DESIGN THINKING WORKSHOP

Essay by Love
Jain
Roll no. 26

The design thinking workshop that I underwent on 15th and 16th February was one of the most
enriching and enjoyable learning of my academic career. It taught me a new perspective of
dealing with various situations and problems that we encounter in our daily lives. The course
was very well articulated by Ankur Sir and Disha Mam. Both of them very supportive in
helping us approach the problem with the right perspective.
The problem my group got to deal with was the Transportation Issue that pertains here at
Silicon Institute for the IIM students. We went about the problem in a systematic manner.
Starting with the Customer Journey Map, then the Empathy Map and finally coming up with
the Problem Statement. After clearly stating the problem, we came up with the various ideas
and solutions to it. The Ideas were also looked into by various perspectives like:
1. Childlike Ideation
2. Superpower Ideation
3. Zero Budget Ideation
4. Infinite Budget Ideation
All the ideas were very well discussed and debated among the group members. We finally
came up with a solution of starting a mobile app Watchdog which will help us avail various
transport options like auto, bus etc. by tracking them online in real time. Also the auto drivers
will be fully verified and registered beforehand so that it also enables girls to travel alone
during night time safely. Also if we want to avail food services from the city, that can also be
ordered by this app and delivered to us. This pretty much covers the main reasons why we
people travel to the city and crisis that occurs due to lack of transportation services.
THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS
Prior to the start of the course I had no idea what design thinking is all about but within 2
days I felt that I have a valuable tool to my skill set. There were lots of thoughts in my mind
when the problem was handed to deal with. But with each passing moment everything started
becoming clear thanks to the guidance provided. I would therefore like to highlight a few
specific thoughts and emotions:
1. Apprehension: In the beginning as to how to approach the problem as design
thinking was completely a new learning for me.

2. Anxiety: To do a lot of things and come up with lots of ideas and put in a lot of
efforts.
3. Surprise: To see how actually everything started taking shape one by one and we
went into solving the problem with the ideas that came up from the various members.
By discussion and consensus with the group members and support of each other we
managed to move on.
4. Happiness: To see everyone so involved in the activity and coming up with such
creative ideas to solve the issue.
5. Satisfaction: It was so pleasing to ultimately reach to a final solution after such a
wonderful discussion and so much of efforts of all the members in the group.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Although everything about the course was a learning experience in itself but a few important
takeaways for me personally are:
1. New dimension to problem solving: The essence of the course in itself was about
approaching the problem in a totally new manner. So this course has given me great
insights as how to approach any problem or situation in a systematic and planned
manner. Coming up with various ideas to approach it, checking the viability of each
option and finally reaching to a conclusion.
2. Creativity of people in a group: One amazing thing I really liked was that
everyone in the group came up with such creative and feasible ideas. And after
discussing and listening to everyones thoughts we finally managed to reach to a
viable solution.
3. Systematic approach: The approach to each problem can be made systematic and
jotted down one by one. Come up with the problem statement which must be clearly
stated and then approaching it logically. All the ideas are carefully looked into and the
best option is chosen depending upon its relevance, feasibility, viability, reliability and
applications.
4. The efforts of each individual summed up to superfluous efforts: Every
individual in the group contributed equally with sincerity and commitment. It was the
combined team effort of every individual with made this experience and working a
memorable one. It was wonderful to see everyone so involved in the situation and
willing to learn in the process.

APPLYING DESIGN THINKING

The one thing that stands out in this course is the fact that it is applicable to each and every
dimension of existence. Every problem in life, be it personal, social, political, economic, etc.
can be approached and solved by this tool.
Personally I would like to apply this Design Thinking approach in every prospect of life.

Be it academics in which we deal with managing the hectic M.BA schedule, the
workload of assignments, the self-study etc.
Be it the other problems pertaining in our college campus like Wi-Fi, the food
problem, the sports equipment problem etc. everything can be looked into by the
design thinking perspective and taken to a solution.
Be it any social problem like child labour, child education, women safety etc.
everything can be solved by this design tool.
Provided we are willing to put in required efforts, the design thinking tool can be very
effective in looking into various social, political and economic problems existing in
our society, we can actually solve them by this tool.

In the end I would like to sum up by thanking the college management for introducing such a
wonderful course in our curriculum and the entire team of TinkerLabs for taking out their
valuable time and coming to IIM Sambalpur for teaching us. This was a valuable learning
experience and I shall use it in every aspect of life.
Thank You