Introduction to the Design Thinking Methodology

• We will conduct a fun and engaging team exercise that highlights several of the key principles of the design thinking approach to innovation.

Understanding the User: Field Methods & Techniques

• We will learn multiple techniques that design thinkers employ to gain empathy with users. Specifically, we will focus on how and why design thinkers do not rely on surveys and focus groups, but instead seek to observe and interview users in their natural environments. We will learn how to conduct field research effectively, and how to develop insights about user needs and desires based on that research.

Generating Innovative Solutions

• We will practice several different ideation techniques including traditional brainstorming as well as alternative techniques. Through a series of exercises, we will learn why groups sometimes struggle to generate creative solutions, and we will develop some methods for improving the ideation process.

Prototyping and Testing Our Solutions

• Design thinkers do not analyze and deliberate to discover the best solution. Instead, they let the users decide. They develop simple, low-cost, low-fidelity prototypes, and they use them to garner feedback from users. We will learn how to begin the prototyping process with simple storyboarding, and how to move on to more sophisticated prototypes. We also will discuss how we can create simple experiments to test our solutions.