Design
Thinking
Journey
Welcome!
These slides are bout a journey of problem-solving
and exploration. The purpose of this is to identify
and delve into a problem. By dedicating focused
time and effort to understanding and addressing
this problem, we aim to find innovative solutions
that can create positive impact. The method
involves diving deeper into the problem, gather
insights, brainstorm ideas, and develop a
comprehensive understanding of its intricacies. So,
let's roll up our sleeves, collaborate, and work
together to uncover meaningful solutions.
The Journey
Iterate
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6
The Problem Empathise Define Ideate prototype Test
Identify a problem that Understand the user's Define the actual problem Generate a wide range of Develop a tangible Gather feedback from
your team, you perspective, needs, and to be solved through the ideas and solutions representation of the users by testing the
colleagues, your challenges, through problem statement. A without judgment. solution. Create low- prototype. Observe how
customers are interviews, observations, well-defined problem Encourage brainstorming fidelity prototypes using users interact with the
experiencing. and research. Develop a statement sets the and creative thinking, with sketches, wireframes, or prototype and collect
deep understanding of foundation for effective a diverse team. Use simple models. You do their reactions. Identify
the problem by problem-solving by techniques like mind not need to develop a strengths, weaknesses,
empathising with the user. providing focus and mapping, sketching, and finished product; this is an and areas for
direction. It summarizes ideation sessions. agile learning curve. improvement.
the user's needs, pain
points, and desired
outcomes, enabling teams
to generate relevant
solutions.
Understand
This is when you start to get into the users shoes. Follow their path to
understand the process they go through.
Empathise Activities:
• Shadow a users experience,
• Interview a user to understand how the process works and more importantly
how the process makes them feel.
• Learn about the pain points in the process from the user.
The empathise stage in design
thinking is crucial as it fosters
a deep understanding of the
Learn
problem from the end users'
There are tried and tested techniques to learn more about the problem you want
perspective. You will gain to solve. These allow you to look at the problem from other’s perspectives.
insights into the users' needs Activities:
• Empathy Map
and pain points, considering • Journey Map
all aspects of the delivery • Personas and user profiles
chain. It is also best practice
to explore solutions beyond
your industry allowing for Research
fresh perspectives and A lot of problems we encounter are similar to others that have already been
researched and solved, you just need to look for them. This is when you look
inspiration. Use this time to across your industry and outside your industry.
truly understand the problem. Activities:
• Community sharing
• Diverse teams, bringing different experiences and backgrounds to the
thinking
Problem Research
Who? What?
Who is having the problem? What is the problem they are facing, from their
Who will benefit from our solution? perspective?
What do we know/assume about them? Have we got any evidence?
Where/when? Why?
What is the context where they are Why do we care about this problem?
experiencing the problem? What is the most important value for the users?
Have we got proof of the problem happening What pain points would a solution help get rid of?
in a certain context or space? Why is it worth your time and investment?
How does it meet your business goals?
Interview Empathy Map
• Trigger questions
Research outside sector
Research, what has
already been done?
Empathise
Activities Stakeholder Map
Shadow and Observe
• Observation questions
• Jobs to be done
Personas
Customer Segment
Journey Mapping
*Please note, there are a large number of Design thinking resources available, the ones shared here are just an example of what is out there.
Please explore other options and find what is right for you!
Define – Problem Statement
Who?
What?
Where/
When?
Customer Value Business Value
Why?
Example – Problem Statement
Who? Our Occupational Health Team and the citizens they interact with
Have trouble managing the multiple appointments and meetings they have and the
What? ability to share this detail across the team. There is a lot of time needed to record
interactions, currently very manually.
Where/ When they are out on visits in the community and loan working (or in
When? small groups)
Customer Value Business Value
Occupational Health team will understand The council will be able to better understand
Why? their workload better and be able to understand the workload and future resource requirements
the team working patterns. on the Occupational Health team, using lived
Citizens will be able to have a better experience and data of the team.
understanding of appointments and staff
member visiting and past history
Problem Research
Who? What?
Who is having the problem? What is the problem they are facing, from their
i ntments
Team
Who will benefit from our solution? perspective?
i ng a p po
Manag
Pain Point:
What do we know/assume about them? Have we got any evidence?
e a lth
io n al H Pain Point: To many appointments
p a t Citizens
Oc cu Pain Point: limited st
aff numbers
Ou r Health and safety advisory services
We work with practitioners, government d
epartments, the HSE and other organisatio Gain: more time to spen
ns as local authorities strive to improve the d
ir performance on health and safety at wor
k. w it h citizens
Where/when? Why?
What is the context where they are Why do we care about this problem?
experiencing the problem? What is the most important value for the users?
Have we got proof of the problem happening
Pain: limited team tim What pain points would a solution help get rid of?
in a certain context or space?
on e Why is it worth your time and investment?
ke rs c How does it meet your business goals? Improve staff experien
re wor ce
ca Improve staff retention
h e alth gy
line olo
ront l techn
p f
kee digit
a Wellbeing for front line staff
to i th Pain: running between
Howted w
n ec multiple locations Improve citizen experie
nce
Invite the right people
The biggest mistake people make when running an idea generating session is
Ideate
not having a diverse team in the room for the workshop. When running an
ideation session think about including people from multiple departments,
external organisations and the end user community.
The ideate phase in design Location and Tools
thinking involves running With advances in remote collaboration tooling, it is no longer necessary to have
everyone in a room for an ideation session. Both in person and remote
workshops to generate workshops can be very successful with an experienced facilitator. However, it is
creative ideas. It is essential to harder remotely to ensure everyone is engaging. It is also key to use the right
tools, especially if remote. There are a large number or virtual whiteboards that
form diverse teams enable everyone to participate.
comprising members from
different departments with
varied experiences. Timings
The key is to provide the group sufficient time to succeed, a full ideation session
Additionally, inviting can not be squeezed into a two hour meeting. It is also essential everyone is in
professionals from different the room, physical or virtual, for the whole session (no side meetings or
emailing!)
industries and, if possible,
involving the user community
can bring fresh perspectives, Come Prepared
foster collaboration, and An Ideation session is not just turning up with post-it notes a lot of planning and
inspire innovative solutions. research goes into running a successful design thinking ideation workshop. This
includes ensuring all participants can get up to speed on the problem quickly, by
incorporating the empathies research into the session. There are also multiple
activities that can spark and generate ideas available. This is a key reason why it
is always beneficial to have an experienced facilitator running the session.
Thank you
