Key Elements of a Design Thinking Process

Have you been browsing about design thinking and planning to embrace it in your organization?

If you aspire to create a culture of creativity, innovation, and high productivity, then you are in the right place.

In this article, we have shared the key elements of design thinking that will help you put in place an efficient process. These elements of design thinking will also help you refine your understanding.

Lately, a few organizations have adapted the design thinking process, and the term has been part of a few board meetings. Design thinking is the basis of a few of the biggest innovations of our times. It is employed by top innovative companies like Apple, Bank of America, Nike, and more.

History of Design Thinking

IDEO created the concept of design thinking and has been applying it since 1978. They have used the process in a wide range of applications, from inventing the world’s first computer mouse to solving social issues in the African region.

What is Design Thinking?

“Design thinking is a human-centred approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of the people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” — Tim Brown, chair of IDEO.

Design thinking refers to the cognitive, strategic and practical processes by which design concepts (proposals for products, buildings, machines, communications, etc.) are developed.- Wikipedia

As an organization, if you are looking to adopt the design thinking methodology it is important to understand the key elements that are core to this method. 

Key Elements of Design Thinking 

1 – Process

IDEO, the creator of the design thinking approach, has developed a well-structured process of design thinking. This process is based on years of experience of IDEO, which has been strengthened with time. They have validated the process through many innovations and organizations.

When you have a process in place, it saves a lot of time for you to understand the concept. And also gives direction to the team.

The design thinking process has 3 phases i.e. Inspiration, Ideation, and Implementation.

Inspiration includes research and understanding of the problem. Ideation involves coming up with ideas and solutions based on the research in the inspiration stage. And implementation is launching the idea out in the market.

These phases are further expanded into multiple steps

Design Thinking Phase 1 – Inspiration

1. Framing the problem statement or design challenge.
2. Observing and meeting people – It includes tasks like user interviews, group interviews, and user behaviour analysis.

Design Thinking Phase 2 – Ideation

1. Generate Ideas – Brainstorming on all ideas.
2. Make Ideas Tangible – Build prototypes of the shortlisted ideas using minimum viable tools. It could be as basic as a paper cutout.
3. Test Prototypes – Test prototypes with actual users. Gather feedback and gain insights.

Design Thinking Phase 3 – Implementation

1. Share the story – Once you have the ultimate solution, share it with the relevant people.
2. Launch – Launch the ultimate solution in the market.

The process looks linear, but it works in iteration, especially the ideation phase where you keep testing prototypes till you have the ultimate solution. An ultimate solution is that which solves the user problem and is validated by actual users.

This process is the key element of the design thinking approach as it gets the team aligned on where to start and what to do next. This process will lead to a successful solution.

2 – Empathy

The users for whom we are solving a problem have unique characteristics, personality, and needs. Most of the time, we assume user characteristics and cannot relate ourselves to the user. Thus, creating a solution that is not well accepted in the market.

To build a successful product or solution, the design thinking team needs to get into the user’s psyche. They need to build a complete understanding of user behaviour and thought process.

It’s like being an actor in a movie, play the role of the user while you are working on their problem.

“Design thinking is a human-centred process and knowing the humans you are designing for is the core. Remove your self-reference idea and focus on the user.”

One of the greatest examples of building a solution by creating a strong empathy towards the user is the scanning machine GE Healthcare designed for paediatric patients.

Doug Dietz, an industrial designer at GE Healthcare, one day observed a little girl who was crying on her way to a scanner that was designed by him. It clicked to him that the machine he has designed scares users and is a very uncomfortable experience for patients, especially kids.

That’s where he got back to the drawing board to solve a problem, to build a scanner that children will love. He started by observing and gaining empathy for young children and by talking to child specialists. Finally, he came up with a design that was like an adventure ride for the kids.

Many of the world’s most successful brands created breakthrough ideas that are inspired by a deep understanding of consumers’ lives. Some brilliant advertising campaigns have come from a specific deep consumer insight.

A successful product is not the one that is first in the market but the one that builds a stronger connection with the user. iPod was not the first MP3 player. Building empathy is one of the key element of Design Thinking.

3 – Team Work and Collaboration

The design thinking approach is not a single man act. It requires an excellent team to collaborate and coordinate with each other. It works best with the synergy of unique minds aligned to a single goal and objective.

The team members need to have a mindset where they are not biased towards their own ideas and should be open to other’s ideas as well.

To have more creative juices flowing, it is essential to have different perspectives and viewpoints. With more variations in ideas, there is more scope to innovate. It’s like jamming and toasting of ideas.

Consider it as a music band where you have unique members like guitarist, vocalist and drummer to create a brilliant piece of music.

The team needs to be multidisciplinary. Have a few professionals who have expertise in the industry for which you are trying to solve the problem. Have a few generalist design thinking professionals. It’s also good to have a marketing or sales professional to understand the market potential of the solution.

Also, include unique personality characteristics. The team should include thinkers (people with high imaginative skills), makers (who can design a prototype using minimum resources in a short time), and doers (who will test the prototype among themselves and in the market)

One of the key element in getting the team to work together is holding effective brainstorming meetings. These brainstorming sessions are were idea jamming and toasting will happen. It’s important to follow the key principles of brainstorming meeting.

Get your team to toast on many ideas and perspectives to form a single ultimate solution.

4 – Un-Learn and Relearn

“You must unlearn what you have learned” – Master Yoda

Before you apply the design thinking process in your organization, you and your team should go through a shift in mindset. Design thinking is a process that works best when you start by accepting that you know nothing. That’s when you will respect and accept many data points.

Unlearn what you know about the problem, and be ready to relearn. Unlearning is a process that means forgetting what we know so that we can learn from a fresh perspective. We have so much information and data that sometimes there is no space for new information, thus limiting your understanding of the problem.

If you start with a certain belief or perspective of the problem, then you will only try to find points that validate those beliefs. You may ignore the points that will conflict with your belief. This could cause not reaching the most ideal solution and missing certain points of the problem.

When you and your team start the process, make sure you are open to all kinds of information and learn from the start the problem you are trying to solve.

Example of applying un-learn and learn in design thinking process

By analysing things from a fresh perspective, Mobisol was able to reinvent the solar panel in rural Tanzania. Mobisol provides clean, reliable energy to rural off-grid households in the Sub-Saharan African region.

While starting the project, the common belief among top advisers was to make an affordable system, as people will only pay €5/month. But Mobisol realized: if people really want something, they find ways to pay for it — also in small Tanzanian villages.

People did not want just light. Their needs were more advanced, like radio (information), TV (status) and cell phone charging (communication). They were ready to pay more to meet those needs. With this insight, Mobisol built a product with a higher monthly cost and power output. They also had an option to own the panel with 36 monthly instalments. As another insight was rent will win games but ownership wins championships. Mobisol has over 35,000 customers and has helped 100K+ students to study at night.

Make sure you are not analysing the problem from your own perspective and biases. Throw out what you know. Relearn the problem you are trying to solve from the scratch.

5 – Creative Confidence 

Creativity does not come naturally to many people. It is a trait that is present among all humans. Each one of us is creative. Some steps and processes can tap into our creative side. It is something that can be learned.

Creative Confidence is the belief in us that we can be creative and that we will find the ultimate solution. Creative Confidence is the concept coined by David Kelly and Tim Kelly, founders of IDEO. Based on several success stories of IDEO, they identified the principles that allow us to tap into our creative potential.

There is a lot of creativity and innovation required while working on a design thinking project. And most of us feel we won’t be able to find the best solution as we are not creative. But the process is designed in a way that naturally taps into each one of our creative potentials.

While working on the project, trust the process and have a belief that you will reach the solution. It may take time, there will be times when you will feel stuck but keep following the process and you will find the solution. Be okay with not knowing the answer for a prolonged time. Building that creative confidence is a very important element of design thinking.

Another important aspect of creative confidence is being open to failure. To find the right solution, you will go through many rejected solutions. You will fail many times to succeed in the end. As Albert Einstein famously says,

“I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that don’t work” – Albert Einstein

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