Design Thinking Workshops

Introduction 

User eXperience (UX) has been a key focus area for Digital Transformation. Companies are
differentiating their products and services by the UX they provide. Design Thinking is the most
successful tool to solve complex human problems. Conventionally, Design Thinking has been
conducted in person but with employees working remotely, the User Experience Centre of
Excellence has undergone a paradigm shift to embrace Remote Design Thinking as the new Way of
Working. How do we ensure we follow the best practices and a human centred design methodology?
This article talks about an approach based on my experience of conducting two such experimental
workshops, remotely.

The objective here is to give an overview to bridge the process & output delta between the real and
virtual world by honing the mindset, skillset, tweaking the approach and choosing the correct tools.

What is Design Thinking- “Design thinking is a mindset rather than a linear process”

Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand users, challenge
assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test. Involving five
phases—Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test—it is most useful to tackle problems that
are ill-defined or unknown.

An approach to run a Remote Design Thinking (RDT) workshop

I categories the approach into 3 phases A) Pre-workshop, B) Workshop and C) Post workshop as it
provides all stakeholders involved a set of guidelines to get the desired outcome in a Remote Design
Thinking workshop. They are:

A)   Pre-workshop

1. Team Sensitisation: What should one expect in a Remote Design Thinking workshop

 The moderator and the project sponsor play a pivotal role in sensitising, socialising and
setting expectations with the team for the RDT workshop. The participants should volunteer
based on their interest in solving the problem using a Design Thinking approach. Tools like
“Battle cards”, “Flyers”, running a practice RDT and ice-breaking sessions are a must. This
helps build rapport, familiarise the tool, help set timelines and identify blockers.

2. Hardware, Software & Prep: Standardisation of volunteers HW/SW and Spatial prep

 Ensure volunteers have standardised stationery and are aware of the space required in their
homes for this to work efficiently. Work in the quiet environment if possible
 Provide high-quality webcams to ensures quality face-time and the ability to share “sketches”
while brainstorming
 The internet is a fickle friend. Keep a backup connection on standby or a second channel of
communication open between the participants and the moderator.
 Conduct a tool assessment to choose one that’s fit for purpose
 Send out pre-session workbooks/assignments if required
  In the real world, the workshop room has colourful, handwritten sticky notes, designs, use
cases pasted all around to facilitate easy access to information and allows for an immersive
environment. Try to replicate this in a RDT by informing volunteers of the space required at
their homes.

B)   During the workshop

1. Human Factors: Tips to maintain user focus and attention.

 Time box activities and provide frequent but logical breaks. Talk to participants one-on-one.
Keep cameras on whenever possible
 Use templates wherever possible
 Address users by their names
 Trivia or quizzes during the workshop to keep them humoured and involved
 Build trust so volunteers are comfortable raising questions and sharing apprehensions
 Silences are hard to decipher: are users thinking, is the internet down or have they
withdrawn? Also, pitching in while others present may be construed as interruptions. Care
needs to be taken to avoid conflicts and confusion
 Participant’s understanding should be checked frequently without causing embarrassment
 The time conundrum: Online activities take longer…but we need to ensure there are no long-
drawn activities due to short attention spans. Finding the balance is critical.
 Participant's current mindset: with Covid 19, cutbacks and the uncertainty, not all participants
may be open, contribute or function at their peak during workshops  

2. Hardware & Software:

 Decide on cues: virtual hand raising or on camera to avoid crosstalk and confusion

 Moderator should summarise frequently and ask the volunteers to keep physical/virtual
copies of the summary
 Video record the sessions to analyse later.

C)   Post workshop: Conduct a summary workshop to validate goals, plans, documents and

delegate future tasks. Finally, take detailed participant feedback.

The remote way of working is here to stay. Jump in and do Remote Design Thinking. The mantra is
“fail fast and often”. The upsides of doing RDT are Scale (multiple globally spread teams),
Frequency(low cost of running a RDT) and the Cultural change it brings within an organisation.

 References:

https://www.interaction-design.org

Satyajit Joshi
Design Thinking Professional & User Experience Practice Lead - UK Geography, MFG ISU at Tata Consultancy Services