MODULE 3

THE USE OF DESIGN THINKING

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The leaners shall be able to:

• Define design thinking:

• Illustrate the design thinking process.;

• Combine storytelling with the design thinking process;

• Adapt observation and insights in the design thinking process; Design interviews in the design

thinking process; and,

• Prepare experiments in the design thinking process.

"The main tenet of design thinking is empathy for the people you're trying to design for.
Leadership is exactly the same thing-building empathy for the people that you're entrusted to help."
David Kelley
Founder of IDEO
These few years, the design thinking process has increasingly become well- known. Possibly, this
is due to the high success of big and global companies that made use of this process. Known also as
"outside the box thinking" said process is not just merely a process, but completely opens a new way of
thinking. Said process provides a pool of practical means to help apply this new mindset. Design thinking
helps improve the world through the generation of innovative solutions from ordinary problems to the
most complicated ones being experienced every day. Hence, design thinking is now being taught in top
colleges and universities globally and being promoted in all business levels.

What is Design Thinking?

For the Chief Executive Officer, Tim Brown of IDEO, design thinking is "a discipline that uses the
designer's sensibility and methods to match people's needs with what is technologically feasible and what
a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity". IDEO is a consulting
company founded in California in 1991 that uses the design thinking approach to design products,
services, environments, and digital experiences. Therefore, design thinking is a combination of
desirability. feasibility and viability based from the definition of Brown.

Basically, design thinking is a constant process of trying to find innovative solutions to problems
through deep understanding and empathy of the target user. It seeks to develop complete understanding
of the people involved in the problem through solution-based approach and not those common problem-
solving methods. Design thinking offers a means of digging that bit deeper to disclose ways of improving
user experiences.

Usually, design thinking involves the process of questioning. Simply, said process involves
enquiring about the problem, enquiring on the assumptions, and enquiring on what the implications
would be. Ideas are usually formed by brainstorming sessions in order to re-structure the problem in
human-centric ways

Solving problems requires performing the appropriate type of research, forming prototypes and
testing the products and/or services to discover new approaches in satisfying users' needs. This thinking
also involves experimentation and trying out concepts and ideas.

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 Airbnb made use of design thinking from the human insights that people wanted to share and
leverage their assets, hence the birth of "shared economy" Apple did design thinking and made the
phone a remote control of everyone's lives. Due to the fact that design thinking is problem-solving
oriented, it

becomes striking not only for corporations but also to entrepreneurs, who want to run customer- oriented
businesses and provide the best products to their clients.

Here are some of the principles about design thinking to wit:

1. Human-centricity and Empathy - This is about providing solutions to problems that focuses on
human needs and user response. In reality, the drivers of innovations are people and not merely
technology. Hence, the process should really contain a step that considers the shoes of users and relate
to them with genuine empathy.

2. Collaboration - The purpose of design thinking is to form a pond of perspectives and ideas.
These ideas shall be used in innovation. Design thinking works well with diverse composition of teams
who would cooperate with each other.

3. Ideation - Ideation is a core design thinking principle at the same time a step in the design
thinking process. The focus of design thinking is to come up with as many ideas and potential solutions
as possible. As a step, participants are encouraged to produce many ideas without first considering the
quality.

4. Experimentation and Iteration - Ideas are turned into prototypes. Said prototypes are tested
and feedback from users are taken. Design thinking is a continuous and repetitive process to discover
mistakes and defects of the initial versions until getting the preferred form of the proposed solution.

5. A bias towards Action - Design thinking is an applied and practical solution-based method that
is more focus on action rather than on discussion. This method favors a face-to-face engagement
through "going out in the field". Instead of discussing on the possible solutions, these solutions are
turned into concrete prototypes and tested out in the real world.

The Origins of Design Thinking

In the 50s and 60s onwards, design-thinking emerged because of the issues of collective problem
solving of significant societal changes by engineers, architects and industrial designers at that time. In his
1969 book entitled "The Sciences of the Artificial", Herbert A. Simon first mentioned about design
thinking as a way of thinking. A cognitive scientist and Nobel Prize laureate, Simon since then contributed
numerous ideas in the principles of design thinking.

Design thinking begun to combine the human, technological, strategic needs and innovation
technology in the 1970s. Across a wide range of industries, design thinking since then continues to be
explored and enhanced particularly in business. Simon outlined the first formal models of the design
thinking process consisting of seven major stages. In the 21st century, there are many variants of design
thinking that came out with different number of stages in the process.

Another famous design thinking model was that of the five-stage design thinking model
suggested by the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. The design thinking process has become
popular because it was strategic to the success of many prominent, international companies such as
Google, Apple and Airbnb. These organizations have applied design thinking to remarkable effect. This
"outside the box thinking" is now taught at distinguished universities worldwide and is promoted not only
in business but to all types of organizations. The five-stage design thinking would be the model that will
be used in this book.

The Design Thinking Process

The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford provides a five-step process in design thinking.
In reality, the process follows a flexible and non-linear fashion, rather than sequential steps. The process
often occurs in parallel and be repeated iteratively.

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 Figure 2 The Design Thinking Process

It can be seen in Figure 2 that there is always feedback coming from the earlier step. Information
is taken continuously in order to have a deep knowledge of the problem and the solutions. There is an
unending loop so that the designer can gain insights constantly, produce new ways of seeing the product
and its likely uses and understand deeply the users and their problems.

The five phases of Design Thinking, according to the. school, are as follows:

Empathize: Research About Users' Needs

Using research, the first step in the design thinking process allows to obtain understanding of the
people who experience a problem before designing a solution to serve them. Empathy describes the
ability to put oneself in another person's shoes to really see the world through people's in a given context
or situation. It involves observing, engage to understand their experiences and motivations and
immersing in the physical environment of users who will be affected by the design. Since design thinking
is a human-centered design process, it needs empathy to gain real insight into users and their needs and
the problems that underlie the development of a particular product and/or service. During this phase, the
designer seeks to set aside their assumptions and gather genuine insights about the user. In building
empathy, designers can produce products which truly satisfy the users and make their lives easier.

Here are some key empathy-building methods to gain a deeper understanding of the users' pulse:

1. Empathy interviews - The objective of the interview is to find out as much insight as possible using an
open conversation. The most effective way of an interview is constantly asking "why?" even if the answer
has already been given. Storytelling is encouraged here and also be attentive to nonverbal cues.

2. Immersion and Observation - Users should be observed in their natural environment or immersed in a
certain situation while they are in action. Photographing or videoing could be done in observation to
identify users needs, motivations, or challenges that they are not conscious of and which they could not
express. Users could be observed here as they act naturally.

3. Extreme Users - Usually the extreme users are the ones sought to re-structure the problem and
discover fresh insights. The reason is that the needs of extreme users are usually intensified that could
help solve the problem. Compared to average users, they find workarounds to existing problems.

4. Ask what, how, and why in curiosity - The what, how, and why of users' behavior must always be
considered. This line of questioning can lead the observation into more abstract user motivations. The
"what" question shall give details of what action has taken place. The "how" question considers the
manner of completion of the action that happened in the "what". With the "why" educated guesses could
be formed about the user's motivations and emotions as he completes the action.

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 One method that can be used to record efficiently the information from the interview is the
empathy map.

The empathy map helps gather and organize the data from the interview that could lead to
surprising insights. There would be lots of discoveries once the empathy map has collated the unmet
needs,

frustrations, improvement areas, perspectives, assumptions and beliefs coming from someone's head.
There are four main components of the empathy map namely:

Source: www.tutorialspoint.com

1. Say This quadrant covers what the user says loudly in an interview or some other usability study.
Ideally, it contains precise and direct quotes from research. An example is "I am loyal to Jollibee because
I never have a bad experience."

2. Think This quadrant captures what the user is thinking throughout the experience. Here, there should
be special attention paid to what users think, but may not be eager to articulate. Often, they are hesitant
to share their thoughts because they are uncertain, uncomfortable, well-mannered. or scared to tell
others something. For instance, a user's thought could be expressed as "This is really frustrating."

3. Do This quadrant encompasses the actions the user undergoes. This could be what the user physically
does and how the user goes about doing it. Possibly the user "Shops around to compare prices".

4. Feel This quadrant contains user's emotional state such as his worries, excitement about a certain
experience. This is often represented by an adjective such as "confused of too many contradictory
prices".

Define: State Users' Needs and Problems

The first step towards defining a problem is to find who the user is, what is his needs and then
develop insights from the answers. Said step has been done in the Empathize Stage. Then the actionable
design problem statement is defined in a human-centered manner to club all the answers together in the
Empathize Stage. The purpose of this problem statement is to establish the core problems and generate
tangible and actionable ideas to solve the problems.

Here are some guidelines in generating the question under the design thinking process:

1. Strengthen the good-In design thinking, all the positive aspects of the customers' needs are
intensified.

2. Eliminate the bad - With design thinking, all the bad components witnessed in the problem are taken
out.

3. Search the opposite - Using design thinking, the problem needs to be transformed into opportunity.

4. Enquiry of the Assumptions - This step in design thinking consists of enquiring about the assumption at
hand.

5. Pinpoint the Unanticipated Resources Having design thinking, some other resources not stated by the
customer can be sought on how they can be controlled.

6. Form an Analogy Design thinking also includes the manner of creating relationships between the
problem at hand and unconnected images.

7. Breakdown the Problem into Pieces - This is where again analysis comes into picture for a short while
before the problem definition can be synthesized. The points discussed from 'empathize' section can be
broken down into elementary fragments to make the work easier.

Ideate: Challenge Assumptions and Construct Ideas

In this stage, designers are prepared to start generating ideas. The concrete background of
knowledge from the first two stages means anyone can begin to "think outside the box". Here
entrepreneurs may now look for alternate ways to view the problem and pinpoint innovative solutions to
the problem statement created.

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 There are numerous ideation techniques such as Brainstorm, Brainwrite, Worst Possible Idea,
and SCAMPER. In order to encourage free thinking and to magnify the problem space, Brainstorm and
Worst Possible Idea sessions are normally used.

1. Brainstorm - This is a more relaxed and informal way of solving a problem using imaginative thinking.
Often times, these thoughts and ideas seem a bit crazy. These ideas are original and creative solutions to
a problem. Some of these ideas may even trigger more ideas. Brainstorming gets people released their
ideas by shaking their heads without the usual way of thinking.

2. Brainwrite - This is a serial process of asking participants to write down their ideas about a specific
question or problem on sheets of paper. Each participant passes his ideas on to someone else, who reads

the ideas and adds new ideas. The process repeats that would last from 10 to 15 minutes. Once the
sheets are collected, they are posted for discussion.

3. Worst Possible Idea - This is a technique where members of the team look for the worst solutions in
ideation periods. This is a reverse way of examining their ideas, contest assumptions and obtain insights
in discovering great ideas. In this way it would strengthens creativity and boosts the confidence of team
members.

4. SCAMPER - The SCAMPER method is a concept that aims to look for solutions to problems. The
SCAMPER technique is more engrossed on the process of discovering unfamiliar and innovative solutions
to problems. The goal of also is improving a product or service. Actually, SCAMPER stands for an acronym
and each letter stands for one thinking technique:

a. Substitute - A designer may look for something to replace that will result in improvements of concept,
product, service or process. Possibly, this could be a trial-and-error process to test which among the
alternative works better or could be best.

b. Combine - Sometimes, the solutions are already at hand and not really something new. An idea might
not work alone, but a combination of some ideas, processes or products could work best.

c. Adapt - Often, there is already the right solution to a problem, but still unknown yet. Sometimes, an
idea could solve one or more problems.

d. Modify - At times, exaggerating a situation or problem could offer a new insight or added value. This
could help isolate which among the part of process or concept is vital.

e. Put to another use - This is making the idea or concept works into a different use compared to what is
originally planned.

f. Eliminate - In the same process like the Lean Six Sigma, this concerns eliminating waste due to
inefficient processes. Removing ineffective procedures could reform them.

g. Reverse -This is doing things that are completely against the original purpose in order to see
something from a different angle.

Prototype: Start to Form Solutions

A prototype is a low-cost, scaled-down quick working sample of entrepreneurial ideas for new
products or particular features found in these products. It is a taster of what will ultimately become a
finished product. A prototype shows how a product will work and look like. Though, not all prototypes will
develop into a final product. Prototypes can be in different shapes and sizes from paper to sketches all
the way to completely well-designed interactive prototypes.

This stage is an experimental one to validate ideas and to develop reaction to form more and
more prototypes for interaction. The purpose here is identifying the best likely solution for each of the
problems identified from the first three stages. The solutions are applied within the prototypes. One by
one, they are examined. After examination they are either accepted, enhanced and re-inspected, or
rejected depending on the users' experiences. At the end of this step, most likely the designer has a
better idea of the product's limitations and problems. Here the designer will also have the big picture of
how the actual users shall interrelate with the finished product.

Here are some of the benefits about prototyping:

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 1. Timely feedback - Collecting feedback is an important feature of the product building process. Reviews
at every step of the product development such as adding new features or designing parts of the product
can be collected using prototyping. Feedback could reveal what works for the market or what could not.

2. Prompt changes save time and cost - At the end, changes could be in the form of drastic restructuring,
assumption and revision. Essentially, having an initial model prepared makes possible the preferred
changes promptly. This way early changes may reach the designer's goals earlier with less or no
investment or effort at all.

3. Validation prior to development - Before getting into final development, there would be several
discussions in between repetitive changes using prototyping. Said repetitive process ensures to build
easier what in reality is needed.

4. User research and user testing - It is vital to identify potential user and gather ideas to serve them
best. This could only be attained using prototyping. Actually, the crucial intention of constructing a
prototype is user testing. User testing shall reveal how the product would become functional and valued
by the final user. Ideas and insights can be gained concerning how actual users would use the product
and make improvements of the pain points.

There are numerous types to prototyping. It is always essential to choose the right type to a
product which suits into some constraints such as time and resource.

1. Low fidelity - This consists of paper prototypes that are used in the early stages that are constantly
improved during the process. This prototyping makes improvements easy and fast. The focus here is the
system not the outer appearance which makes it more open to improvements depending on the user
feedback. However, as the product becomes complex, these low fidelity prototypes become ineffective in
keeping up with these design desi complexities.

2. Medium fidelity - This prototype concerns the product that is made with practical functionalities based
on storyboard and user situations.

3. High fidelity - Often, these prototypes are mistaken for the final product, because they look closely like
the would-be actual end product. These prototypes may provide the most convincing experience of the
product having the real functionalities. This is perfect for discussing the complex components of a
product but expensive and time consuming.

Essentially, a prototype is the foundation for what will become the minimum viable product
(MVP). An MVP is a minimum viable product that was born out of the lean mentality pioneered by Eric
Ries from his book "The Lean Startup". After any hypotheses have been tested using prototyping and
acquired evidence of a concept, an MVP can be created. Before promoting the MVP, review again and
again the created prototypes to address those biggest product assumptions. An MVP is also a better way
to present a product to potential investors. It will give them a better impression of the product than a
prototype.

Test: Try Solutions Out

The complete product is tested in real life environment using the best solutions in the previous
step. The results that are produced out of the test are normally use to redefine one or identify further
problems. Designers can go back to the previous step to make repetitions, adjustments and
improvements to consider alternative solutions. Here a deeper understanding of the product and its users
could be possible.

Here the stakes are high. If the final users are contented with the product, then it will go into
production. While if the end users are not happy, then the process is reiterated in addition to integrating
the feedback and then reframe the problem. Testing is the opportunity for users to try out the prototype.
It is the chance for the designer to observe on purpose and gather finale process data.

The Power of Storytelling

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 Stories are about specific events of real people and their respective lives that can inspire
opportunities, ideas and solutions. These stories offer actual details to be used in picturing solutions to
certain problems. Storytelling is the core of the structure and functions of every human being to connect
events as a complete experience through time. Hence, storytelling makes it an important and effective
tool in the course of design process of both products and services.

Actually storytelling is a vital instrument for feedback. Feedback is the foundation of the
repetitive process of prototyping that may lead to solving the problem. Stories and prototypes are usually
interwoven. Explanation and repositioning of experiences could bring a host of possible analyses and
interpretations that may bring to test fresh solutions prior to completely committing to a specific policy,
program, or service.

At each steps in the design process, the events and lessons experienced are described through
storytelling. Storytelling offers the opportunity of hearing feedback about the product from the
consumers' mouth or see how the product could be used in real life. In the design process, the essential
problems that consumers face when using a product or a service are known through storytelling. This
knowledge about the problems are reflected in the formulation of the solution based from the test made
by the consumers.

Usually, every story has the following elements:

1. Domain/What - This is the definition of the topic that is the concern of the story. In the design
process, it can be the problem of a consumer that should be resolved.

2. Players/Who - These are the people involved in a story. In the design process, the main player
is the persona who represents the demographic information of the consumer who faces the experiences.
There could be other players involve in the story such as those who are part of the support groups or
those employees that directly communicate with the customers.

3. Story flow/How - There are three main chapters for each story namely the beginning, middle,
and end. In every story there is problem that could be part of the middle stage which is the target in the
design process. Issues may arise that may be found before the main event in the story.

Storytelling in the Design Process

In order to form a solution that is human and user-centered, there must be a user involvement in
the design thinking process. Hence, all throughout the process, storytelling is used with a distinct usage
goal for each stage. Storytelling can be applied using the following steps:

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 Figure 3. Storytelling in the Design Process Based on the Double Diamond and IDEO Design
Thinking Process. (Adopted from the Design Council and IDEO)
Problem Framing

Basically, this step comes early in the design process that deals with exploring the problem to
know exactly the concern that needs a solution. Here storytelling is used to identify the problem using
qualitative

data from the consumers. Several session using storytelling can be scheduled together with consumers
who possess the persona characteristics. The data gathered from these sessions need to be analyzed to
form a comprehensive knowledge concerning the problem. Storytelling is very vital to empathize with
consumers with their problems as they relate their pain points. Here the persona empathy map could be
constructed to reveal the feelings and experience of the consumers.

Solution Framing

In the solution definition and prototyping stages, the designer need to test and evaluate a
number of possible solutions to obtain the best solution based on the standpoint of the user. Storytelling
is used in this stage to confirm the efficiency of the solution by creating a two-way communication with
the consumer. Here the designer must know if the solution really works best for the consumer.

In the prototyping step, consumers after trying the solution may be able to provide feedback to
the designer using storytelling. The designer is able to witness how the consumers make use of the
prototype solution. In this way, he can create a practical analysis of the recommended solutions to the
problem.

Solution Implementation

Practically speaking, in the design thinking process the consumer feedback about the product or
the service can be collected as basis for improvement. Storytelling can be used as an instrument to
discover how the end product is used by consumers in their everyday lives. From the feedback sessions,
the information gathered could become useful in enhancing a better version of the product in the future.

A good example of the use of storytelling happened with the Coca-Cola's Happiness Machine
campaign. It featured a Coca-Cola vending machine converted to deliver astonishing "doses" of
happiness to unsuspicious college students. The machine was placed in the center of the student
cafeteria at the Queens, NY, campus of St. John's University. The apparently typical Coke machine,
something very familiar to most people was in complete sight of five intentionally positioned unseen
cameras. The candid camera angles capture the joy and happiness of those in the video. The video
revealed unpretentious surprise and delight on the students' faces when they interacted with the Coca-
Cola 'Happiness Machine. One can also observe the generosity that arises as they gathered together to
be part in those moments of happiness. There was really something very human and realistic about it. It
was such a simple yet convincing concept. Coca Cola was able to portray what is really important and
that is "life's simple pleasures".

Observation and Insights

Collecting information about the target consumer is a vital part of the design thinking approach.
Knowing what customers think or feel is the initial step towards making innovative products and services
that they want and need.

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 Once faced with a problem, the first thing to do is not to discover a solution immediately.
Instead, the mindset must be to ask a question that might get closer to the cause of the problem or
back-up an advancement. There are several research techniques to gather insights about the needs of
people and the most popular of which are observation and interview.

In research, there are three types of research that can be use which are generative research,
evaluative research, and validating research. In generative research, new opportunities are identified and
the needs are discovered. In evaluative research, feedback on experiments are collected and these are
applied in repetitive ways in order to progress. The focus of both generative and evaluative researches
are new ideas and more on the future. While validating research also known as traditional market
research is purposely for understanding what is presently happening.

Curiosity is the core element in digging deeper into design thinking. Being a keen observer is vital
to be curious on knowing why things are the way they are, why things seem not to work or why people
act the way they do. Being curious is a mindset that help in better understanding of the things around
through observation. Observation makes a person look into the finer points. Curiosity and observation
must work hand-in-hand by inquiring about assumptions to understand what is unknown. With curiosity,
empathy for both the people and systems in place can be obtained. Curiosity helps in making connections
and deepen relationships with people to see problems from different angles.

On the other hand, insight development is a very challenging one. The focus of observation and
insights is quite different. Observation centers on raw data that are purposely gathered from what has
been heard and seen excluding interpretation. After observation comes insight. Insight is not an idea but

it helps to produce new idea. Insight is an interpretation of an interesting information resulting from
interview and observation data that offers new understanding of a human behavior or attitude that could
initiates opportunities. Such insight reveals a pattern that identifies the needs of those people being
observed.

Take for instance, the everyday task of floor mopping. Procter & Gamble made observations of
people cleaning floors. From the observation, generated insights such as people do not like washing floor
with water using mop and water does not help in eliminating dirt. Hence, from these insights a new
product with the brand name Swiffer was born. The Swiffer brand is a waterless mop that cleans surfaces
easier and conveniently. The researchers here were able to identify the unexpected pattern the
troublesome mopping with water and a product that makes mopping easier. From a different angle,
coming from those meaningful insights given the primary need of avoiding messy and dirty water was
resolved because of Swiffer mop.

Developing observation as a skill needs a lot of practice. The more observation practices are
made, the most likely that more meaningful new insights could be developed to create innovative
solutions to problems.

Observation Techniques

Based from the perspective of Spradley, here are the nine dimensions for observational purposes:

Table 4. Dimensions for Observation

DIMENSIONS DESCRIPTOR

1. Space The physical lay-out of the place/s

2. Actor The range of people involved

3. Activity A set of related acts people do/or activities that

happen

4. Object The physical things that are present

5. Act Single actions that people do

6. Event A set of related activities that people carry out

7. Time The sequencing of events that takes place

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 8. Goal The things people are trying to accomplish

9. Feeling The emotions felt and expressed

An important and helpful tool to use for classifying and construing observations collected during
user research field studies and usability testing efforts is the AEIOU. It was in 1991 that Rick Robinson
and his team developed AEIOU at the Doblin Group. This was done while making a study of the large
data about the over-the- counter interaction at McDonald's restaurants. The group ended up with the
AEIOU framework after clustering and categorizing these data.

It stands for the five dimensions namely:

1. Activity – this comprises actions and behaviors with specific goals in mind, and the processes
executed to accomplish them.

2. Environment – it details the overall context and characteristics of the space where activities are
being observed.

3. Interaction – it consists of both interpersonal and person-artifact interactions. Proximity and

space may also play a significant role within these relationships.

4. Object – this sets the items within the environment and how they are used. It is essential to note
both the fundamental and minor uses of objects and how people connect them to do their
activities.

5. User – this includes the people within the environment that are being observed. The key
information comprises their values and biases, behaviors, needs and relationships.

Interview

Interviewing is an important tool to identify and emphatize with customers needs, form fresh
ideas and find out new opportunities. This is another way of gathering data by the designer. This
approach could be a substitute or support to observation. An expert interviewer should be open-minded,
a skilled listener, a keen observant, flexxible and exhibits patience.

Most business owners interview their customers right after purchase for feedback. However,
entrepreneurs also interview people for ideas and insights in addition to the identification of needs during
the design thinking process. Interviewing during this time ensures that the product and/or service being
created is really the need of the customers.

Interview Techniques

Interviews are used to get information about user experiences. Said interviews are inexpensive
and easy to conduct by anyone by just asking questions and recording the answers. An interviewer may
prepare a script or make a list of questions that he will ask. Here are some reminders to have a
successful and informative interview:

1. Make the interviewee relaxed - The interviewer must dress in a manner similar to the customers being
interviewed. He may offer some drinks and have a little talk prior to the start of the interview.

2. The interview should be on time and heading in the right direction - The interviewer should prepare
some scripts as reference which can be useful to provide focus when asking questions. With prepared
scripts it will mean less time to conduct the interview.

3. Concentrate on the customer and not on documentation -The interviewer must always focus on the
conversation with the customers to make the discussion flowing. He may bring with him a recorder, so
that all things could be documented.

4. Ask open ended questions - The interviewer must not ask questions answerable by "yes" or "no".
Open-ended questions are those which require more thought and more than a simple one-word answer.

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 5. Listen, refrain from talking - The interviewer ought to be attentive to what is being said by the
customers. He needs to keep his questions short and impartial. Do not fill the space during the pauses
made by the customers.

6. Encourage but not influence - The interviewer should avoid saying things that may direct the
customers into something. He must only show little signs of encouragement such nodding his head or
merely smiling

7. Follow ones feelings and drill down - Sometimes there is a need to make clarifications in order to
examine something in depth. The interviewer may ask follow-up questions such as why and what else.

8. Repeat to confirm - For very significant topics, the interviewer should try reiterating back what the
person said. He can occasionally get two interesting results through this. Firstly any misinterpretation
could be corrected. Secondly, any slight difference with the true opinion can be realized and changed into
a more refined answer.

9. Thank the customer at the end of the process - Politely, the interviewer should show appreciation for
the time and effort given by the customers. This is also the chance for the customers to ask questions of
their own.

Effective Interview Questions for Designers

A good questions provides the type, quality and quantity of information needed. A designer may
opt to decide to use the type of questions that he will use and how he will formulate those questions.
Here are some basic but very effective types:

1.Open-ended questions boost people to mirror and disclose what is essential for them. These type of
questions consent people to expand on what is comfortable for them with restrictions, instead of
qualifying their thoughts. Open-ended questions can be used to discover opportunities, outlooks, and the
causes.

Here are some types of open-ended questions according to Michael J. Marquardt, author of Leading with
Questions, which are:

b. Explorative-This type e of question tries to compel opening out new viewpoints and disclosing other
areas. (How do you find....?)

c. Affective - This way of questioning could make known people's feelings around something. (How is
your impression of....?)

d. Reflective- This manner of asking question boosts further explanation. (What in your opinion
causes...?)

e. Probing - This means of asking question calls for a deeper analysis. (Can you explain how...?)

f. Analytical - This a kind of question that searches for the origins of a problem. (What are the reasons
for...?)

g. Clarifying-Thisquestionaidsinsupporting and preventing misinterpretations. (So, that means..?)

2. Closed questions demand for exact answers. Most of the times it is a yes or no questions. Sometimes,
they oblige the respondent to choose an answer from a given set, or to agree or disagree with a certain
statement. Closed questions are likely to center on facts or the what, when, where questions that are
typically easy to respond to.

Experiments

Experiment is an approach of approving or disproving the soundness of an idea or hypothesis.

Certainly, there must be a clear objective that is doable and the outcomes from this experiment ought to
be reliable. On the other hand, a hypothesis is a statement of assumption that is tested using research
and experiments.

In the field of entrepreneurship, experimentation is trying something new, observing the results,
getting lessons from the results and trying it over again. For majority of entrepreneurs, it is through
experimentation that new innovations, initiatives, ideas and opportunities are revealed. Entrepreneurs in

Course Code & Description: GE112 – THE Prepared by: RACQUEL Z. CARANTO, LPT
ENTREPRENEURIAL MIND Teacher Page 2 of 9
 the food venture may experiment with recipes and flavors to come up with new menus. Those in the
fashion industry may possibly experiment with designs, fabrics and distributions to create a stylish brand.
A concept prototype may perhaps be a good experiment for a technology company.

In the real world, it is always a practice to do experiments and it is always being done. Basically
there are three types of experiments, which are:

1. Trying out new experiences - Here entrepreneurs try new experiences like going to other countries,
working for several businesses or learning new skills in order to create new business ideas.

2. Taking apart products, processes and ideas - In this type of experiment entrepreneurs try taking things
apart and then later place them back together. This represents inquisitive, creative and disruptive
entrepreneurial mindset.

3. Testing ideas through pilots and prototypes - Pilot experiment is a small-scale study directed towards
evaluating the viability of a product or service. A prototype has been discussed as an unpolished version
of a product or concept that is made before the pilot testing.

Art and Science Applied to Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is both an art and a science. The fact that entrepreneurs come up with new
ideas that most often are worthless to others makes entrepreneurship an art. Entrepreneurs imagine and
create something that no one else did. As an art, an entrepreneur must have a creative thinking skill to
make some ingenious ideas and make the entrepreneurial process a great success, Creativity is the
indispensable foundation of ingenuity and can be the prime means to the founding of new firms and to
create enhancements in current products of the company for more efficiency and competitiveness in the
market. With creativity crea a business could plan some interesting strategies that offer gain to the
entrepreneurs.

Science, on the other hand, calls for combining new information into prevailing models, or adding
new models to a superior body of knowledge. An entrepreneur continually challenging his assumptions,
construct on what he already knows and constantly makes adjustments to stay relevant in his
environment.

A combination of creativity and technology in the activities of entrepreneurship to A combination

of creativity and to products and services is useful to make Stronger the elite phe turship. The scientific
element of entrepreneurship may make or break the foundation of any company.

The scientific method was used by tech giants such as Uber or Facebook Facebook, for example,
originally released their site only with Harvard students Later it was opened for students from all
universities. After two years, Facebook was available to everyone else. Likewise, Uber did the same thing.
The service was tested initially with the founders' friends. After a few months, the app was launched in
San Francisco then later to other large cities in the United States. After three years, the startup raised
enough money to grow globally. Today it is present in more than 600 cities in 80 countries.

Here is the proper way to make use of the scientific method so that an entrepreneur can ensure
his success.

1. Ask a question - An entrepreneur when trying to create a product must know his customers.
The main aspect of any business is to solve the problem of his customers. Though often times he already
has the idea, but he needs to know exactly what problem he is solving. Hence, the entrepreneur should
ask his customers if they would be interested to buy his particular product and/or service.

2. Research about subject - After knowing the problem, the entrepreneur must source out
information through research from potential customers and competitors. The entrepreneur must find his
target audience and discover what makes them tick using survey, focus group discussion (FGD) or look
for existing market research. He needs also to make research about his competitors to know how he can
differentiate himself from them with his unique value proposition.

3. Create a hypothesis - An entrepreneur form hypotheses to formalize his assumptions. He

needs to repetitively test, challenge and improve his hypotheses to come up with an accurate and
functional business model.

Course Code & Description: GE112 – THE Prepared by: RACQUEL Z. CARANTO, LPT
ENTREPRENEURIAL MIND Teacher Page 2 of 9
 4. Experiment to test hypothesis - Here the idea is tested, possibly using simple survey or it could
be presented to a group of beta testers.

5. Assess data and conclude - The results of experiments should be concretely and objectively
measured. There should be a solid conclusion of the hypothesis The data obtained from the experiments
ought to be reviewed create a final conclusion that answers the original question or problem.

6. Publish results and call others to expand - For an entrepreneur, it is nice to receive feedback
on what he has discovered. Customers could be invited to know what they think and use their criticism to
make a product better. There is no perfect product or service. An entrepreneur can achieve closer to
perfection by reviewing and refining his business.

Course Code & Description: GE112 – THE Prepared by: RACQUEL Z. CARANTO, LPT
ENTREPRENEURIAL MIND Teacher Page 2 of 9