D e s i g n Thinking

Masterclass

101 – Building Empathy

Created by Sara Fortier | Outwitly Inc. | outwitly.com
A g e nd a

9:00am Introductions
9:10am Overview of Design Thinking
9:30am Exercise 1: Ecosyst em
9:45am Map Exercise 2: Interviews
10:10am Exercise 3: Break-up
10:25a letters Exercise 4: Finding
m
Insights
10:45a
Wrap Up + Peer Session
m
Homework + What we’ll do
next time
In tro d uc tio n

Today’s Masterclass (101 vs. 202)

Sara Fortier – a little about

me Class introductions:
Name

Job/role/company

What are you hoping to

gain/learn from the
workshop?
D e s i g n is eve r y t h i n g

Every human experience with a product, s ervice,

company, building, culture, i s designed.

Whether intentionally or not…

W h at is d e s i g n thinking?

Des ign thinking is a human- centered approach to

problem solving.
D e s i g n thinking = innovati on

B u s in e s s Innovation
(viability)

Pe o p l e Te c h n o l o g y
(desirability) (feasibility)
B e st for ‘wicked’ p ro b l e m s

A wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or

impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory,
and changing requirements that are often difficult to
recognize.
D e s i g n thinking is…

1. Human-centered

2. Collaborative

3. Multi-disciplinary

4. Highly creative

5. Iterative
D e s i g n thinking is not…

1. Visual/graphic design (just how it looks)

2. A one size fits all solution

3. Just for designers

S ta nfo rd d . S c h o o l p r o c e s s

E m p a th iz e Id e a te

Defi ne P ro to t y p e

Test
H o w it feels

The Squiggle of Design by Damien Newman

H o w it feels

To d ay ’s work…

The Squiggle of Design by Damien Newman

Way s to build e m p a t hy

Surveys

In-dept h int erviews

Observation (think Jane Goodall in the wild)

Focus groups

Diary studies

Break-up letters
Quick Buzz

3-5 minutes

Debrief with the person next to you on your main takeaways from the presentation.

Any questions?
Today ’s s c e n a r io

We will choose 1 scenario/problem to tackle with design thinking methods (dot voting). Should
be universal, everyone must have some experience with the topic, and feel comfortable
discussing frustrations and experiences. Redesign:

1. The travel experience

2. Buying a house/ car

3. Paying your taxes

4. Company culture

5. Other?
Wo r ks h o p E xe rc i s e s
E xe rc i s e 1: E c o s y s t e m m a p

10 minutes

Step 1: Quickly list out all people (stakeholders, groups/teams, users, and customers) who are
affected by the scenario (i.e. Corporate, gate agents, flight crew, customs agents, flyers,
customer service, etc.). Write each person/group on one post-it.

Step 2: List out all touchpoints that are user/customer facing

Step 3: Map out how each person/group relate to each other and to touchpoints – group
post- its together that are similar, draw connections between others.
E xe rc i s e 2: Inter views

25 minutes

Step 1: Break into teams of 2

Step 2: Each person will interview the other for 5 minutes about their experience with the
scenario. Take notes (pen and papers provided).

Step 3: Switch!

Step 4: Switch again. (5 minutes each) Look at what you have, now dig deeper

Step 5: Reflect for 3 minutes (highlight needs and insights)

Re s e a rc h e r m i n d s e t s

1. Building empathy

2. Listening openly (not leading)

3. Looking for problems and needs

4. Probing deeper (listen for clues)

Inter viewing ti ps

Interviewing is an art…

As an interviewer, you ask questions, but mostly listen to the interviewee talk.

Try to get the interviewee to open up, let them direct the conversation.

Start with general questions – make them feel at ease, then dig deeper.

Ask WHY? (get into motivations)

When you hear an interesting point that they bring up, but might just brush over, ask them:

“Can you tell me more about that?”

S a m p l e inter view q u e sti o n s

Questions you can ask:

Please tell me about a recent experience with [scenario/topic].

Can you tell me about your office? What are the people like? What are some things that you
struggle with the most? How would you describe the culture? What are the biggest barriers to
success?

What did you like most about the experience?

What did you like the least? What did you find most challenging? How did that make you feel?

If you could wave a magic wand, what would your ideal experience be?
E xe rc i s e 3: B r e a k- u p lett ers

10 minutes

Write a break-up letter with your company, Air Canada, OC transpo, etc. Write down all the
reasons why you are leaving, everything they could have done to keep you, what the ideal
airline would look like, your hopes and dreams for travelling.

Dear [Company/Experience],

I am leaving you because…

E xe rc i s e 4: F i n d i n g I n s ig ht s
25 minutes

Step 1: Pass your break up letter to your partner

Step 2: Review the interview notes and break-up letters and write each idea/pain point/insight on
individual post-its (one idea per post-it). (Individual work – 10 minutes)

Step 3: All teams post on the wall.

Step 4: Work together (entire class) to group common ideas together into themes (affinity
mapping).

Step 5: List out 5 top insights/pain points – these will be what we use in 201 course
to solve/innovate on.
Pe e r s e s s i o n a n d H o m e w o r k

Homework – download and read Human Centered Design Toolkit (IDEO)

Peer session – choose a few cards from the LUMA deck (Understanding category) and do the
exercises.

If in doubt…

Create an experience journey map (map out the end to end experience in chronological order
and attach pain points)
Resources

Online:

Design Thinking Process by d.school

Books:

Gamestorming by Gary Brown Macanufo

101 Design Methods by Vijay Kumar

Designing for Growth by Jeanne Liedtka

and Tim Ogilvie

Innovating for People: Human-Centered

Design Planning Cards by LUMA
Institute
N e x t ti m e – 2 0 2 c l a s s

Taking the insights from today, plus any additional insights from your homework, and
concept ualize ideas/ solut ions, prot ot yping, it erat ing.

E m p ath iz e Id eate

Defi n e Proto t yp e

Tes t
T h a n k you!

Email: sarafortier@outwitly.com
Instagram and twitter: @outwitly
Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sarafortier
Website: outwitly.com