deeply integrated

into what we do, we often don’t stop to think about the theories behind them. We often rail

against tired concepts like “think outside the box,” yet we still try to capture what that phrase

meant before it became a cliché.

 WHAT IS DIVERGENT THINKING?
Divergent thinking is taking a challenge and attempting to identify all the possible
drivers of that challenge, then listing all of the ways those drivers can be addressed.

Divergent thinking typically happens in open, free flowing, spontaneous

environments where multiple creative ideas can be shared and considered.

Typically, this means that everyone involved in this type of thinking will look for
unexpected combinations and connections between remote associations.

Divergent thinking sparks creativity specifically because of its spontaneous,

nonlinear nature.
 DIVERGENT THINKING EXAMPLES
Designers practice divergent thinking in a few ways.

We use divergent thinking in the initial stages of ideation on a project or task—when

we have a challenge to solve and we need to brainstorm or iterate on creative solutions.

We’ll also employ divergent thinking in the process of thinking through, at a high

level, how to help make a client’s website, app, or digital tool more competitive or

innovative in the market.

 WHAT IS CONVERGENT THINKING?
Convergent thinking, on the other hand, is known as the practice of selecting the optimal
solution from a finite set of ideas collected from different sources in order to solve a
discrete challenge quickly and efficiently.

Convergent thinking is best practiced at times when you need an answer and you believe
you have access to the data and information you need to guide a decision or solution.

Convergent thinking typically calls for speed, accuracy, and knowledge on a subject, so
it’s best used when the team has access to experts and relevant data.

The team will analyze and bring that information together into an educated decision.
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The design thinking process is ultimately a divergent and convergent thinking process.

To find the right problem, design thinkers conduct a series of studies to understand

people and their problems, and then translate all kinds of findings into one or a few

problem statements.

The design thinking process is ultimately a divergent and convergent thinking process.

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To find the best solution, a cross-disciplinary group of design thinkers first brainstorm a

variety of potential solutions.

Through the exercises of evaluation, comparison, and consolidation, a limited number of

solutions are selected for prototyping and testing.

The final solution sometimes merges the merits of several alternatives.

 ASSIGNMENT
Construct a number of possible designs and then refine
them to narrow down to the best design for a drug
trolley used in hospitals. Show how the
divergent-convergent thinking helps in the process.
Provide your rationale for each step by using hand
sketches only.

Example: Drug trolleys are used in hospitals and care

homes to help staff deal with the distribution of
medicines.