Design Thinking
Is a creative process when ideas are brought to life, takes shapes and are defined against users perspective to validate assumptions and hypotheses.
A vital part of design thinking is the creative process of ideating ideas and assumptions that can be tested, evaluated and refined into characteristics that are necessary or required to solve a problem.
Problem statement
The first step is to create a problem statement that sums up a user's pain-point, needs and desires in using a product or service, which we seek to solve with design.
Our empathy map and value proposition canvas should give us some clear ideas of specific characteristics that we have uncovered about our users and which we can use to build a good problem statement.
Who, what, where and why can help us define a concrete problem statement and the result should be an actionable summary of users, their goals, and what we need to solve to meet those goals.
A problem statement should be broad enough for creative freedom, but narrow enough to make it manageable.
How might we
Once a problem statement is in place, it is time to generate a quick set of ideas.
A productive and creative way to solve a problem is not to look at the problem itself, instead we can use a "how might we" session.
By asking "how might we" before stating a problem, we shift focus from what is wrong to what could be possible, encouraging a more open and creative approach to problem-solving.
The purpose of using this technique is also to reframe a challenge or problem as an opportunity for innovation and exploration, rather than simply focusing on the problem itself.
A good rephrased question starts with “how might we”, then an action that is taken, “so that” we can reach our goal at the end.
How might we, is a creative process to solve a problem, and which shifts focus from what is wrong to what could be possible.
Effort over impact
Now comes the stage where we select a set of our “how might we” questions, and where we need to decide what to solve based on the lowest effort with the biggest impact.
By looking at all our ideas and matching them against their feasibility, desirability, and viability, we can prioritize and score what to focus on first.
The goal is to find problems that are feasible and have a low technical effort, but also desirable and viable by bringing new business opportunities.
The overall goal of a design thinking process is to help ourselves to design better products, services, processes, strategies, and experiences inclusive for all, but also to bring business value.
