design-thinking

What this skill does

# Design Thinking

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

- **Design Thinking tasks** - Working on design thinking methodology for human-centered innovation. covers the 5-phase ideo/stanford d.school approach (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test) with workshop facilitation and exercise templates
- **Planning or design** - Need guidance on Design Thinking approaches
- **Best practices** - Want to follow established patterns and standards

## Overview

A human-centered approach to innovation that integrates the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.

## What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is a problem-solving methodology developed by IDEO and taught at Stanford d.school. It emphasizes understanding users, challenging assumptions, redefining problems, and creating innovative solutions through iterative prototyping and testing.

### Core Principles

| Principle | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| **Human-Centered** | Start with people, not technology or process |
| **Embrace Ambiguity** | Comfortable with uncertainty early on |
| **Bias to Action** | Learn by doing, not just thinking |
| **Radical Collaboration** | Cross-functional, diverse perspectives |
| **Iterate Rapidly** | Fail fast, learn fast, improve fast |

## The 5 Phases

```text
┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐
│         │  │         │  │         │  │         │  │         │
│EMPATHIZE│→│ DEFINE  │→│ IDEATE  │→│PROTOTYPE│→│  TEST   │
│         │  │         │  │         │  │         │  │         │
│Understand│  │Frame the│  │Generate │  │Build to │  │Learn &  │
│the user │  │problem  │  │ideas    │  │learn    │  │refine   │
└─────────┘  └─────────┘  └─────────┘  └─────────┘  └─────────┘
     ▲                                                    │
     └────────────────── Iterate ─────────────────────────┘
```

### Phase Characteristics

| Phase | Mode | Key Question | Output |
|-------|------|--------------|--------|
| **Empathize** | Diverge | What is the user experiencing? | Insights, observations |
| **Define** | Converge | What is the core problem? | POV statement |
| **Ideate** | Diverge | What are possible solutions? | Ideas, concepts |
| **Prototype** | Converge | How can we make it tangible? | Prototypes |
| **Test** | Learn | What works and what doesn't? | Validated learning |

## Phase 1: Empathize

Build deep understanding of users and their experiences.

### Empathy Methods

| Method | Duration | Participants | Best For |
|--------|----------|--------------|----------|
| **User Interviews** | 30-60 min | 1:1 | Deep individual insight |
| **Observation** | Hours-days | Field work | Natural behavior |
| **Empathy Mapping** | 15-30 min | Workshop | Synthesizing research |
| **Journey Mapping** | 1-2 hours | Workshop | Experience visualization |
| **Shadowing** | Half-day | Field work | Workflow understanding |

### Empathy Map Template

```markdown
## Empathy Map: [User/Persona Name]

### Says
[Direct quotes from interviews/observation]
- "[Quote 1]"
- "[Quote 2]"

### Thinks
[What might they be thinking? Hopes/fears?]
- [Thought 1]
- [Thought 2]

### Does
[Actions and behaviors observed]
- [Behavior 1]
- [Behavior 2]

### Feels
[Emotional state, what worries/excites them]
- [Emotion 1]
- [Emotion 2]

### Pains
[Frustrations, obstacles, risks]
- [Pain 1]
- [Pain 2]

### Gains
[Wants, needs, measures of success]
- [Gain 1]
- [Gain 2]
```

### Interview Guide Structure

```markdown
## User Interview Guide

**Duration:** 45-60 minutes
**Objective:** [What we want to learn]

### Opening (5 min)
- Introduce yourself and purpose
- Explain confidentiality, recording consent
- "There are no right or wrong answers"

### Context (10 min)
- Tell me about your role/day-to-day
- How long have you been doing [X]?
- Walk me through a typical [scenario]

### Deep Dive (25 min)
- Tell me about a time when [specific experience]
- What was the most challenging part?
- What did you try? What happened?
- How did that make you feel?

### Needs & Desires (10 min)
- If you could wave a magic wand, what would change?
- What would that enable you to do?
- What does success look like for you?

### Closing (5 min)
- Is there anything else you'd like to share?
- Can we follow up if we have questions?
```

## Phase 2: Define

Synthesize observations and frame the right problem.

### Point of View (POV) Statement

```markdown
## POV Statement

**User:** [Specific user type/persona]

**Need:** [Verb - what they need to do]

**Insight:** [Because - surprising insight about why]

---

**Full Statement:**
[User] needs to [need] because [insight].

**Example:**
A busy working parent needs to quickly prepare healthy meals
because they want to model good eating habits for their children
but feel guilty about the time-cost tradeoff.
```

### How Might We (HMW) Questions

Transform POV into actionable opportunity statements:

```markdown
## How Might We Questions

**POV:** [Your POV statement]

### HMW Brainstorm

Generate HMW questions by asking:

| Lens | Question | HMW |
|------|----------|-----|
| **Amplify the good** | What's working? | HMW do more of [good thing]? |
| **Remove the bad** | What's painful? | HMW eliminate [pain point]? |
| **Explore the opposite** | What if we flipped it? | HMW [opposite approach]? |
| **Question assumptions** | What's assumed? | HMW if [assumption] wasn't true? |
| **Change status quo** | What's expected? | HMW change when/where/who? |
| **Break it into parts** | What are components? | HMW address just [component]? |

### Selected HMW Questions
1. HMW [question 1]?
2. HMW [question 2]?
3. HMW [question 3]?

**Priority HMW:** [The one to ideate on]
```

## Phase 3: Ideate

Generate a wide range of creative solutions.

### Ideation Rules

| Rule | Description |
|------|-------------|
| **Defer judgment** | No criticism during brainstorming |
| **Go for quantity** | More ideas = better ideas |
| **Build on others' ideas** | "Yes, and..." |
| **Encourage wild ideas** | Think big, no constraints |
| **Be visual** | Sketch, don't just talk |
| **One conversation** | Listen, build, riff |
| **Stay focused** | Keep the HMW visible |

### Brainstorming Session Template

```markdown
## Ideation Session

**HMW:** [The How Might We question]
**Duration:** 30-45 minutes
**Participants:** [Names]

### Warm-Up (5 min)
[Quick creative exercise to loosen up]

### Silent Brainstorm (10 min)
- Write one idea per sticky note
- Work individually
- Aim for 10+ ideas each

### Share & Build (15 min)
- Share ideas one by one
- Build on others' ideas
- No criticism, only "Yes, and..."

### Cluster & Theme (10 min)
- Group similar ideas
- Name each cluster
- Identify promising directions

### Ideas Generated
| Cluster | Ideas | Count |
|---------|-------|-------|
| [Theme 1] | [List] | [N] |
| [Theme 2] | [List] | [N] |

### Top Ideas to Prototype
1. [Idea 1]
2. [Idea 2]
3. [Idea 3]
```

### Ideation Techniques

| Technique | Description | When to Use |
|-----------|-------------|-------------|
| **Classic Brainstorm** | Free association | Starting point |
| **Brainwriting** | Silent written ideas | Quiet/remote groups |
| **SCAMPER** | Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other use, Eliminate, Reverse | Improving existing |
| **Analogies** | How would X solve this? | Breaking mental models |
| **Worst Idea** | Intentionally bad ideas | When stuck |
| **Mash-up** | Combine unrelated concepts | Radical innovation |

## Phase 4: Prototype

Build quick, cheap representations to learn.

### Prototype Philosophy

> "If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a prototype is worth 1,000 meetings."
> — IDEO

### Prototype Types

| Type | Fidelity | Time | Best For |
|------|----------|------|----------|
| **Paper Sketch** | Very Low | Minutes | Earliest exploration |
| **Storyboard** | Low | 30 min | User journey, scenarios |
| **Paper Prototype** | Low | 1-2 hours | Screen flows, UI |
| **Role Play** |