Design Thinking Skill

Overview

Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation and problem-solving. It integrates the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.

The Five Phases

1. Empathize

Purpose: Understand the people you're designing for.

Key Activities:

•User interviews
•Observation
•Immersive experiences
•Empathy mapping

Outputs:

•User insights
•Empathy maps
•User journey maps
•Pain points and gains

Key Questions:

•Who is the user?
•What do they need?
•What frustrates them?
•What delights them?
•What are their goals?

2. Define

Purpose: Synthesize findings into a clear problem statement.

Key Activities:

•Insight synthesis
•Problem framing
•Point of View (POV) statements
•"How Might We" questions

Outputs:

•Problem statement
•POV statement
•HMW questions
•Design challenge

Frameworks:

POV Statement:

code

[USER] needs [NEED] because [INSIGHT]

How Might We (HMW):

code

How might we [action] for [user] so that [outcome]?

3. Ideate

Purpose: Generate a wide range of potential solutions.

Key Activities:

•Brainstorming
•Mind mapping
•Sketching
•SCAMPER technique
•Worst possible idea

Outputs:

•Idea bank
•Concept sketches
•Clustered themes
•Selected concepts for prototyping

Rules for Ideation:

•Defer judgment
•Encourage wild ideas
•Build on others' ideas
•Stay focused on topic
•One conversation at a time
•Be visual
•Go for quantity

4. Prototype

Purpose: Create representations of solutions to explore.

Key Activities:

•Sketching
•Storyboarding
•Role-playing
•Paper prototypes
•Digital mockups

Outputs:

•Prototypes (any fidelity)
•Storyboards
•Scenarios
•Physical or digital models

Prototype Principles:

•Start rough, refine later
•Build to think
•Fail fast, learn faster
•Prototype to learn, not to prove

5. Test

Purpose: Gather feedback and refine solutions.

Key Activities:

•User testing
•Feedback sessions
•Observation
•Iteration

Outputs:

•Feedback synthesis
•Refined prototypes
•Iteration plans
•Validated concepts

Feedback Framework:

•What I like...
•What I wish...
•What I wonder...
•What if...

Design Thinking Mindsets

1. Human-Centered

Always start with people and their needs.

2. Bias Toward Action

Build to think. Don't just talk about ideas.

3. Radical Collaboration

Diverse perspectives lead to better solutions.

4. Culture of Prototyping

Make ideas tangible early and often.

5. Show, Don't Tell

Use visuals, stories, and prototypes.

6. Mindful of Process

Know where you are in the process.

7. Embrace Ambiguity

Stay open even when unclear.

Workshop Timing Guide

90-Minute Sprint

Phase	Time	Focus
Empathize	15 min	Quick user perspective
Define	10 min	Problem statement
Ideate	25 min	Solution brainstorm
Prototype	20 min	Concept sketches
Test/Feedback	15 min	Peer review
Close	5 min	Next steps

Half-Day Workshop (3 hours)

Phase	Time	Focus
Empathize	45 min	Deep user research
Define	30 min	Synthesis + HMW
Ideate	45 min	Multiple techniques
Prototype	45 min	Multiple concepts
Test	30 min	User feedback
Close	15 min	Actions

Full-Day Workshop (6+ hours)

Extended exploration of each phase with breaks and team exercises.

Common Techniques

Empathy Map

code

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     SAYS                          │
│                 (quotes, phrases)                 │
├───────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┤
│       THINKS          │         FEELS             │
│  (beliefs, thoughts)  │   (emotions, reactions)   │
├───────────────────────┼───────────────────────────┤
│        DOES           │                           │
│  (actions, behaviors) │                           │
├───────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┤
│    PAINS              │         GAINS             │
│ (frustrations, fears) │   (wants, needs, goals)   │
└───────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┘

User Journey Map

code

PHASE:    Awareness → Consideration → Decision → Use → Loyalty
ACTIONS:  [What user does at each stage]
THOUGHTS: [What user thinks]
EMOTIONS: [How user feels - graph line]
PAIN PTS: [Friction points]
OPPTYS:   [Opportunities to improve]

2x2 Matrix for Prioritization

code

                HIGH IMPACT
                    │
    ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
    │    DO LATER   │   DO NOW      │
HIGH│               │               │LOW
EFFORT              │              EFFORT
    │   DON'T DO    │   FILL-IN     │
    └───────────────┼───────────────┘
                    │
                LOW IMPACT

When to Use Design Thinking

Best For:

•Complex, ill-defined problems
•Human-centered challenges
•Innovation and new product development
•Experience design
•Service design

Less Suitable For:

•Well-defined technical problems
•Urgent decisions with no time for exploration
•Problems with clear, known solutions

See activities.md for detailed activity guides.