DESIGN THINKING & ITS

TOOLS
Contents

Introduction to design thinking,

Theory and practice in Design thinking

Implementation,

MVP & Prototyping,

Scenario based Prototyping.

Tools for Design thinking,

Collaboration in distributed Design

Definitions
“Design thinking is a human centered approach to innovation that
draws from designer’s tool kit to integrate the needs of people,
possibilities of technology and the requirements for the business
success”.

“Design thinking is essentially a problem-solving approach

that has the intention to improve products.”

“Design thinking is an approach used for practical and creative problem

solving. It is based heavily on the methods and processes that designers use
(hence the name), but it has actually evolved from a range of different fields
including architecture, engineering and business.” Design thinking can also
be applied to any field; it doesn’t necessarily have to be design-specific.
Design Thinking is a non-linear and iterative process used to solve problems
innovatively and creatively. It was originally used to teach engineers how to
approach problems creatively. It aims to achieve practical solutions and
results that are:
•Technically feasible
•Economically viable
•Desirable for the user

The key principles of design thinking can be listed as follows:

•User centricity
•Collaboration
•Ideation
•Experimentation
•Implementation
Fundamental principles of design thinking:
Empathize: To find solutions that respond to user needs and feedback, one
needs to step into the user's shoes.
Define: This phase requires observing and analyzing a situation without bias.
Then create a problem statement or create a question to define the core
problems you have identified that drive the rest of the process.
Ideate: Here is where you make use of diverse perspectives and ideas. The
aim is to develop as many ideas and solutions as possible.
Prototype: This is the experimental phase. The aim here is to identify the
best solution for each problem.
Test: This is the final stage. Evaluators test the prototypes. However, as you
will see in the design thinking process examples, it is an iterative process.
Design Thinking Examples

Design thinking has inspired many human-centered products, from health to

technology. Every business, be it startups, large corporations, or nonprofit
organizations, is trying to understand its users' needs and come up
with innovative ideas. Here are some of the design thinking examples of products
and services that lead to success.

1. Airbnb

Overview: Airbnb is a multi-billion dollar online platform right now. But it went
close to bankruptcy in its early days. It is one of the best design thinking
examples. Like with many startups, they were barely noticed by anyone at their
launch. A small change in the design thinking principle made it a multi-billion
dollar business.

Challenge: Diverse listings in different categories and cities brought traffic to

their site. The company still wasn't making any revenue.
Realization: They found that there was a repeated pattern in the pictures of
their advertisements. The pictures weren't very appealing, as the owners took
them with smartphones. Moreover, not all the rooms were shown. They didn't
get many bookings because people weren't sure what they would be paying for

Solution: As a result, Airbnb associates traveled to New York to meet the hosts
and help them take high-quality pictures. This non-scalable and non-technical
solution doubled their revenue within a week. Airbnb continues to test ideas
and understand the needs of the people who use their platform.
2. Uber Eats

Overview: To understand the different markets and how their products fit into
the physical conditions of various cities, UberEats constantly research the
places where their customers live, work, and eat. This is one of the best design
thinking examples that led to success.

Challenge: The problem was how to connect people to restaurants in different

cities.

Realization: UberEats realized that to serve its customers, it needed to immerse

and learn about the experiences of restaurant workers, delivery partners, and
customers. And the food culture and ecosystem of each city.

Solution: While developing UberEats, the designers constantly traveled to

different markets to interview users. From following delivery drivers to paying a
visit to local restaurant owners, they did it all. The team, based on the insights,
then ran experiments and built prototypes. They created features like the "Most
Popular Items'' category. Through research and iteration, it has continued to
transform the experience of food delivery.
3. Oral B Electric Toothbrush

Overview: The electric toothbrush was modified to cater better to the

customers' needs. This is one of the design thinking examples that can teach
designers a lot about the process.

Challenge: The designers originally wanted to make a high-tech device that

provided in-depth data on their customer's brushing performance.

Realization: researching and interviewing the users allowed them to discover

that people were already nervous about not brushing. Therefore, providing
detailed data on their hygiene habits would increase anxiety. The key insight
was found. People were looking to make brushing less stressful.

Solution: The design team decided to make brushing simple by adding

features such as chargeable batteries and brush head replacements. This is
one of the classic design thinking examples.
4. Netflix

Overview: Netflix is one of the prime design thinking examples. It used the
approach to determine what its customers wanted and needed and later
changed its business model to meet those needs.

Challenge: Customers were looking for more interesting content. It was faced
with competition as movies and sitcoms were easily available on other
platforms as well.

Realization: Netflix used the design thinking approach to develop new ideas. It
kept testing and experimenting. Netflix knew they needed more to lure
customers.

Solution: Netflix started giving DVD subscriptions. It was tested and

experimented on for ten years. People were made comfortable with streaming
videos. It took over the market as broadband and internet services began to
grow.
5. Nike

Overview: Nike combined sports and design when it launched the first
sneaker with technology in it.

Challenge: The challenge NIKE faced most was how to avoid going out of
trend. Even though it had loyal customers, it knew it had to offer something
unique.

Realization: Nike kept looking for partners to gain insights from their
customers. This, in turn, inspired the company's designers. Thus Nike
focuses on the need and better service to its loyal customers.

Solution: Nike is one of the best design thinking process examples. The
designers redesigned the shoes with a transparent panel. This allowed the
wearer to show the socks they chose to wear underneath. It also developed
pressurized air technology to help athletes perform their best. Apart from
that, it quickly became a fashion statement.
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THEORY AND PRACTICE IN
DESIGN THINKING
In Design Thinking, theory and practice
are closely interconnected. The theory
serves as a blueprint, guiding companies
in general and design teams in particular
through the design process.
design thinking has the potential to do
for innovation exactly what TQM [total
quality management] did for
manufacturing
 Three components: the approach, the impact of the
design and environment within which design
thinking is conducted.
 The approach includes process , procedure and tools
used in practice
ORAL-B
 Design thinking not only succeeds at finding effective solutions
for companies but also at putting initiatives to the test before
implementation.
 When Oral B wanted to upgrade its electric toothbrush, it
enlisted designers Kim Colin and Sam Hecht to help.
 The company’s request was to add more functions for electric
toothbrush users, such as tracking brushing frequency, observing
gum sensitivity, and playing music.
 While clarifying the problem, however, Colin and Hecht pointed
out that brushing teeth was a neurotic act for many people.
Users didn’t want additional functionality and, in many cases,
thought it could potentially cause more stress.
 Instead, they recommended to make the toothbrush easier to
charge, and making it more convenient for users to order
replacement heads by allowing toothbrushes to connect to phones
and send reminder notifications.
 Both proposals were successful because they focused on what
users wanted rather than what the company wanted to roll out.
NETFLIX

 Although many companies have successfully used design

thinking, Netflix has repeatedly leveraged it to
become an industry giant
 While it revolutionized the movie industry, Netflix’s
real success has been in its innovation over the years.
 For example, when the company realized DVDs were
becoming outdated, it created an on-demand streaming
service to stay ahead of the curve.
 Subsequently, in 2011, Netflix took its design thinking
one step further and responded to customers’ need for
original, provocative content that wasn’t airing on
traditional networks.
 Later, in 2016, it improved its user experience by
adding short trailers to its interface. Each of
Netflix’s major updates was in response to customers’
needs and driven by an effective design thinking
process
PRACTICE DESIGN THINKING

While these examples illustrate the kind of success design thinking

can yield, we should learn how to practice and use it before
implementing it into business model. Here are several ways to do
so:
1. Consider the Big Picture
 In the examples above, it’s easy to say the solutions are
obvious. Yet, try taking a step back to reflect on how each
company thought about its customer base’s perspective and
recognized where to employ empathy.
2. Think Through Alternative Solutions
 This is a useful exercise you can do with the examples above.
Consider the problem each company faced and think through
alternative solutions each could have tried. This can enable you
to practice both empathy and ideation.
3. Research Each Company’s Competitors
 Another helpful exercise is to look at each company’s
competitors. Did those competitors have similar problems? Did
they find similar solutions? How would you compete? Remember to
walk through the four design thinking phases.
IMPLEMENTING OF DESIGN
THINKING
 Design thinking isn’t about your knowledge of
design concepts or color palettes; rather, it’s
about designing tools and processes with end
users in mind.
 When you design programs or platforms directly
for users, you can increase engagement,
adoption and satisfaction
4 STEPS TO IMPLEMENTING DESIGN THINKING
 Empathizing: Understand your users and their
needs.
 Defining: Analyze and identify issues to be
solved.
 Ideating: Create and share ideas — even the off-
the-wall ones.
 Prototyping: Draw up solutions.

 Testing: Just as it says, go forth and test your

solutions.
You can implement design thinking and bring its
benefits to your organization in four key ways:
 1. Focus on the problem

Listen, Ask questions, Have collaborative

conversations, Stay unbiased.
2. Develop design thinking skills on your
team
Practice the mind-set, Foster interest
3. Have (or start having) more debriefs
Be open about what went wrong., View failure as
learning
 4. Embrace the feedback loop

Test and iterate as much as possible, Have

feedback sessions often
Design thinking can help you and your team
identify and solve meaningful problems.
 The process is like a muscle you build and use.
With a design thinking mindset, you can spend
time effectively solving the right problems and
building processes that will impact your
organization’s success.
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT (MVP)

A minimum viable product, or MVP, is a product

with enough features to attract early-adopter
customers and validate a product idea early in
the product development cycle.
 In industries such as software, the MVP can
help the product team receive user feedback as
quickly as possible to iterate and improve the
product.
 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A MINIMUM VIABLE
PRODUCT?

 It is the version of a new product that allows a team to collect the

maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the
least amount of effort.
 A company might choose to develop and release a minimum viable
product because its product team wants to:
 Release a product to the market as quickly as possible
 Test an idea with real users before committing a large budget to the
product’s full development
 Learn what resonates with the company’s target market and what
doesn’t
HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOUR MINIMUM VIABLE
PRODUCT?

1. Make sure your planned MVP aligns with

your business objectives.

2. Start identifying specific problems you

want to solve or improvements you want to
enable for your user persona.

3. Translate your MVP functionality into a

plan of development action.
 WHAT IS PROTOTYPING?

 Prototyping is a process in which design teams ideate,

experiment with, and bring concepts to life, ranging
from paper ideas to digital designs.

 At its core, a prototype is an early sample of a design

that allows users to visualize or interact with it before a
final product is developed.

 It is the fourth step of the design thinking process,

followed by usability testing
REASONS FOR PROTOTYPING
 With prototyping, designers can explore alternative
design solutions with zero development effort.
 They can also test their prototypes on real users to
discover usability issues before releasing a final
product.
 This process helps designers save a lot of time, money,
and effort throughout the entire design and
development lifecycle.
SOME REASONS TO PROTOTYPE INCLUDE:
 Exploring new ideas
 Discovering problems

 Identifying usability issues.

 Engaging stakeholders and end users

SCENARIO BASED PROTOTYPING
 USER SCENARIO :

• User scenario gives information about the user requirements and it

clarifies about the objectives of the user.
• Scenarios are concise and represent a snapshot of the user experience.
 Design thinking is best as concrete prototypes can be
used to visualize new products and services.
 For complex software systems with multiple users
portable prototypes are not possible.
 To overcome this problem, a situation-based prototyping
method is used.
 This approach of scenario-based prototyping will support
step-by-step enrichment and interoperability of the
model, the sequence between the artifacts collected
during the previous design phases and scenarios.
 The models provide a more legitimate result of the
process of designing low-level engineering works, so that
the gap between design and engineering is narrowed.
 Circumstances define the sequence of events,
reflecting the activities of one or more individuals
in the real world.
 Goals should be realistic, detailed and concise.
Since this is difficult to do quickly, it is best to
cover only a limited time in a situation.
Steps of Requirement Analysis
Requirement
Analysis

Draw the
Context diagram

Develop Scenario
based prototypes

Model the
requirements

Finalize the
requirements
 Draw the context diagram:
• The context diagram is a simple model that defines the boundaries and
interfaces of the proposed systems with the external world. It identifies
the entities outside the proposed system that interact with the system.

 Development of a Prototype:
• One effective way to find out what the customer wants is to construct a
prototype .
• Feedback is taken continuously from the customer to modify the
prototype until the customer is satisfied.
• prototype helps the client to visualize the proposed system and increase
the understanding of the requirements.
• When developers and users are not sure about some of the elements, a
prototype help both the parties to take a final decision.
 Model the requirements:

 This process usually consists of various graphical

representations of the functions, data entities, external
entities, and the relationships between them.
 The graphical view may help to find incorrect, inconsistent,
missing, and superfluous requirements. Such models include
the Data Flow diagram, Entity-Relationship diagram, Data
Dictionaries, State-transition diagrams, etc.

 Finalise the requirements:

 After modeling the requirements, the inconsistencies and

ambiguities have been identified and corrected.
 The flow of data amongst various modules has been analyzed.
 Elicitation and analyze activities have provided better insight
into the system.
 Finalize the analyzed requirements, and the next step is to
document these requirements in a prescribed format.
WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING TOOL?
 Design Thinking is all about reframing the way you think about
your users, your product, and the problems facing them in
order to develop innovative solutions.

 Using Design Thinking define tools can help ensure you get
this stage right and move forward effectively.
 This technical note profiles 10 best tools for design thinking.
1. VISUALIZATION
 It’s about using images. It’s not about
drawing; it’s about visual thinking.
 It pushes us beyond using words or language
alone.
 It is a way of unlocking a different part of our
brains that allows us to think nonverbally and
that managers might not normally use.
 2. JOURNEY MAPPING (OR
EXPERIENCE MAPPING)

 It is an ethnographic research method that focuses on

tracing the customer’s “journey” as he or she interacts
with an organization while in the process of receiving
a service, with special attention to emotional highs and
lows.
 Experience mapping is used with the objective of
identifying needs that customers are often unable to
articulate.
3. VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS
 Examines how an organization interacts with
value chain partners to produce, market, and
distribute new offerings.
 Analysis of the value chain offers ways to
create better value for customers along the
chain and uncovers important clues about
partners’ capabilities and intentions.
4. MIND MAPPING
 It is used to represent how ideas or other
items are linked to a central idea and to each
other.
 Mind maps are used to generate, visualize,
structure, and classify ideas to look for
patterns and insights that provide key design
criteria.
5. RAPID CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
 Assists us in generating hypotheses about
potential new business opportunities.
 When people hear the term “innovation process,”
concept development may be the only thing they
think of, and they often equate it with
brainstorming.
 But there is a lot more to innovation than the
development of new ideas and a lot more to
developing new ideas than brainstorming.
 We want to generate ideas quickly and get them
out to customers to have a look at them as soon as
possible. Speed is key.
6. ASSUMPTION TESTING
 Focuses on identifying assumptions underlying the
attractiveness of a new business idea and using
available data to assess the likelihood that these
assumptions will turn out to be true.
 These assumptions are then tested through thought
experiments, followed by field experiments, which
subject new concepts to four tests: value creation,
execution, scalability, and defensibility.
7. PROTOTYPING
 Techniques allow us to make abstract new
ideas tangible to potential partners and
customers.
 These include storyboarding, user scenarios,
experience journeys, and business concept
illustrations — all of which encourage deep
involvement by important stakeholders to
provide feedback.
8. CUSTOMER CO-CREATION
 Incorporatestechniques that allow managers
to engage a customer while in the process of
generating and developing new business
ideas of mutual interest.
 They are among the most value-enhancing,
risk-reducing approaches to growth and
innovation.
9. LEARNING LAUNCHES
 Designed to test the key underlying value-
generating assumptions of a potential new-
growth initiative in the marketplace.
 In contrast to a full new-product rollout, a
learning launch is a learning experiment
conducted quickly and inexpensively to
gather market-driven data.
10. STORYTELLING
 Is
exactly how it sounds: weaving together a
story rather than just making a series of
points.
 It is a close relative of visualization—
another way to make new ideas feel real and
compelling.
 Visual storytelling is actually the most
compelling type of story.
 All good presentations—whether analytical
or design-oriented — tell a persuasive story.
DESIGN COLLABORATION
WHAT IS DESIGN COLLABORATION?

 Design collaboration in UX design refers to a

comprehensive process where multiple
stakeholders in a project can give real-time
feedback and perspectives through all stages of
the design process.
 A collaborative design process usually involves
three phases: ideation, creation, and revision.
Through each step, the client and key players at
a design firm, including product managers,
marketing teams, researchers, and engineers,
provide input on the process.
WHAT IS UX DESIGN?

 UX design, short for user experience design, is the process

by which a company designs every aspect of the customer’s
journey—including hearing about the company, buying the
product, and using the product.
 These experiences can include branding, website and
product usability, information architecture, interactive
elements, and product function. UX design is associated
primarily with digital experiences (like websites and mobile
apps) but can also apply to physical product design
and product development.
 The term “UX design” is often used interchangeably with
“UI design” (short for user interface design) though they
serve different purposes. UI design is a subset of UX design
that focuses primarily on aesthetics and visual design of
the customer’s experience.
 Design collaboration encourages buy-in from the client
on their design—they know what’s happening
throughout the project and can suggest changes at early
stages.
 It also prevents teams from getting siloed: If a visual
designer creates a design that’s going to be hard to
implement, doesn’t meet legal clearances, or is missing
something crucial for the marketing process, they may be
forced to revise at a much later stage.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UX
DESIGN AND UI DESIGN?

 UX design is often used interchangeably with UI design

(short for user interface design), but they are slightly
different fields. UX design governs the big picture—every
moment of the customer’s interaction with the company
and products—and incorporates a broad skill set, including
coding, product management, and design.
 On the other hand, UI design is a small subset of UX
design that focuses on the aesthetics and graphic design of
the customer’s experience—like branding, typeface choices,
and website visuals—and primarily requires design skills.
BENEFITS OF COLLABORATIVE DESIGN

 There are several reasons why collaboration is important in

UX design.
1. Promotes teamwork: In a collaborative design project,
the entire team unifies around a shared vision or goal. Team
members can support one another as they work towards
solving design problems and delivering the product to the
client on time.
2. Increases client buy-in: When a client is involved in the
process, they feel a greater sense of ownership in the end
result. This can also help streamline the design team’s
workflow, as they receive real-time feedback rather than
waiting until all work has been completed.
3. Provides a better user experience:
Collaboration brings together multiple points of
view and different skill sets. Working with a team
can fuel innovation and inject creative problem-
solving into the design process. Ultimately, this can
be a boon to the overall user experience.
5 PHASES OF THE DESIGN COLLABORATION
PROCESS

There are five different stages of the collaborative design

process.
1. Brainstorming: Before design begins, multiple
conversations need to take place between the design firm and
the client (this may be an external client in a design firm or
even a different team in a larger company).
The brainstorming process is essential for the design team to
understand the specific design problem that must be solved.
2. Research: Once the design team has a clear
understanding of the client’s design needs, they can research
the market and the company, all the while sharing design
ideas and concepts with each other. Using a vision board,
teams present design concepts that can inspire the design
phase.
3. Iteration: In UX design, the design work is
iterative. Meaning that once a design approach is
chosen, it undergoes multiple iterations to fine-
tune the final product. Many design firms will
schedule a design sprint—a specific timeline for
completing an iteration of the design.
4. Feedback: User feedback for each iteration
ensures optimal usability. Oftentimes, teams will
test their designs before sending them to the client
for feedback. At other times, clients can provide
real-time feedback using a design collaboration
tool. Receiving feedback in real-time can help
increase buy-in from the client, as it gives them
more ownership in the process.
5. Development: The final stage of the design life
cycle ends once the client has approved all of the
designs.
Team members often walk the client through the
project one last time to ensure that all the design
elements are functioning correctly. Then, it’s time
to launch the design. Once the design is launched,
further adjustments may be required.
AN EXAMPLE OF COLLABORATIVE DESIGN

 A typical collaborative design process might look like this:

First comes the brainstorming session for the design
project, where all team members meet with the client.
 The client expresses their needs for a new website design,
and the project team proposes design ideas. The design
team then works on iterations of the project, weighing in
responses provided by other stakeholders.
 The design team sends the design to the client for proofing;
this can be in the form of a prototype, mockup, template, or
wireframe. Using a design collaboration tool—such as a
digital whiteboard or interactive software—the client can
leave real-time feedback, or annotations, for the design
team’s consideration. The new designs are then revised,
tested, and honed further.