Design thinking

Design thinking is an iterative approach to problem solving that intentionally seeks out people with different perspectives, knowledge, skills and experience and has them work together to create a practical solution for a real-world problem.

Design thinking uses a process-based approach to solve problems and like any process, it involves a series of steps that are carried out in a particular order to achieve a goal. In this case, the goal is to identify a solution that is capable of succeeding, can be carried out in a timely manner and is likely to be accepted by all stakeholders.

The five steps in design thinking are empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test.

Empathize - This step involves interviewing stakeholders and asking open-ended questions. The goal is to learn more about the problem from multiple perspectives.

Define - This step involves synthesizing all the information that was gathered during the previous step and arriving at a group consensus that states what problem needs to be solved. The goal is to identify the scope and true nature of the problem.

Ideate - This step involves sharing ideas - however wild and impractical -- and using each other's ideas as triggers for continuing the ideation process. The goal is to brainstorm solutions to the problem.

Prototype - This step involves creating a mock-up that conveys the essence of a proposed solution. An important goal of this step is to help the design team weed out unworkable or impractical solutions and focus attention on ideas that are likely to be approved by stakeholders.

Test -This step involves presenting the prototype to stakeholders. The goal is to solicit feedback that will let the design team know if they have successfully solved the problem or whether they need to go back to the drawing board and repeat steps.

The concepts that form the foundation of design thinking are drawn from many branches of knowledge including engineering, computer science, the arts, social sciences and business. Depending upon the implementation, the steps may be called by different names, combined in different ways or carried out in different orders.

Regardless of the specific implementation, however, the principles of design thinking remain the same: gather information by talking to the stakeholders, brainstorm ideas, create a prototype and test it. Make sure that both creative and analytical ideas are perceived as having value and understand that failure is OK as long as it moves the team closer to a real solution.