Unlocking Innovation: A Comprehensive Guide to Design Thinking Research

Research is deeply embedded in every aspect of the design thinking process. From the initial spark of an idea to the final iteration, research informs and shapes your solution – the deeper the research, the more creative and original the solution. 

At the heart of design thinking lies empathy, the ability to fully understand the problem and the user. Thus, thorough research must delve into the problem and user needs. 

“Without research (in any form it takes) I don’t see a high likelihood of success in the Design Thinking process because so much of the principles and practises of Design thinking are based in knowing, understanding and empathizing (and this is accomplished through research)”

Annisha Govind, Design Thinking Practitioner 

In this article, we will explore how to conduct effective research in design thinking to generate innovative ideas.

Putting on a research mindset cap

You are embarking on a journey to unlock a novel solution and, in some cases, to gain a deeper understanding of a concept or idea that you may not have in-depth knowledge or experience with. So, before you start your research, it is crucial to adopt the right mindset.

• Open-mindedness: During design thinking research, you will learn about concepts or ideas that may be new to you or that you may not personally believe in. It is crucial to keep an open mind and be aware of your biases and knowledge gaps.
• Empathy: At the core of design thinking is empathy. To truly understand a problem from the stakeholders’ perspective, you must not just see things from their perspective, but also try to understand their environment, beliefs, and everything else that shapes their experience.
• Agility: Research is like climbing an uncharted mountain. You will encounter roadblocks and may need to change your approach mid-way. Be prepared to adjust your course when necessary and have the flexibility to explore new insights that may lead you down a different path.

“Research is to DT what a base is to a pizza, no matter what toppings you add you can’t have a pizza without a base”

Disha Kaushal, Design Thinking Practitioner

Frame your design thinking challenge

Now that you have put on your research mindset cap and framed the challenge statement, let’s dive into how to do the research. 

Before diving into the sea of information for your research, it is crucial to frame your challenge statement. This will provide direction and focus for you and your team, and will ensure that you have clarity and alignment throughout the research process.

One effective format to follow is the “How Might We” statement, which takes the form of “How might we do X or Y?” For example:

• “How might we design a driverless car that is environmentally friendly and affordable?”
• “How might we reinforce a culture of generosity by creating charitable giving solutions that are more accessible, inclusive, and effective?”

Your challenge statement should be neither too narrow nor too broad in scope. It should clearly articulate the overarching goal you are trying to achieve, while also outlining any essential limitations or constraints.

Now that you have put on your research mindset cap and framed the challenge statement, let’s dive into how to do the research.

Research can be divided into three stages: the pre-solution stage, solution stage, and the post-solution stage. 

Let’s start by discussing the pre-solution stage,

1. User Interviews Discussions

Most of us agree that user interviews are the most critical part of the first stage of the design thinking process, empathy. The question is, how do we conduct these interviews effectively

Visit the user in their own environment, whether it be their home or office. Avoid bringing them into your office or communicating virtually through platforms such as Zoom. Take note of their surroundings – are they cluttered or well-organized? Get a sense of their lifestyle.

“My general research process involves speaking to those involved (be in stakeholders, users, or those facing the challenge) and then supplementing the knowledge gained through these conversations with online research”

Annisha Govind, Design Thinking Practitioner

Prepare for the discussion in depth. The aim is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the user. Outline how you would like the conversation to flow and have all necessary questions at the ready. 

Often, researchers begin with light, ice-breaker questions and progress to inquiries about the user’s lifestyle and habits. Gradually delve into the problem space and end with thought-provoking questions that will help you understand the user’s underlying beliefs and perspectives on the subject matter.

2. Surveys

Surveys are an efficient way to begin your user research. They’re easy to implement, cost-effective, and provide immediate feedback. They also allow you to reach a larger audience and gather overall patterns and insights. These patterns can then be used to create a discussion guide for user interviews. The results of the survey can highlight specific areas to investigate, sparking curiosity and prompts questions that will serve as the foundation for the user interviews.

When creating a survey questionnaire, include a variety of question types. Avoid including too many questions. Use questions with scaling as the response instead of simple yes or no. For questions with multiple options, allow users to select more than one option.

Sample questions:

• How comfortable are you with giving driving controls to a machine? (Scale 1-10)
• How much control over driving are you willing to give to a machine? (Scale 1-10)
• What budget cars are affordable to you? (< 20,000$, 20,000-30,000$, 30,000-40,000$, and more)

3. Observation

To truly understand user behaviour, it’s important to observe them in the real world in addition to conducting interviews or surveys. Watch how they interact with current solutions for the problem you’re trying to solve.

For example, if your challenge is to increase sales of a new organic premium soap, go to a modern store and observe how customers choose a soap bar.

Observation can take various forms such as physically visiting a store, tracking website journeys through software, or watching recordings of customer behaviour in real-world scenarios.

Details like the first product picked up, time spent reading product details, or the first website click can only be learned through observation and will aid in generating better ideas.

If you’re designing a lifestyle solution, send your team members to spend time with the target group. Consider setting up a homestay for a few days. If you notice something interesting or have a question about a particular behaviour, kindly ask the user for a few minutes of their time to understand.

Check out this IDEO video on how the top design thinking practitioners observe user behaviour while designing a new cart for retail stores.

4. Expert Interviews

As design thinkers, your expertise lies in the process of innovation and creation, not necessarily in any specific field. To quickly and deeply understand a challenge, reach out to the experts in the field, including all stakeholders involved in the problem at hand. Identify the experts and interview them, asking about the challenge and any issues they see with it.

In the IDEO shopping cart video, the team interviewed those who make and repair shopping carts. They learned important information such as safety concerns and the need for carts to withstand strong winds in parking lots. These insights would not have been uncovered without speaking to the experts.

Once you have a thorough understanding of the users and the problem scope, it’s time to organize the research in a format that can be used to generate solutions among the entire team.

Based on the research, you can kick start the solution stage (consolidating the research for solution),

1. Persona Building

To truly understand and empathize with your users, create personas and profiles that represent your primary user. Think of it as an imagination snapshot that covers their needs, desires, and motivations. One or two personas should represent the larger group of users. 

Begin by compiling all information learned about the user from the research. Create two or three personas to represent the core user group. Make each persona slightly different in terms of perspective and story.

A persona is a fictional character you create by writing down detailed information about them. This includes basic elements like name, gender, marital status, occupation, and hobbies, as well as personal attributes such as characteristics, pain points, goals, and more.

Make the persona come to life by adding a picture and a quote that expresses the user’s personality.

Having a clear persona in mind will greatly aid your team members in imagining the user and their situation while brainstorming ideas. It will give them a visual and personality to design solutions for.

2. Empathy Mapping

To truly understand the user, it’s also important to know their emotions, thought processes, and feelings. While personas provide an overview of who the user is, empathy mapping allows you to delve deeper into their character and soul.

An empathy map is a collaborative visualization tool used to articulate what we know about a particular type of user. It helps to create a shared understanding of user needs and aid in decision-making.

To create an empathy map, consider the following four key quadrants:

• Says: map the points that the user said in the interview
• Thinks: map the points that the user would be thinking throughout the experience
• Does: list down the actions the user takes
• Feels: add the emotions the user is experiencing

Build empathy maps for the personas you created. Use the same persona names for your brainstorming meetings, as if it’s a real person. This will help to keep the user’s perspective at the forefront of your design decisions.

3. Journey Mapping

A consumer journey map is typically used by designers to understand how a user interacts with a brand or product across different touchpoints. However, from the perspective of a design thinking practitioner, a user journey map is the stages and experiences the user goes through to achieve a goal – a part of the problem statement – from the initial seed of need in their mind to finally achieving the goal.

For example, if the problem statement is how to create a safer shopping cart, create a journey map of a user’s experience using a cart – from the need for a cart to finally leaving it in the parking area. Note down the emotions at various stages of using the cart – picking it up, moving it around, adding items to it, billing, and more.

A consumer journey map is typically used by designers to understand how a user interacts with a brand or product across different touchpoints. However, from the perspective of a design thinking practitioner, a user journey map is the stages and experiences the user goes through to achieve a goal – a part of the problem statement – from the initial seed of need in their mind to finally achieving the goal.

For example, if the problem statement is how to create a safer shopping cart, create a journey map of a user’s experience using a cart – from the need for a cart to finally leaving it in the parking area. Note down the emotions at various stages of using the cart – picking it up, moving it around, adding items to it, billing, and more.

With all the above information, you will be able to explore multiple ideas. Once you have shortlisted a few, you can refer to the following post-solution research mechanisms to test them.

1. User Feedback

Design thinking is an iterative process and the output from research needs to go through multiple feedback loops before it is finalized. This feedback loop can be done through customers and experts.

The feedback process is simple, show the product to a customer and ask for their opinions or have them use the product and take a survey afterwards.

If the product is online, leverage survey tools and if it’s physical, be present and provide a sheet of paper for feedback.

For example, if you are building a shopping cart, give it to a store for a few days and take surveys from people using it. Make sure your questions cover the points you need to validate.

Use patterns and insights from feedback to further improve the product.

2. Usability Testing

Feedback surveys provide valuable quantitative insights, but it’s also important to gain qualitative insights. One way to do this is through usability testing, where you observe a customer using the product, capture their feelings and thought processes. You can pause and ask them why they made certain moves.

A sample size of 5 customers is a good starting point. This method can also be used to validate points from survey feedback.

Based on the results from customer feedback and usability testing, iterate your product and repeat the process until the results are satisfactory. This means that users are able to use the product for its intended purpose and it is effectively solving their issues.

By following this comprehensive research process, including understanding the problem, ideating solutions, and testing the solutions, you will be able to unlock innovative and effective ideas to build or grow your business.