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

The 5 Phases

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

Phase Characteristics

Phase 1: Empathize

Build deep understanding of users and their experiences.

Empathy Methods

Empathy Map Template

## 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

## 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

## 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:

## 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

Brainstorming Session Template

## 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]