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Design Thinking is an agile tool developed in the 1990s in Silicon Valley. What was originally intended as a method to create innovative products and services, has advanced to a comprehensive methodology of creative teamwork.
Empathize: You must gain empathy for the stakeholder by observing, engaging with and listening to who they are and what is important to them. Discovering real needs, inferring insights and creating a persona are the first steps.
Define: Based on what you have learned about the stakeholder, you have to define the challenge you are taking on. The goal is an explicit expression of the problem, the so-called point-of-view. Although it may seem counterintuitive, a more narrowly focused problem statement tends to result in greater quantity of higher quality solutions when generating ideas.
Ideate: Here you focus on generating solutions to address the challenge. It is not about coming up with the right idea, but generating a broad range of possible solutions, e.g. through brainstorming.
Prototype: Three ideas that receive the most votes (choosing your own criteria, e.g. the rational choice, the most unexpected) are carried forward into prototyping. A prototype is an artifact that is quick and cheap to make, and something that the stakeholder can interact with, for instance a role-playing activity or a gadget that has been put together.
Test: Prototype and test are intertwined because you have to consider what and how you are trying to test before creating a prototype. Through testing – ideally within a real context of your stakeholder’s life – you get feedback, learn about your solution and your stakeholder. It is the chance to refine prototypes and solutions that makes them better.
Implement: The best idea, process or project is turned into a concrete, fully conceived action plan.
The success of Design Thinking is based on three key factors: