Transcript

What is Design Thinking?

Welcome to the next lecture focused on design thinking. As I told you design thinking is a very powerful tool.

• Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process. Non-linear means it need not undergo step by step by step progressive movement to go towards a solution. You can do the 1st step, you can do the 3rd step, you can do the 10th step, and you can go to the solution. That’s why it is called as non-linear. If you want to mathematically represent. This is linear and non-linear is something like this. So up to a certain point there is an understanding you require. And then afterwards you see a huge generation of ideas. Let’s put it as ideas versus time. So you see a huge generation of ideas happen after a certain period of time.

So that is why this is called as non-linear. So non-linear, iterative process which seeks to understand users. I told you repeatedly in the beginning; human centric. So that’s what I said, understand the user. Challenge assumptions. Many a time we just go by; okay if there is an assumption made, we will continue the same.

For example all the tyres which are there, available in the market are black in color. Why so? Can’t you have a red color? Can’t you have a green color? It is possible. When you see a child’s cycle tyre, it is all green in color, yellow in color. Can’t they make same color for the trucks. It is possible. But there is no functional use. So people did not challenge that. But like this lot of assumptions are made in reality and those assumptions, you should challenge it. And then redefine the problem. The example I said. See initially our start for amla de seeding machine is only to reduce the drudgery. What he was existingly using. He was using a hand tool.

So we tried to automate the handtool. But when we went back to our problem definition, and we said our problem definition should have been drudgery reduction. If he does it by hand or leg does not matter. So when we kept our redefining of the problem to that. So then we moved out of hand and came up with a better solution, using our leg for de-seeding. So it is redefining the problem can happen, and create innovative solutions to prototypes and test. So this entire thing is called as design thinking.

• There are 5 steps that are involved in design thinking. The first is empathize. We will see in detail, what is empathy study, just for the small understanding, what empathize means. You wear the shoes of the customer, undergo the same problem what they undergo or feel the same problem, so then you will try to understand what amount of impact it creates. So that is why the first step of design thinking is empathize. After you empathize you define the problem statement. What is the existing problem, and how are you going to solve the problem. So you define the problem.

For that define the problem, you try to develop several ideas. So the third phase in design thinking process is going to be, ideate. After you ideate you try to choose the best solution and start developing prototypes. This is the fourth stage. After you develop prototypes, you finally test. Each prototype whether it is matching to the requirement of the customer. And once you do this, does it mean you have reached the solution. No, what you have done is at the end of the first iteration you would have realized that, my problem definition was not correct, now I will redefine my problem; and then undergo the cycle.

So that is why I said design is an iterative process. So all these things are done for ill-defined and unknown problems. So the world has become increasingly interconnected and complex. And design thinking offers a means to hold on with all this change in a more human-centric manner. That is the powerfulness of this design thinking tool. So in design thinking process, this is how you will have a brain working. So in a brain you have several levels of thinking.

• First phase is analytical thinking.
• You will have one another thinking called as intuitive thinking
• A sandwich between or an in between solution, between analytical thinking and intuitive thinking is design thinking.

In analytical thinking you will have deductive reasoning and inductive logical reasoning. These things will be part of analytical thinking. Reduce, deduce, deductive. This word comes from there. Intuitivist have a gut feel towards the solution. So design thinking is a merger of the two, which is nothing but an abductive logic. Design thinking means use of both the extremes in an optimal manner. The intuitive thinking helps in invention for the future, whereas analytical thinking is to create something creative in the present, which is replicable. See in design thinking we also try to develop a product, which is repeatable.

Okay, the abductive logic is used in

• Business
• Information Technology.
• Education.
•  Healthcare

All these problems are solved by using this abductive logic, which is nothing but a part of design thinking.

Design Thinking: Why?

• It tries to find out simplicity in complexity.
• It tries to produce a product which is appealing to the customer. That is why we use design thinking.
• It goes around with user experience.
• It tries to bring in innovative solutions.

Innovative solutions are solutions wherein which the idea is saleable, or the idea finds a customer wherein which he is ready to buy the product. That is innovation. Innovation need not only be new. It can be an evolution of several ideas when you develop a product. So it is innovation and it is also tries to be used for user needs

So simplicity in complexity, product appeal to customers, user experience, innovation and user needs; all these things pushed towards design thinking.

Analysis and Synthesis

How do we do the design thinking approach? We do two things. One is we try to analyze and we try to synthesize.

• In the process of analyzing, what we do is we try to break down a single big entity into multiple parts called as analysis. A big problem is taken. It will be split into several small problems, and we will try to analyze for solutions.
• This breaking down into smaller fragments helps improve our understanding.
• The process of combining the parts into a combined entity is called as synthesis.

So analysis and synthesis. Analysis, taking a big problem and breaking into several small steps. And then understanding each step to improve your understanding. Then what you do is, once we have understood, now we try to recombine several of these broken pieces. Process of combining the fragmented part, into a combined entity is called as synthesis.

• This activity is done at the end of an enquiry or need.
• The process leads to creation of complete bigger entities which is sometimes new and fresh.

Design Thinking: How?

Divergent Thinking.

We were talking about how there is something called divergent thinking. In divergent thinking, any idea which comes to your mind. Keep recording those ideas and keep displaying those ideas at some place. Anything that comes to your mind about the problem statement, should be put whether it is relevant or irrelevant. What are we trying to do? We are trying to diverge. Our thinking process expand. Our thinking process try to develop multiple solutions. In divergent thinking, you will have unbounded ideas, unexpected connections, non-linear thinking and different ideas. So all these things will be outcome of divergent thinking.

No idea is good or stupid. Please try to take all the ideas. Please record all these ideas. You are now diverging in developing ideas.

• The process of diverging more than one solution for a problem statement is called as divergent thinking.
• It refers to the process of generating various creative solutions. Please underline, it refers to the process of generating various creative solutions.

Convergent Thinking.

• In convergent thinking the design thinker, is required to go through all possible solutions through during divergent thinking, and come out with a correct solution. That is convergent.
• Convergent thinking requires speed, accuracy, efficiency, logical reasoning and technique. So in divergence you try to create as many choices as possible. In convergence you try to make choices, among the developed choice, or the created choice to go towards solution is called as convergent thinking.

Design Thinking : Principles

The principles of design thinking is, it has human rules. It has tangible rules. It has ambiguity rules. It has re designing rules. In human rules, all kinds of design activities are finally social in nature. That is human thinking is also part of design thinking. Tangible rule is communication between design thinkers. Facilitates by making ideas tangible. So this is also part of design thinking. Re-designing rule. All designs are basically examples of re-designing that means to say improvising. And the ambiguity rule. In the process of design thinking all design thinkers should preserve ambiguity. Ambiguity rule is very very important.

Design Thinking Model

So in a design thinking model, you will have empathy states, you will have design states. First stage. Second stage, ideation third stage, prototyping fourth stage and testing fifth stage.

So in empathize develop a deeper understanding of the challenge. This is why we kept saying usercentric, human-centric. Defining, creating, clearly articulating the problem you want to solve. So the example we will go. So where our clear definition was to reduce the drudgery of the person. So now you have clearly articulated the problem.

Next is ideation. Do brainstorming and develop several potential solutions. This is nothing but divergent thinking, and convergent thinking then follows. Convergent follows after this. And now with those ideas we try to make prototypes. To design a prototype. To design all or part of a solution, we do a prototyping, and then whatever prototype we did; we have to validate it and look for solutions

Enhance in continuous short cycle process. So to conclude. Design team uses design thinking to tackle ill defined or unknown problems. Because the process reframes these problems in humancentric way and allows designer to focus on what’s most important for the user. Design thinking offers us a means of think outside the box. Because we are allowing to generate all sorts of solutions. Think outside the box and also dig that bit deeper into problem solving.

It helps designers carry out the right kind of research. Create prototypes and test out products and services to uncover new ways to meet user needs. The design thinking process has become increasingly popular over the past few decades, because it was key to the success of many high profile global organizations.

Design thinking improves the world around us everyday. Since it is a human-centric solution. Every time the customer changes, we will have to look at him from the empathy study and start developing solutions. So that is why it is written as ‘design thinking improves the world around us everyday’.

And in design there is nothing called as a unique solution. Once you have developed a best solution or a product, then after some point of time you reiterate and then improve the product for the same customer. For example you take the mobile phone industry. It has been going a rampant change and every time the same customer tries to improve his product.

So that is what we talk about here. Design thinking improves the world around us every day, because of its ability to generate ground breaking solutions. Why is that ground breaking solutions? Because we are allowing you to develop several solutions. Divergent, so that means to say all possible solutions you are looking forward. And as I told you there is nothing called a good idea or a bad idea. So that is why you are able to develop ground breaking solutions in a disruptive and innovative way. Innovation means you are having a new idea, and then for that idea you have a customer. There is a difference between innovation and invention.

I would request you guys to look into the difference between innovation and invention.

Design thinking is more than just a process. It opens up an entirely a new way to think. And offer a collection of hands on methods, to help you apply this new mindset towards a solution.

The ultimate goal is to derive an as deep an understanding of the product and it’s user as possible.

Conclusion:

So in this lecture we were talking about design thinking. The stages of design thinking. Convergent thinking, divergent thinking, and developing the prototypes and testing the prototypes. So using the design thinking tool, there is always a possibility for improvement and developing an innovative product.

Thank You.