Design Thinking Mindset

Introduction

Innovate or die! That is the mantra of many fast-moving and successful companies, especially in this world of high-speed interconnectivity. The question organizations face to stay relevant in today's environment is how to establish a culture of innovation and creative problem solving.

Design thinking, an approach to both innovation and creative problem solving, is becoming the go-to approach for forward-thinking organizations. What is design thinking? Design thinking is an interactive approach to solve problems with cross-functional teams led by facilitators.

This course presents an introduction to the design thinking approach and mindset using highly interactive exercises that give the participants a flavor for some of the techniques and methods of design thinking that awaken the innovative and problem-solving abilities within each of us.

Objectives

• Understand the concepts of design thinking approaches
• Create design thinking teams and conduct design thinking sessions
• Apply both critical thinking and design thinking in parallel to solve problems
• Apply some design thinking concepts to their daily work

Key Contents

Module 1: Design Thinking Overview

• What is different about design thinking?
• Exercise: Design thinking in the workplace
• Design thinking skills
• Exercise: Design thinking skills
• Design thinking mindset
• Principles of design thinking
• Exercise: Design thinking principles

Module 2: General Approaches to Design Thinking

• The Basic for Design Thinking
• Design Thinking Frameworks
• Exercise: Build a Design Thinking Framework
• The Design Thinking Team
  • What Constitutes a Design Thinking Team? 
  • Exercise: Create a Design Thinking Team
• Design Thinking Workshops and Meetings
  • Characteristics
  • Types of Workshops

Module 3: A Design Thinking Approach in Stages

• Apply the Design Thinking Frameworks
• Class Exercise: Review the Case Study
• Empathize with the Customers and/or Users
  • Exercise: Engage the Customer / User
• Define the Problem
  • Exercise: Review and Follow-Up
  • Exercise: Define the Point of View
• Ideate
  • Exercise: Develop Potential Solutions
  • Exercise: Feedback on the Solutions
• Prototype Alternate Solutions
  • Exercise: Create a Prototype of the Solution
  • Exercise: Review the Prototype and Gain Feedback
• Test the Solutions
  • Exercise: Prepare Test of the Prototype and Solution

Module 4: Design Thinking Techniques

• Listening and Empathizing Techniques
  • Engagement
  • Exercise: Ask the Right Questions
  • Observation
  • Exercise: Setting Up the Observation
  • Showing Empathy
• Define and Ideation Techniques
  • Unpacking 
  • Exercise: Unpack to the Wall
  • Personas
  • Exercise: Create Personas for the Case Study
  • Pattern Recognition and Connecting the Dots
• Prototype and Test Techniques
  • Types of Prototypes
  • Exercise: Revise Franken Prototype to Refind Prototype
  • Forms of Testing in Design Thinking
  • Exercise: Prepare and A / B Test of the Prototype

Module 5: General Design Thinking Practices

• Visualization Techniques and Diagrams
  • Use of Diagrams and Maps in Design Thinking
  • Exercise: Create an Empathy Map
  • Exercise: Revisit the Wall
  • Exercise: Create an Affinity Diagram
  • Exercise: Create a Mind Map
  • Exercise: Create a Journey Map
• Story Telling Techniques
  • Story Telling Throughout the Design Thinking Process
  • Improvisation
  • Exercise: Tell a Story
  • Scenarios
  • Exercise: Create a Set of Scenarios for the Case Study
  • K-Scripts
  • Exercise: Create a Set of K-Scripts for the Case Study
  • Exercise: Platform Role Playing of Scenarios for the Case Study

Module 6: Adopt and Adapt Design Thinking

• Cautions and Pitfalls
  • Assumptions
  • Exercise: Assumptions
  • Pitfalls and Cautions in Design Thinking Workgroups
• Final Words and Best Practices
  • Best Practices
  • Exercise: Best Practices
  • Exercise: Take the Practices Back to the Office