Design Thinking Methodology

Collaborate Process
Understand
Make sense of and learn about the problem. Investigate what related work has been
done before, and determine if the initially identified problem is really a
problem.

Empathize - Interview

BE MINDFUL
OF PROCESS

COLLABORATE

ActivityPrepare for the Interview

1. Brainstorm questions
2. Identify and order themes
3. Refine the questions
4. Conduct the interviews in teams of at least two people
5. Appoint one person to take notes
DefineSort through the data

BE MINDFUL
OF PROCESS

COLLABORATE

ActivityEmpathy Map

Create an Empathy Map

Start by drawing a large head in the middle of a whiteboard or flip chart

paper. Draw lines to create the following sections. Then label them:

HEAR on the upper left

THINK in the upper middle
SEE in the upper right
SAY in the lower right
DO in the lower middle
FEEL in the lower left

Relying on your interview notes, write what you heard, saw, and (on sticky notes
or directly on the whiteboard/paper... just remember to capture it for future
reference!). Consider what the bully, bullied, or bystander is trying to
accomplish, what they is struggling with, and what are their challenges.

HEAR THINK SEE

FEEL DO SAY
Ideate Generate Ideas
STOKE! WHY stoke? Stoke activities help teams loosen up and become mentally and
physically active. Use stoke activities when energy is wavering, to wake up in
the morning, to launch a meeting, or before a brainstorm.

BE MINDFUL
OF PROCESS

COLLABORATE

ActivityBrainstorming when you have too few ideas

You have permission to be silly! In the ideation phase, QUANTITY is encouraged.

Become savvy, silly, risk takers, wishful thinkers, and dreamers of the
impossible...and the possible!

Use Osborne's Method if your brainstorm seems sluggish.

A series of simple questions, which can be used either individually or in

groups, designed to support creative and divergent thinking when faced by a
design problem. The questions need a point of focus, which could either be an
existing solution or proposed concepts to a design problem. The questions
should be taken one at a time, to explore new ways and approaches to the
problem.

In a brainstorming session, it can be useful to write each of Osborne's

statements (Other uses? Adapt? etc.) on a card, and randomly select a card when
discussing alternative solutions. Alternatively, paste the questions onto a
board and place in the design team's environment.

"How Might We?" Statements.

In order to "ideate" a potential solution that addresses the needs that were
identified in the Define stage of this process, try the "How Might We?"
statements. A "How Might We?" is a statement that asks how you could/would do
something. This method can help to narrow a group that has solutions that seem
to be drifting far from the issue.
Prototype Make Your Idea Real
BE MINDFUL
OF PROCESS

COLLABORATE

From the previous process, each group should have at least ONE SOLID IDEA. The
solutions that are most suitable for a quick physical mockup are the ones to
bring alive in this process.

ActivityBuild a Prototype (or two or ten)

Be focused. Do another Lizard Push-up exercise to get centered. Choose a single
aspect of your idea and make a physical object that addresses a specific task or
two. Do it quickly and stay focused on how the end-user will feel with the
object.

Your teacher will supply you with some inexpensive materials, but use your
imagination and bring along your own motley collection of old toys, aluminum
foil, pipe cleaners, clothes pins, and anything else you can imagine.
Test Fail, Fix, Test, Repeat
BE MINDFUL
OF PROCESS

COLLABORATE

ActivityWrite about the process

After your group has created the prototype, write an explanatory text that
outlines the process of moving from the idea to a physical prototype.

ActivityShow the rest of the class your prototypes

Each group will present its prototype to a potential user of the prototype in
front of the class. Later, the group can explain what it does and how they came
to the idea, but the testing phase is intended to show how the prototype works
and fails. Ask for feedback.

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. ~
Henry Ford

ActivityGiving feedback
When commenting on a prototype, bear in mind that it is a "quick and dirty"
specimen, NOT A POLISHED RELIC. This is a work in progress and every comment can
potentially improve the final design solution.

Use the phrases "I like" and "I wish" when testing others' prototypes. Keep the
comments positive! Instead of saying, "I didn't like the red box" you could say
something like, "I wish the box had a more subtle color."

Consider is the prototype an appropriate response created from the information

gathered and the research that your team has done. The question to ask is: "Will
it be an effective tool for addressing the problem of bullying?"
ActivityApply changes to the prototype and test again
Repeat as many times as possible!