RED4SUS
Application Manual
Design Thinking: Solution Design
1.
EMPATHY
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Today, Design Thinking is understood as a way of thinking that leads to transformation, innovation and social transition. Design Thinking can be accomplished through a number of different techniques that are similar to each other, but have different numbers of steps and different degrees of complexity. Design Thinking is preferably used as a non-linear process, that is, an iterative process adapted in harmony with the challenge of emergence. Click on the different steps of the process in the figure above to get a deeper understanding of the different steps.
EMPATHY
Once you understand who the people involved in the challenge to be solved are, it becomes essential to deepen your understanding of the problem. But why explore the challenge further? The exploration process is the great differential of approaches based on Design Thinking; and also the most challenging. When we think of a challenge, we tend to go straight for the solution. Here we want to delay this process a little longer to really understand what must be solved within the challenge. But as it is something we are not used to doing, it also generates a lot of discomfort, and there is a tendency to skip this step. That's why we stand out here: trust the process.
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Let's imagine the initial challenge as the surface of a river, that under the water, where we don't see very easily, there is a multitude of things that are there but are not being seen. This must be the challenge of this process, finding in the background what is not being seen and which may be blocking the flow of the “river”, making it difficult to implement a given solution.
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It is necessary to understand the challenge to be solved in a broad way. This includes the people, but also the context in which she finds herself; and how these factors interact with each other. The EXPLORATION MAP can be one of the tools to help in this construction. When looking at people, you must have a view from all angles, going beyond what people say, but what they feel, what they do, why they make their decisions, their behaviours patterns, fears, expectations. All of this can be achieved through interviews, informal conversations or other means of communicating.
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But more than that, it's important to note. Observation can reveal inconsistencies between what people say and what they actually do. Furthermore, it allows us to understand how these people relate to their direct contexts. In public service, it is often difficult to understand what, and why, to explore, because often, as most relationships are internal, there is a tendency to look at the same things in the same way. As the goal is to innovate, there is no way to create innovative solutions that have an impact on the final beneficiaries of the solution by looking at things the same way. It is necessary to get out of the comfort zone. Look outside to see at the end who will be the real beneficiary of this solution and how to deliver value to it. For this reason, it is important to look outside this exploratory process.
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Regarding the context, it is important to take ownership of geographic, social, economic, legal factors, in addition to the market in a broad way, checking existing solutions in other realities, trends, etc. Looking at the market in a broad way seems far from the reality of the government, but understanding what other private or public companies have already developed to solve similar problems can broaden the vision of the problem and how it is already solved. Some of these factors, especially in the case of public institutions, are much more limiting. But they are fundamental to guide the ideation process. Many processes identified here will be limiting, but they should not be seen as obstacles, but rather opportunities to be improved to ensure the successful implementation of a given solution.
DEFINITION
With a view to the whole, in this exploratory process, it is necessary to define for whom the solution will be developed. It can often be for more than one person. The purpose of this clear definition is to help you think better of the possible solutions. For this, one must think about who would be the person(s) who would represent the main difficulties of this entire exploratory process. This would culminate in the creation of a PERSONA. However, as we've highlighted before, this should be a back-and-forth process.
Even in a moment of definition, the challenge must always be re-explored with each advance in the process. So, at this point, a good way to explore it in more depth is to build a MAP OF THE JOURNEY of this persona. The idea is to detail your relationship with the challenge and find more points to be observed and explored, which may reveal new problems and opportunities.
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The purpose of this entire process is to use all this information to generate insights, that is, new learnings that reveal the unexpected. Each identified topic is a piece of data, when viewed separately. when all these pieces of data are seen together, looking for similarities, complementarity, and new connections, they generate relevant information that will help in the development of solutions that are much more targeted, effective and that deliver value to the people who will benefit from the solution. This information can be translated into PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES, through a list that is visual, but also summarized, pointing out the lessons that were considered most important and relevant in this exploratory process.
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The ultimate goal is to understand that the initial challenge was broader, but that at that moment, there are silent issues to be resolved. It is important to point out that, at the end of this process, if there is no new learning or insight, it is because the challenge has not been explored enough, and the understanding must continue to be explored and deepened.
IDEATION
With the list of main problems and opportunities, as well as the person(s) defined, the process of generating and developing ideas should begin. The ideation process is certainly the most fun, but not the least important. When starting the ideation process, it must be clear what should be solved. It is important to keep the focus, but not too close to the possibilities so that you can think of something innovative, different, that goes beyond the obvious, but that, above all, adds value to the people for whom the solution is being developed.
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There are several ways to conduct an ideation process. The best known is the use of brainstorming. Brainstorming is a time when a group of people collaborate, build and share their thoughts and ideas, with the objective of generating more information and ideas for a certain topic. It is important to highlight that brainstorming is a way of working and that it must accompany this entire process, as it must be used to think about each of the steps to be worked on. The collective work in this type of project is fundamental, as it maximizes results in terms of speed and value delivery. Although, in the case of projects by public institutions, many projects are being developed at the same time, and there is a time restriction for carrying out all of them, taking the time to work together is essential. The important thing is that the meetings are well planned and focused on the tasks to be performed. With this, the meetings can be used to carry out the project activities jointly, with collaboration, decision-making and execution of planned activities. In addition, communication becomes direct and clearer, avoiding wasting time with other means of explanation, information and approval.
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But it is important to remember that the ideation process can go through a collective moment (which occurs in brainstorming), but also through an individual process. In addition, there is a term called "creative distraction", which is usually individual, but which occurs outside the moment directed towards ideation, but in moments when the person frees his mind for other themes in moments of leisure, for example, and this generates unexpected connections. For the ideation process through brainstorming, it is important to have a visual board, where everyone can register, read, observe and create collaboratively, such as the IDEA TOOL. For this, you must follow some rules:
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Focus on quantity: the ideation process should focus on quantity, not quality, as the greater the number of ideas, the greater the chance of finding something that is really different and that adds value to the beneficiary of the solution;
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2. Prohibited to judge: we learn to judge our own ideas, but also those of others. It is important to be clear that in order to generate many ideas, we need to let go of judgments;
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3. Be visual: the more visual, the better to express ideas and ensure that everyone has the same vision about the idea (or often that the vision is different and that they are actually different ideas);
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4. Annotate everything: All ideas should be annotated so that everyone has access to those ideas and that ideas can be tracked at some point in the future.
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In addition, there are some strategies that can be used to encourage the team to step outside the box. The first one is to throw random words so that people generate solutions to the challenge from them. Another technique is to put yourself in someone else's shoes and try to think like them, thinking about what kind of solution they would generate. Another interesting way is to think about relevant themes, identified as trends in the exploration process, and try to think of solutions that meet these trends.
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The creativity process is the result of new connections from “things” that already exist, but which are seen as unusual and can generate potentially innovative results. For this reason, being creative depends on repertoire. But what is having a repertoire? These are experiences, travels, people you know, readings, movies, new learning (technical and non-technical), among others. The important thing is that the larger the repertoire, the greater the individual's creative capacity. This repertoire must also be obtained throughout the exploratory process, as it will be a repertoire already directed towards the challenge, as the exploratory process must be the basis of creativity. For this reason, the importance of the exploratory process. This entire process must generate what is called creative trust. Creative trust is the certainty that, regardless of the problem, challenge or obstacle that exists, it is certain that there will be a solution. Creative confidence is training, but also repertoire.
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However, it is important to know that the creative process needs to have a moment that stops being abstract and goes to the concrete. For this reason, ideas must be selected through an IDEA FUNNEL, for instance. For the idea selection process, some criteria should be kept in mind. There are some that should not be overlooked. Others can be added according to the characteristics of the project. The first one is desirability, in which only the ideas that are desirable by people (those listed in the Stakeholders map) should be selected. If it is not desirable, the idea should not go forward. The second criterion is technical feasibility, that is, verifying that there are technical resources to carry out the idea. These resources, in this case, must be physical resources (materials, equipment and structure) and qualified people to carry out the idea. The third criterion is financial feasibility, which assesses whether there are financial resources available to carry out the idea. Furthermore, in the case of projects by public institutions, it is essential to analyse the project's sustainability. When we talk about sustainable, we talk about the three pillars of sustainability: social, ecological and financial. Projects where resources (of all types) are scarce, one should select those that will have a longer life, delivering more value to their beneficiaries for a longer time. Last but not least, with a very small number of ideas, you should go back to the challenge, persona, problems and opportunities identified and check if the selected ideas meet all these topics. Then select from one to three ideas for the next step.
SOLUTION - PROTOTYPE
However, it's not enough to just create and generate lots of ideas. It is necessary to leave the abstract and go to the concrete. For this reason, prototyping is essential. Building a prototype is important for a number of reasons:
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Make the idea concrete;
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2. Check for inconsistencies;
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3. Improve the idea;
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4. Validate the idea.
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But when we talk about a prototype at this stage, we are talking about a simple prototype, but one that takes the idea out of the abstract. It could be a drawing, or something in volume, or any other shape. The important thing is that the idea becomes visual in some way. Even though it's a simple prototype, it should have visual, emotional appeal. And have some level of functionality sense. If the solution is an application or website, for example, it must be prototyped by drawing on paper or digital tools, its pages, commands, usage logic, and may present colours, logos and other information, even if temporary. All of this helps to think in more detail about the idea and its execution.
Furthermore, this prototype can be the first version to be validated, that is, to be presented to stakeholders (who must approve or be engaged in the project) or even to the beneficiary of the idea. The objective is to collect feedback from the beginning, and continuously improve the idea.
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In addition, the idea can be detailed using some tools to think about its details or feasibility analysis, such as CANVAS OF PUBLIC PROJECTS, for example. The idea is to think of the idea from a more operational point of view, to verify possible inconsistencies, interaction needs, dependencies and other factors that may be potentially limiting, and which should be transformed into opportunities for actions that can deflect obstacles and ensure the successful implementation of the project.
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With the idea prototyped and detailed, it is ready for validation. One of the ways to carry out this validation is the presentation of the idea. Sometimes the presentation of the idea will be formal, other times it will have to take place informally, at an unexpected opportunity. Regardless of the form, you must be ready to present the idea, with a structured, clear presentation logic that “sells” the idea to whoever is listening.
This is a way to engage people and get approval to carry out activities that are important for the successful implementation of the solution. This presentation can only be oral, but also visual. The important thing is to have it ready. For this, a basic structure can be used for the construction of the PROJECT PRESENTATION PITCH, which must be organized in the form of a narrative. The idea is to tell a story that starts from a problem/challenge and culminates in a solution that is feasible to be implemented and that the value delivered is perceived by the listener.
TESTING AND REFINEMENT
When a challenge is complex and there are many factors that affect whether our innovative idea will fit into the existing context and succeed or not. It's nearly impossible to develop a successful prototype from scratch. The best method for long term success is to develop a prototype and then test and retest it with the users/owners needs. That way we can get your feedback and develop our prototype from version one to version two and make a better second prototype.
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In this process, it's important not to put too much energy into the first prototype. It doesn't have to be perfect, it can be done as a low-fidelity prototype. Therefore, at this stage, one or several prototypes are tested together with the needs’ owners. The developer must listen to feedback from users / beneficiaries and, thus, deepen their knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of the prototype, indicating what they liked, if they understood the concept and use the solution, what they didn't like / didn't understand, as well as suggestions for improvements / adaptations. The developer must bring the new knowledge and insights into the design process in a second step, according to the same principle as the entire process performed previously (empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping), as described in the previous steps. In this way, the design process becomes an iterative process.
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There are several concrete techniques for testing a prototype:
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Make a three-dimensional model of the product, service, or process you have developed. This can be done, for example, on “Lego” plastic toys, so it will be easy to show the model and physically touch and move the pieces in a process description;
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Another method is to make a movie that is maybe two minutes long. Through the movie, you can describe and visualize the prototype to needs owners and ask for their feedback;
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You can also make a collage of illustrations (e.g. a comic book) that shows the prototype in different contexts and for different users;
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You can also demonstrate the prototype in a drama, (theatre), that is, illustrate how a process or service should be performed or how a product should be used.
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The validation of the solution must also occur from a managerial point of view, that is, it must be approved by those involved in the execution of the project. The most important thing is to know how to communicate the idea / prototype properly, to make it interesting and attractive to those involved in the project. These people must be convinced that this idea should go ahead, even with changes in management and staff, which is quite common in public institutions. Sometimes the presentation of the idea will be formal, other times it will have to take place informally, at an unexpected opportunity. Regardless of the form, you must be ready to present the idea, with a structured, clear presentation logic that “sells” the idea to whoever is listening. This is a way to engage people and get approval to carry out activities that are important for the successful implementation of the solution. This presentation can only be oral, but also visual. The important thing is to have it ready. For this, you can use a basic structure to build the Project Presentation Pitch, which should be organized in the form of a narrative. The idea is to tell a story that starts from a problem/challenge and culminates in a solution that is feasible to be implemented and that the value delivered is perceived by the listener.
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From this moment on, the focus should be on implementing the project, changing it from a prototype and transforming it into an MVP (minimum viable product), always remembering that the design thinking process must be alive, carrying out the entire process previously carried out, as the project progresses, but in a new iterative cycle. The goal is to integrate the design thinking process with agile design approaches to deliver better results in less time.