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Design Thinking Material

The document provides course material on design thinking for a computer science and engineering program. It includes details on the course description, outcomes, topics to be covered over several weeks including empathizing, ideating and prototyping, as well as references and resources. The course involves hands-on exercises and activities to apply design thinking concepts.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
1K views

Design Thinking Material

The document provides course material on design thinking for a computer science and engineering program. It includes details on the course description, outcomes, topics to be covered over several weeks including empathizing, ideating and prototyping, as well as references and resources. The course involves hands-on exercises and activities to apply design thinking concepts.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 53

MOHAN BABU UNIVERSITY

Sree Sainath Nagar, Tirupati – 517 102

SCHOOL OF COMPUTING

B.Tech. Computer Science and Engineering

COURSE MATERIAL
22AI105001 – DESIGN THINKING

By

Dr. J. Avanija, Professor, CSE

Dr.K.Reddy Madhavi,Professor, CSE

Dr.G.Sunitha, Professor,CSE
SCHOOL CORE
Course Code Course Title L T P S C

22AI105001 DESIGN THINKING - 1 2 - 2

Pre-Requisite -
Anti-Requisite -
Co-Requisite -

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides a detailed discussion and hands-on experience
on design thinking process, evaluation of requirement specification and reflections on design
experience. This course also focuses on demonstration of five phases of design thinking
such as empathize, define, ideate, prototyping, testing and validation with design thinking
tools and frameworks.
COURSE OUTCOMES: After successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

CO1. Investigate the requirements of a problem by conducting surveys.

CO2. Create meaningful and actionable problem statements for creative problem solving.

CO3. Construct blueprints to visualize user attitudes and behavior for gaining insights of
customers.

CO4. Design prototypes of innovative products or services for a customer base.

CO5. Develop relevant products or services by choosing good design and applying empathy
tools for experiencing user requirements.

CO6. Work independently and communicate effectively in oral and written forms.

CO-PO-PSO Mapping Table:


Program Specific
Program Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
Outcomes
PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PO10 PO11 PO12 PSO1 PSO2 PSO3

CO1 - 3 - 2 - - - - - - - - - - -
CO2 1 - 1 3 - - - - - - - - - - -
CO3 - 2 3 - - - - - - - 1 - - -
CO4 - 2 3 2 - - - - - - - - - - -
CO5 - 3 - 1 1 - 1 2 - - - - - - -
CO6 - - - - - - - - 3 3 2 - - - -
Course
Correlation 1 3 2 3 1 - 1 2 3 3 2 1 - - -
Mapping

Correlation Levels: 3: High; 2: Medium; 1: Low

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EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

LIST OF EXERCISES:

Introduction to Design Thinking – Design thinking Process, Definition, Importance, Phases


of Design Thinking, Canva Tool.
1. Conduct survey and identify the problem by either individual or group and frame a
problem statement using AEIOU (Activities, Environment, Interactions, Objects,
Users) framework.
2. Identify demographic or focus group for problem statement and create persona and
explicitly define the characteristics of persona using Canva tool.
Emphathize - Role of empathy in design thinking, Purpose of Empathy Map, Empathy Tools
– Customer Journey Map, Personas, Coggle Tool.
3. Build a Customer Journey Map (CJM-Before-During-After) and identify touch points
for any mock scenario or persona created during last experiment and frame 2-3
questions using HMW (How Might We).
4. Create an Empathy Map using Coggle design thinking tool.
Sample Empathy Map:

Ideation - Importance of visualizing and empathizing before ideating, Applying the method,
Ideation Tools - Story board, Brainstorming, Mind Map, SCAMPER.
5. Story boarding design ideas: Consider a mock scenario and create user stories and
storyboards to transform information about user needs into design concepts using
any story board tool.

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6. Create Mind Map for your problem statement using Coggle.
Sample Mind Map:

7. Perform Brain Storming Session with your team and record using the SCAMPER
framework and finalize the best three innovative ideas.

Prototyping and Testing – Definition, Prototype examples, Need for Prototyping, Fidelity for
prototypes, Process of prototyping, Introduction to Marvel POP Software, Testing prototypes
with users.
8. Create an application prototype for product recommendation using Marvel POP
Software.
9. Create a low-fidelity paper prototype by sketching out the product design and
adding relevant functionality.

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10. Test the prototype created in Exercise 9 by interacting with each member of the team,
walking them through the design and gathering feedback. Use feedback grid with the
following quadrants: what worked, what could be improved, questions, and ideas.

What could be
What worked?
improved?

Questions Ideas

RESOURCES

REFERENCES:

1. Michael G. Luchs, Scott Swan , Abbie Griffin, ”Design Thinking – New Product Essentials from
PDMA”,Wiley,2015.
2. Vijay Kumar, “101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your
Organization”, 2012.
3. Kathryn McElroy,”Prototyping for Designers: Developing the best Digital and Physical
Products”,O’Reilly,2017.
4. S.Salivahanan, S.Suresh Kumar, D.Praveen Sam, ”Introduction to Design Thinking”,Tata Mc
Graw Hill, First Edition,2019.

SOFTWARE/TOOLS:
1. Canva (https://www.canva.com/)
2. Coggle (https://coggle.it/)
3. Marvel POP

VIDEO LECTURES:

1. https://nptel.ac.in/courses/109/104/109104109/

2. https://nptel.ac.in/courses/110106124/

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q654-kmF3Pc&t=0s

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAdanuvwtc

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-hzefHdAMk

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbLxs6te5to

WEB RESOURCES:

1. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/5-stages-in-the-design-thinking-
process
2. https://www.ibm.com/design/thinking/page/toolkit

3. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/define-and-frame-your-design-
challenge-by-creating-your-point-of-view-and-ask-how-might-we
4. https://www.culturepartnership.eu/en/article/ten-tools-for-design-thinking

5. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_02.htm

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COURSE DELIVERY SCHEDULE:
S.
Contact
No. Topic CO Mapping Pedagogy Resources
Hours
Week 1:
T1, T4,
Introduction to Design Thinking -
1. 1 CO1 PPT, Videos VL1,
Definition, Importance, Phases of
WR1, VL5
Design Thinking
Week 1: Activity Activity based
T1, T4,
2. Framing What-How-Why Questions for 2 CO1,CO2,CO6 Learning
VL1
identified problem
Week 2: PPT and
3. 1 CO1, CO2 WR7
Canva Tool Demonstration
Week 2: Activity
Activity based
i)Creating User Personas. T1, T3,
4. 2 CO3 Learning
ii)AEIOU (A-Activities, E-Environment, WR2
I-Interactions, O-Objects, U-Users)
Week 3:
Empathize - Role of empathy in T1, T2,
5. 1 CO3, CO5 PPT, Videos
design thinking, Empathy tools- VL2, VL3
Empathy Map
Week 3: Activity
Activity based
Create Empathy Map- using Four T1, T2,
6. 2 CO3,CO5,C06 Learning
quadrant (Say-Think-Do-Feel) WR2
Empathy Map
Week 4: T1, T2,
7. 1 CO3, C05 PPT, Videos
CJM- Customer Journey Map WR2
Week 4: Activity
Build a Customer Journey Map (CJM-
Before-During-After) and identify Activity based
CO3, CO5, T1, T2,
8. touch points for any mock scenario or 2 Learning
C06 WR2
persona created during last
experiment, frame 2-3 questions using
HMW (How Might We)
Week 5:
Ideation - Importance of visualizing
T1, T2,
9. and empathizing before ideating, 1 CO3, CO5 PPT, Videos
VL2
Applying the method, Ideation Tools -
Story board
Week 5: Activity CO3, CO5, Activity based
10. 2 T1, T2
Story boarding design ideas C06 Learning
Week 6:
PPT,
11. Ideation Tools - Brainstorming, 1 CO3, CO5 WR5
Demonstration
SCAMPER
Week 6: Activity
Perform Brain Storming Session with Activity based
CO3, CO5,
12. your team and record using the 2 Learning WR5
C06
SCAMPER framework and finalize the
best three innovative ideas.
Week 7: PPT, Video,
13. 1 CO3, CO5 WR6
Mind Map using Coggle Demonstration
Week 7: Activity Activity based
CO3, CO5,
14. Create Mind Map for the problem 2 Learning T1, T2
C06
statement using Coggle
Week 8:
Prototyping and Testing – T3, VL1,
15. 1 CO4 PPT, Videos
Definition, Prototype examples, Need VL2
for Prototyping, Fidelity for prototypes

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S.
Contact
No. Topic CO Mapping Pedagogy Resources
Hours
Week 8: Activity Activity based
T3 VL1,
16. Low-Fidelity prototype creation by 2 CO4, CO6 Learning
VL2
Sketching
Week 9: PPT,
17. 1 CO4 T3, WR8
Introduction to Figma Software Demonstration
Week 9: Activity Activity based
CO4, CO5,
18. Static prototype creation using Figma 2 Learning T3, WR8
CO6
Software
Week 10:
19. High-Fidelity Prototype purpose and 1 CO4 PPT, Videos T3, WR8
examples
Week 10: Activity Activity based
CO4, CO5,
20. High-Fidelity Prototype creation using 2 Learning T3, WR8
CO6
Figma Software
Week 11:
21. 1 CO4 PPT T3
Testing prototypes with users
Week 11: Activity
Test the prototype created by
interacting with each member of the
Activity based
team, walking them through the design
22. 2 CO4, CO6 Learning T3
and gathering feedback. Use feedback
grid with the following quadrants: what
worked, what could be improved,
questions, and ideas.
Flipped
23. Week 12: Team Presentations 3 CO6 Classroom -

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CONTENTS
1.Introduction to Design Thinking
1.1 Definition
1.2 Importance
1.3 Design thinking Process
1.4 Phases of Design Thinking
1.5 Canva Tool

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1. INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN THINKING

Design thinking started out as a process for creating sleek new technology and
products. But this methodology is now widely used across both the private and public
sectors, for business and personal projects, all around the world.

Design thinking has a human-centered core. It encourages organizations to focus on


the people they're creating for, which leads to better products, services, and internal
processes.

“Design thinking is a process for creative problem-solving.”

Design-thinking methodology was popularized by design consulting firm IDEO


(Innovation and Design Engineering Organization). The methods gained momentum in
the larger business world after Tim Brown, the chief executive officer of IDEO, wrote
an article in 2008 for the Harvard Business Review about the use of design thinking in
business—including at a California hospital, a Japanese bicycle company, and the
healthcare industry in India. Today, one of the most popular courses at Stanford
University is Designing Your Life, which applies design thinking to building a joyful
career and life.

1.1 DEFINITION
➢ Design Thinking is a human-centered and collaborative approach to problem-
solving using a designed mindset to solve complex problems. (Tim Brown, British
Industrial Designer & President, IDEO).
➢ Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand
users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions
to prototype and test. Involving five phases—Empathize, Define, Ideate,
Prototype and Test—it is most useful to tackle problems that are ill-defined or
unknown.

1.2 IMPORTANCE
It brings together the desirability from the customer’s perspective with what is
technologically feasible and economically viable. It also provides various opportunities
for people who aren’t trained as designers to utilize creative tools so that they can
tackle a vast range of problems/challenges.

In recent decades, it has become beyond vital to develop and refine skills to not only
understand but also act upon the constant changes in this dynamic economy.

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Considering the rapid developments in technology today, the world has become
increasingly interconnected and complex, and design thinking provides a means to
cope in a widely human-centric manner. It allows us to think outside the box and
understand problem-solving on a slightly deeper level.

Design thinking has proven to improve the world around. Considering its ability to
generate ground-breaking solutions in a less disruptive, yet creative way, it is more
than just a process – it is an innovation.

While design thinking has been around for a while now, many businesses are yet to
adopt it. As an increasing number of brands keep looking for ways to weave design
thinking into their business strategies, marketers, product engineers, and business
leaders keep looking for ways to master this methodology.

Objectives

➢ To solve the customer’s requirements

➢ Helps in tackling ambiguous and challenging problems

➢ Drives people to create innovative solutions

➢ It helps organizations to run faster with more efficiency

Benefits of the Design Thinking Approach

➢ It helps to overcome the creative challenges


➢ It helps to effectively meet the customers’ requirements
➢ It helps broaden your knowledge of Design Thinking

1.3 DESIGN THINKING PROCESS


Design Thinking is a design methodology that provides a solution-based approach to
solving problems. It’s useful in handling complex problems that are ill-defined or
unknown.

- by understanding human needs involved

- by reframing the problem in human-centric ways

- by creating ideas in brainstorming sessions

- by adopting a hands-on approach in prototyping and testing.

• Design thinking is the process of finding and solving problems.

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➢ Design thinking is the process of deducing the essence of problems based on
their own limitations.
➢ Design thinking is an extreme user-centered process.
➢ Design thinking is a process of integrating different things into a system.

➢ Design thinking isn’t just a session where everyone gets together in a room and
thinks really hard about design solutions.

➢ It’s actually an iterative process made up of five phases: empathize, define,


ideate, prototype, and test.

➢ With each phase comes important tools and apps to help you succeed.

1.4 PHASES OF DESIGN THINKING


➢ Five phase model for Design Thinking proposed by Hasso-Plattner Institute of
Design at Stanford (d.school).

❖ Empathize ,Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test.

❖ Five phases, are not always sequential they do not have to follow
any specific order and can often occur in parallel and repeat
iteratively.

Empathize: Design thinking begins with empathy – to gain an insight into the
problem that it sets out to resolve. However, more than understanding the problem,
this step is crucial to understanding the requirements of the user, to deliver a more
customized solution. This step involves observing and engaging with the user to
understand their behavior patterns, inclinations, preferences, and likely reactions to
situations. Only when businesses have fully grasped the user environment and
behavioral patterns, will they be able to tailor solutions to fit user needs.

Define: The next step in the process is organizing all the information collected
during the previous phase. This will eventually help you to define the problem
statement from a more human-centric perspective. Define stage not only helps in
breaking down obscure ideas and issues but also helps to form a structured approach
towards solving it.

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Stages of Design Thinking

Ideate: This is probably the most crucial phase of all and interestingly, allows a lot
of room for creativity. This is when you think radically and prepare for
experimentation to champion the user experience. It’s important to bring fresh
perspectives to the table at this stage and think of new ways of resolving the issue.
It’s also equally important to consider probable obstacles both from the user’s end
and environmental while suggesting these solutions.

Prototype: Prototyping involves curating your best ideas and putting them into
shape. This stage allows designers to test the effectiveness of the solution internally
in a small-scale environment before presenting it for implementation. This could also
mean executing all the probable solutions and checking for their effectiveness. An
important part of this phase is eliminating all the failed/ less effective options and
moving forward with the best ones. Prototyping allows designers to understand how
users would typically behave or react to any particular solution, thereby helping
them form a more realistic solution that can be adopted on a larger scale.

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Testing: The final stage of design thinking involves testing the best solutions of the
previous stage. Since this is an iterative methodology, the results of this stage are
used to refine the end solution further. More often than not, the solutions identified
in the prototyping phase undergo major changes or are even discarded to fit the real
environment user needs. The end result of this phase is then a tried and tested
solution that will endure the environmental hindrances and user expectations.

Design Thinking Tools- For each Phase

Sl.No PHASE TOOLS

1 Empathize What/How/Why Questions

AEIOU,

Empathy Map

2 Define Point of View (POV)

How Might We? HMW

Why – How Laddering?

3 Ideate Brainstorming

Mind map

Coggle Map

4 Prototype Paper prototype,

Model

Sketches

Role play

Figma

5 Test User testing

By providing prototype and getting


feedback (Iterate the process)

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1. Empathize-

To Empathize you:

• Observe
• Engage
• Watch and listen

Empathy Tools
a. AEIOU Framework

b. Empathy Map: It is a four quadrant Map

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IDEO Empathy Map

Petfinder App – User Persona

Parking App-User Persona

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Territory Checkin App

c. Customer Journey Map (CJM)

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2. Define Phase
Point-of-View(POV)
➢ Used to define problem statement
➢ Captures the design vision by defining the RIGHT challenge to address in the
ideation sessions
➢ POV can be articulated by combining these three elements – user, need, and
insight

How Might We? (HMW)


• Start using your POV by asking a specific question starting with: “How Might
We” or “in what ways might we”.
• HMW questions are questions that have the potential to spark ideation
sessions such as brainstorms.
• They should be broad enough for a wide range of solutions, but narrow
enough that specific solutions can be created for them

For eg. you have observed that youths tend not to watch TV programs on the TV
at home, some questions which can guide and spark your ideation session could
be:

• How might we make TV more social, so youths feel more engaged?


• How might we enable TV programs to be watched anywhere, at
anytime?
• How might we make watching TV at home more exciting?
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The HMW questions open up to Ideation sessions where you explore ideas, which
can help you solve your design challenge in an innovative way.

3. IDEATE Phase

➢ It’s not about coming up with the ‘right’ idea, it’s about generating the
broadest range of possibilities.”

➢ Ideation provides both the fuel and also the source material for building
prototypes and getting innovative solutions

➢ You ideate in order to transition from identifying problems to creating


solutions for your users.

➢ Ideation is about pushing for a widest possible range of ideas from which
you can select, not simply finding a single, best solution.

Maximize your Innovation Potential

Mind Map Example

➢ Begin with the problem statement at the center of a blank white


page.
➢ Use images, different colors, symbols, abbreviations and codes to
depict your ideas. Text can be boring, but different depictions can add an
altogether different charm to your mind map.
➢ Keywords must replace long statements. The mind map must give a
hint to the design thinker about an idea quickly. Reading a long
statement is waste of time.
➢ Each and every word written in the mind map must be connected to the
central hub by some or other line or set of lines.
➢ Use multiple colors for visual stimulation.
➢ Use radial hierarchy and make use of emphasis, italics, and
underlines to stress on a point.

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Mind Map Example

Coggle Map using Coggle tool

Coggle: Simple Collaborative Mind Maps & Flow Charts


https://coggle.it/

Sample Coggle map for in-house vegetable farming

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Storyboard

Motive The visualisation of the user experience with the


prototype

Participants Design Thinking team

Duration From 1 hour to 1 day

Story Board

A storyboard tells a sequence of events using images, drawings and collages. These
can be used to illustrate the user experience with a service or a product.

The storyboard is intended to illustrate user experiences in their context in order to


provoke discussions about weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.
Storyboards make it possible to visualize the user's perspective and gain useful
feedback.

How to do it?

1. Concretize the theme and message that you want to express through the story.
2. Define the actors of your story.
3. Write down the whole story in a script.
4. Divide the story into sections (scenes).
5. Choose a suitable graphic representation (drawing, photos).
6. Create a picture for each scene.
7. Limit yourself to 6 to 12 images.

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8. Use the storyboard to tell your story efficiently and effectively.When do you need
it?

A storyboard is especially useful in the early prototyping phase to present solutions in


their context and to make them comprehensible for others.

Resources

• Pens and paper


• Digital camera
• Storyboard Templates

4.PROTOTYPE

➢ Build to think and test to learn


➢ This phase is used to turn ideas into tangible products a rough model or
sketch. Prototype are basically a scaled down version of a product.
➢ A prototype can be anything that a user can interact with – be it a wall of
post-it notes, a gadget you put together, a role-playing activity, or even a
storyboard.

You can learn a lot from very simple prototype


Why PROTOTYPE
➢ To ideate and problem-solve.
➢ To communicate
➢ To start a conversation
➢ To test possibilities
➢ To manage the solution-building process

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5.TEST

➢ Testing is an opportunity to learn about your solution and your user


➢ The Test mode is when you solicit feedback, about the prototypes you have
created, from your users and have another opportunity to gain empathy for
the people you are designing for.

Key to user testing is listening


Why Test
➢ To refine prototypes and solutions.
➢ To learn more about your user
➢ To refine your point-of-view (POV)
➢ How to Test
o Show don’t tell
o Create Experiences
o Ask users to compare

1.5 CANVA TOOL

Canva is an online graphic designing tool with several functions and features that even
beginners can use. It allows anyone to create fascinating designs for personal and
professional use. It is specially made for people who are not graphic designers and who
cannot invest in hefty amounts to get professional designs. Canva can be used for
designing anything you need. You can create a custom design from scratch or choose
from the different content types it offers.

Canva – What Makes It So Popular?


Canva has over 30 million active users every month in over 190 countries. It has gained
immense popularity among its users mainly because −

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➢ Prior experience not required or have to be a graphic designer to use Canva.
➢ It has a user−friendly interface.
➢ It is a versatile platform. You can use open it in your browser or install the
application on your desktop or mobile.
➢ You can collaborate with others or create your design team.
➢ It is a free platform. You do not need to spend on expensive tools to create a
professional design.
➢ It is helpful for small businesses and start-ups for producing engaging content
consistently.
➢ It takes less than five minutes to create a high−quality, engaging design.

CANVA TOOL

Features of Canva
Here are some of the prominent features of Canva −

Create several types of content − From compelling social media posts to


infographics and resumes, Canva can help you design anything you need. You can also
create your designs from scratch.

Drag and drop feature − The drag and drop feature of Canva makes it user−friendly.
You can use templates and photos in your design in just a few clicks.

Templates − Canva has a library of over 50,000 templates that you can choose, edit,
and customize as per your needs. Also, new templates are regularly added to the
existing library.

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2. Empathize & Define
2.1 Role of empathy in design thinking
2.2 Purpose of Empathy Map
2.3 Empathy Tools
2.3.1 Customer Journey Map
2.3.2 Personas
2.4 Coggle Tool
2.5 Define Phase

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2. EMPATHIZE
Empathy is “the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining
what it would be like to be in that person’s situation.

Empathy
➢ Simply put, empathy involves putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.
➢ To successfully empathize with users, designers will need to shelve their own
perceptions, beliefs, and biases.
➢ They will need to become listeners and show the user that not only have they
identified their challenge, they understand it.
➢ Designers need to build empathy for their users in order to take the right course
of action.
2.1 ROLE OF EMPATHY IN DESIGN THINKING
➢ Empathy is the cornerstone of any successful design project.
➢ The extent to which you understand and empathise with your users ultimately
determines the outcome of your design.
➢ Main objectives of the empathise stage is to identify user needs and behaviours
that are latent, or unarticulated.
➢ Empathic research and design is not concerned with facts about the user, such
as their age or ___location.
➢ Rather, it focuses on their feelings towards a product and their motivations in
certain situations
How to become Empathetic Designer?

➢ Practice empathy in your everyday life

➢ The power of facial expressions

➢ Assume a beginner’s mindset (Listen, don’t judge!)

➢ Pay attention to body language

➢ Empathy interviews
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➢ Immersion and observation

➢ Constant curiosity: Ask what, how, and why?

Key Empathy Building Methods

➢ What? Refers to the details of what has happened: for example, the
user took the following actions when entering their payment details on
an ecommerce website.
➢ How? Here you will consider how the user has completed these actions.
What were their facial expressions? Were they exerting a lot of effort? Did
they seem at ease, frustrated, or confused?
➢ Why? Now it’s time to make some educated guesses about the user’s
motivations and emotions as they complete these tasks.

➢ Empathy maps

What How Why? Sample

2.2 PURPOSE OF EMPATHY MAP


The empathy map is drawn up to solve the following business needs:

➢ To systematize the knowledge of the target audience at the beginning of


development;

➢ To understand whether the product meets the needs of the target audience;

➢ To find out from which information channels the user can learn about the
service;

➢ To understand whether a product is needed in the market in general.

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2.3 EMPATHY TOOLS

Empathy is the ability to experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions, or


experience of others. Empathy is more than simple sympathy, which is being able to
understand and support others with compassion or sensitivity. Needs of users with
special physical limitations are simulated through the use of different empathy tools.

Empathy Map (Paul Boag)


When should you use Empathy Maps
➢ Empathy maps are best used from the very beginning of the process.
➢ Ideally, they should be created right after initial user research is done.
➢ They’ll have a substantial impact on product requirements and help product
teams develop a meaningful value proposition.
Five things to do before the session
➢ Define your primary purpose for empathy mapping
➢ Conduct research
➢ Don’t do it alone
➢ Make sure you will have enough time for the session
➢ Invite an experienced moderator to the session
Five things to do after the session
➢ Always do a one-to-one mapping
➢ Create context
➢ Add the basic characteristics of the persona
➢ Encourage team members to talk about their thoughts
➢ Summarize the results

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Empathy maps developed during design thinking sessions(Image by IBM)

➢ Participants placed sticky notes with ideas about the user onto the respective
section of the empathy map.
Things to do after the session
➢ Use the empathy map as a reference
➢ Turn your empathy map into a poster

Empathy Map converted to Poster


2.3.1 CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP
➢ A customer journey map is a visual representation of the customer journey (also
called the buyer journey or user journey).
➢ It helps you tell the story of your customers’ experiences with your brand across
all touchpoints. Whether your customers interact with you via social media,
email, livechat or other channels, mapping the customer journey out visually
helps ensure no customer slips through cracks.
➢ This process also helps B2B business leaders gain insights into common customer
pain points which in turn will allow them to better optimise and personalise the
customer experience.

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➢ Customer journey mapping (also called user journey mapping) is the process of
creating a customer journey map
Why is Customer Journey Mapping Important?
➢ Customer journey mapping is important, because it is a strategic approach to
better understanding customer expectations and is crucial for optimising the
customer experience.
➢ Customer journey mapping is just as important for small and medium-sized
enterprises as it is for larger companies.
➢ Allowing you to optimise the customer onboarding process
➢ Benchmarking the customer experience desired by your customers against
what they actually receive
➢ Creating a logical order to your buyer journey.
Types of Customer Journey Maps
➢ Current state mapping
➢ Future state mapping
➢ Day in the life mapping
➢ A competitor’s journey map
Customer Journey Map:Prerequisites
➢ A clear understanding of goals is essential to approach customer journey
mapping process.
➢ A use case or persona that the customer journey map is intended for.
➢ Research, data, insights.
➢ Willingness to jump in and be wrong.
Steps in creating Customer Journey Map
1. Nail down your buyer persona
2. Understand your buyer’s goals
3. Map out buyer touchpoints
4. Identify customer pain points
5. Prioritize and Fix Roadblocks
6. Update and Improve

➢ 1. Assemble your team.


➢ 2. Observe your customers and compile your research.
➢ 3. Begin filling out your customer journey map in a workshop style.
➢ 4. Break your journey into key stages.
o Awareness/ Discovery
o Research / Information gathering / Evaluation
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o Purchase
o Experience / Use
o Loyalty
➢ 5. Define events in each key stage.
➢ 6. Be relentless in your listing and describing of touch points.
➢ 7. Look for moments of truth.
➢ 8. Analyze and discover your opportunities
➢ 9. Implement metrics where possible.
➢ 10. Rinse and repeat.
Example of Personalized steps
A. For a customer of a coffee shop:
➢ Awareness – I wake up tired and begin craving a coffee on the way to work.
➢ Research – How do I know what options I have? How do I choose? Do I have a
place in mind or am I open to options? What if I am in a new place? What factors
influence this?
➢ Decision – I picked a place and begin navigating.
o I walk in to the chosen coffee shop.
o I stand in line.
o I make it to the front of the line and place my order.
o I pay the cashier.
o I wait while the barista makes my drink.
o I sit in the shop to enjoy my coffee.
o I begin drinking my coffee.
o I walk out of the coffee shop.
B. For a customer of an airline:
✓ Awareness – I realize that I need a flight ticket.
✓ Research – I start searching for flights.
✓ Planning – I think about what my stay will look like and how that impacts my
ideal flight time.
✓ Booking – After I decide on a flight time and price, I purchase my ticket via an
online portal.
✓ Pre-Travel – I check in for my flight, download my boarding pass, etc.
✓ Travel – I board my chosen flight.
✓ Post-travel – I exit the plane and arrive at my destination.

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Customer Journey Map (CJM)

Touchpoints
✓ A “touchpoint” refers to any time a customer comes into contact with your brand
– before, during, or after they purchase something from you.
✓ This also includes moments that happen offline/online, through marketing, in
person, or over the phone.
✓ Some touchpoints may have more impact than others. For example, a bad check-
in experience at a hotel can trouble the entire stay.
How to identify Touchpoints

Identifying Touch Points


✓ Before – how did they find out about you? Your customer may find out about
you through adverts, billboards, social media, online reviews, or good old-
fashioned word of mouth.

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✓ During – which channels and what did they do? This is your point of sale (POS).
It could be your website, branch, store, or delivery. Customers may interact with
sales assistants and call centres.
✓ After – what happens after the sale? These include invoicing, queries, returns,
product support, product or service lifetime, newsletters, and customer feedback
surveys
Pain Points
➢ A pain point is a specific problem that prospective customers of your
business are experiencing. In other words, you can think of pain points as
problems, plain and simple.
➢ Here are the four main types of pain points:
o Financial Pain Points: Your prospects are spending too much money on
their current provider/solution/products and want to reduce their spend
o Productivity Pain Points: Your prospects are wasting too much
time using their current provider/solution/products or want to use their
time more efficiently
o Process Pain Points: Your prospects want to improve internal processes,
such as assigning leads to sales reps or nurturing lower-priority leads
o Support Pain Points: Your prospects aren’t receiving the support they
need at critical stages of the customer journey or sales process

Customer Journey DapperApp

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2.3.2 PERSONAS
➢ Personas are fictional characters, which you create based upon your research in
order to represent the different user types that might use your service, product,
site, or brand in a similar way.
➢ Creating personas will help you
o To understand your users’ needs, experiences, behaviours and goals.
o To recognise that different people have different needs and expectations
o To identify with the user you’re designing for.
➢ Personas make the design task at hand less complex, they guide
your ideation processes
Personas in Design Thinking
➢ In the Design Thinking process, designers will often start creating personas
during the second phase, the Define phase.
➢ In the Define phase, Design Thinkers synthesise their research and findings from
the very first phase, the Empathise phase.
➢ Using personas is just one method, among others, that can help designers move
on to the third phase, the Ideation phase.
➢ The personas will be used as a guide for ideation sessions such as Brainstorm,
story boarding.
Four Perspectives on Persona
➢ Goal-directed Personas
➢ Role-Based Personas
➢ Engaging Personas
➢ Fictional Personas
Goal-directed Personas
➢ It focusses on: What does my typical user want to do with my product?”.
➢ The objective of a goal-directed persona is to examine the process and workflow
that your user would prefer to utilise in order to achieve their objectives in
interacting with your product or service.
➢ The goal-directed personas are based upon the perspectives of Alan Cooper, an
American software designer and programmer who is widely recognized as the
“Father of Visual Basic”

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Goal-directed Personas
Role-Based Personas
➢ The role-based perspective is also goal-directed and it also focusses on
behaviour.
➢ The personas of the role-based perspectives are massively data-driven and
incorporate data from both qualitative and quantitative sources.
➢ The role-based perspective focusses on the user’s role in the organisation.
➢ An examination of the roles that our users typically play in real life can help
inform better product design decisions.
Engaging Personas
➢ The engaging perspective is rooted in the ability of stories to produce
involvement and insight.
➢ Through an understanding of characters and stories, it is possible to create a
vivid and realistic description of fictitious people.
➢ Engaging personas can incorporate both goal and role-directed personas, as
well as the more traditional rounded personas.
➢ These engaging personas are designed so that the designers who use them can
become more engaged with them.
➢ One of the main difficulties of the persona method is getting participants to use
it

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Engaging Personas
Fictional Personas
✓ The fictional persona does not emerge from user research (unlike the other
personas) but it emerges from the experience of the UX design team.
✓ It requires the team to make assumptions based upon past interactions with
the user base, and products to deliver a picture of what, perhaps, typical users
look like.
✓ You may be able to use them as an initial sketch of user needs.
✓ They allow for early involvement with your users in the UX design process
10 Steps to Create Engaging Personas & Scenarios
1. Collect data
2. Form a hypothesis
3. Everyone accepts the hypothesis
4. Establish a number
5. Describe the personas
6. Prepare situations or scenarios for your personas
7. Obtain acceptance from the organisation
8. Disseminate knowledge
9. Everyone prepares scenarios
Make ongoing adjustments

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10 Steps to Create Engaging Personas
2.4 COGGLE TOOL
Coggle is a free mind-mapping/brainstorming tool that uses a Google login to setup. (also free)
Students can create very intricate diagrams and charts with ease, and they can invite other
students to collaborate on their mind maps with them in real-time. Coggle supports student

collaboration where a group of students could work together on a single diagram. Coggle
diagrams can also be downloaded as an image file or as a PDF.
A mindmap is a diagram that is used to visually outline information, so it helps students study
and professors teach course material. A mindmap can be easily made using Coggle. One of the
most common types of mindmap is a large brainstorming web where a central word or idea
branches out into related subjects. As ideas are fleshed out and connect to one another, you can
see how concepts tie together to get a better understanding of what you are trying to study.
Coggle is simply delightful to experience.
Maps begin with a soft grey central node with white text. Hovering over this node displays two
prominent plus signs. Upon clicking either of these a subtle fruit-colored branch organically flows
in an unexpected, serpentine stream. This initial branch begs for connection with its pointed end
cap – and creating a new connection is as simple as clicking the plus sign that appears when an
end cap is hovered over. Alternately, the pointed end caps also allow users to add nodes with
text, images, or video. An infinite number of nodes and color-family coded branches, sub-
branches, and sub-sub-branches can be created from any point within a Coggle.

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Mind Map Example

2.5 DEFINE PHASE


➢ The define stage ensures you fully understand the goal of your design project. It
helps you to articulate your design problem, and provides a clear-cut objective
to work towards.
➢ A meaningful, actionable problem statement will steer you in the right direction,
helping you to kick-start the ideation process
➢ Without a well-defined problem statement, it’s hard to know what you’re aiming
for. Your work will lack focus, and the final design will suffer.
➢ A problem statement identifies the gap between the current state (i.e. the
problem) and the desired state (i.e. the goal) of a process or product.
➢ A problem statement, or point of view (POV) statement, frames this problem (or
need) in a way that is actionable for designers.
➢ It provides a clear description of the issue that the designer seeks to address,
keeping the focus on the user at all times.

When to use the problem framing method?


➢ Problem framing is useful any time obstacles occur during a project or process.

➢ This method of thinking helps you solve problems in real time so you can get
your team back on track.

How to frame a problem statement?

➢ An effective problem statement is framed in a way that provides context and


relevance so it’s easy to comprehend.

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➢ This is the initial step in the problem framing process.

➢ The purpose is to introduce the issue to team members to begin ideating


potential solutions.

FRAMING A PROBLEM STATEMENT

➢ Context:

o The business context of the problem includes background information


about when the problem occurred and in which system or process it
occurred.

o For example, inconsistent data is being gathered during the planning


stage of the process.

➢ Issue:

o The issue details what the problem is and why it’s an issue in the first
place.

o For example, this inconsistent data is creating a discrepancy during


the implementation phase.

➢ Relevance:

o The relevance of the problem details how it is related to a particular


system and why it is important to be solved.

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o For example, the discrepancy then requires the team to go back and
pinpoint where the issue began, causing deadline delays.

➢ Objective:

o The objective states the timeline or priority of when the solution needs to
be implemented and the goal of said solution.

o For example, the team needs to solve the problem before the end of the
quarter given it’s a high priority issue.

The 4 steps of the problem framing process

PROBLEM FRAMING PROCESS

Define the Problem

➢ Analyze your problem in context with the system or process it presents


itself in.

➢ Ask questions such as, “Where does this problem live within the system?”
and, “What is the root cause of the problem?”

➢ Defining contextual questions helps place the problem within your existing
processes and pinpoint what could be causing the issue.

Prioritize the Problem

➢ Prioritize the pain points based on other issues and objectives.

➢ Questions such as, “Does this problem prevent objectives from being met?”
and, “Will this problem deplete necessary resources?” are good ones to get you
started.

➢ These questions help rank your problems by importance so you can visualize
the potential outcome of solving the problem vs. waiting until a later time.

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Understand the Problem

➢ To understand the problem, collect information from diverse stakeholders and


department leaders

➢ This will ensure you have a wide range of data.

➢ Ask questions and gather details from as many different team members as
possible to help diversify your perspective on the problem.

➢ This will lead you to more innovative solutions that serve the majority of
team members.

Approve the Solution

➢ Get your solution approved. Quality assure your solution by testing in one or
more internal scenarios.

➢ This way you can be sure it works before introducing it to external customers.

➢ You may also need to get it approved by leadership before it goes live, though
this will depend on your unique situation.

➢ Once approved, analyze the success of your solution and continue testing new
ideas until you reach your desired outcome.

Problem Framing Techniques and Tips

➢ A good problem statement is human-centered and user-focused. Based on the


insights you gathered in the empathize phase, it focuses on the users and their
needs

➢ Focus on the user

o The user and their needs should be front and center of your problem
statement. Avoid statements that start with “we need to…” or “the product
should”, instead concentrating on the user’s perspective

➢ Keep it broad

o Good problem statement leaves room for innovation and creative


freedom. It’s important to keep it broad enough to invite a range of
different ideas; avoid any references to specific solutions or technical
requirements, for example.

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➢ Make it manageable

o At the same time, your problem statement should guide you and provide
direction.

o Don’t try to address too many user needs in one problem statement;

o Prioritize and frame your problem accordingly.

➢ Frame problems using organized statements

o A problem statement may differ from situation to situation, but each one
should follow the basic components outlined below.

o This includes the context, issue, relevance, and objective.

o All of which help stakeholders understand how the problem relates back
to the project at hand.

➢ Lead effective brainstorming sessions

o Problem framing can be used during brainstorming sessions to encourage


different perspectives and new insights.

➢ Frame the problem with the end in mind

o The technique of beginning with the end in mind involves working


backward. This way you can shift your team’s mindset and encourage
goal-oriented thinking.

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3. Ideation
3.1 Importance of visualizing and empathizing
before ideating
3.2 Applying the method
3.3 Ideation Tools
3.3.1 Brainstorming
3.3.2 How Might We (HMW)
3.3.3 Story board
3.3.4 Mind Map
3.3.5 SCAMPER Tool

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3.1 IMPORTANCE OF VISUALIZING AND EMPATHIZING BEFORE
IDEATING
➢ Ideation is the process where you generate ideas and solutions through
sessions such as Sketching ,Prototyping, Brainstorming, Brainwriting, Worst
Possible Idea, and a
wealth of other ideation techniques.
➢ Ideation is also the third stage in the Design Thinking process
➢ Ideation is the mode of the design process in which you concentrate on idea
generation.
➢ Mentally it represents a process of ‘going wide’ in terms of concepts and
outcomes.
➢ Ideation provides both the fuel and also the source material for building
prototypes and getting innovative solutions into the hands of your users.

The Role of Ideation

➢ Contrary to the conventional wisdom that too many ideas leave you confused,
directionless, or unable to make a decision, your goal here should be quantity
not quality.

➢ And here is the best part: no idea is a bad idea. Go after weird, unusual ideas
instead of common sense solutions.

➢ It sounds counterintuitive and counterproductive but in Design Thinking this is


the zone of endless creative possibilities.

➢ It is better to have a surplus of ideas than to have to just enough ideas.

➢ A diversity of ideas will bring about the best, most creative and appropriate solution.

➢ During Ideation you release your mind from the mentality of “finding a right
solution”, get the obvious solution out of the way, and embrace the broadest
possibilities available to you through this process.

➢ Ideation is about exploring all varieties of ideas by multiple voices in the team. You get
to ask the right questions and discover unexpected areas of innovation.

Divergent and Convergent Thinking

➢ Ideation comprises both divergent and convergent thinking.


➢ Divergent thinking is creating and generating numerous choices.
➢ Convergent thinking is narrowing down and zeroing in on a handful of very
specific choices that are most likely to solve the problem.
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➢ Convergent thinking involves synthesis. Convergent thinking is also analytical.
➢ Convergent and divergent thinking is a continuous process through out the
ideation stage and the whole problem solving process of Design Thinking.
➢ The team may discover that it needs to go back and do more research in order
to redefine the problem again. It is a process that is always ongoing.

Challenges in Idea Generation

➢ Coming up with new product ideas and innovations is not an easy task.

➢ when deciding to enter a new category, the team faces different obstacles in
ideation.

➢ Ideation can also be challenging simply because it can be hard to come up with
a new ideas.

Need for Systematic Method to Connect to User

➢ A deep understanding of the user and his or her experience can help us
develop more meaningful solutions.

➢ it is at times hard for people tasked with designing a new product or system
to understand the user.

➢ Experienced industrial designers, engineers, marketing professionals and other


new product development (NPD) team members struggle with understanding
the needs of users

➢ Because it is challenging for people tasked with developing new products,


systems, and services to understand and identify with end users, there is need
for a systematic method that helps them make that connection

Visualize Empathize and Ideate Method

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3.2 APPLYING THE METHOD

3.3 IDEATION TOOLS


➢ There are many tools for ideation. The most common being brainstorming
➢ Brainstorming
➢ How might we?
➢ Story Boards
➢ Game storming

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➢ Mind Maps
➢ Analogous Inspiration
3.3.1 BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming is a method design teams use to generate ideas to solve clearly
defined design problems. In controlled conditions and a free-thinking environment,
teams approach a problem by such means as “How Might We” questions. They produce
a vast array of ideas and draw links between them to find potential solutions.
Brainstorming Rules
➢ Set a time limit
➢ Start with a problem statement, point of view, possible questions, a plan, or a
goal and stay focused on the topic
➢ Stay on Topic
➢ Defer judgement or criticism, including non-verbal
➢ Encourage weird, wacky and wild ideas
➢ Aim for quantity
➢ Build on each others' ideas
➢ Be Visual
➢ One Conversation at a time

3.3.2 HOW MIGHT WE(HMW)


The “How Might We” method creates an atmosphere for innovative solutions by
reframing known challenges that surround your product, service or initiative. After
identifying design challenges through subject matter expert interviews and user
research, you are ready to transform these statements into aspirational questions that
create a welcoming space for “out of the box” thinking. Writing “How Might We” notes
(or HMWs) is often practiced as a collaborative exercise by teams at the beginning of a
project or strategic initiative.
Steps to Frame How Might We?
➢ Begin by identifying and outlining the insights or pain points you have collected
about your current design challenge or new initiative.
➢ Now, reframe these insights into questions by starting each note with “How might
we…”
➢ While writing your question, ensure to consider the underlying factors that may
be driving it – these are often the best way to refine your initial thoughts.
➢ Write out as many “How Might We” notes as reasonably possible. More “How
Might We” questions create more opportunities for solution exploration.

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For example, you have observed that youths tend not to watch TV programs on the TV
at home, some questions which can guide and spark your ideation session could be:
✓ How might we make TV more social, so youths feel more engaged?
✓ How might we enable TV programs to be watched anywhere, at anytime?
✓ How might we make watching TV at home more exciting?
✓ The HMW questions open up to Ideation sessions where you explore ideas, which
can help you solve your design challenge in an innovative way.

Examples of How Might We? Notes


Remember that your “How Might We” question should not be so broad or narrow. A
well-framed “HMW” question will contain the right amount of inspiration for you to
quickly start brainstorming potential solutions.
➢ An Example of a Well-Framed How Might We Question
o “How might we design a product that makes our users feel confident and
secure during their online financial transactions?”
➢ An Example of a How Might We Question that is Too Narrow and Solution
Specific
o “How might we design a product that helps users deposit their paycheques
in three easy steps by using a guided workflow?”
➢ An Example of a How Might We Question that is Too Broad
o “How might we design the world’s most innovative banking app?”

3.3.3 STORY BOARD


Storyboards communicate a concept by visualizing user interactions.
Storyboard development is one way to prototype your service concept. Communicate
ideas through visual stories that showcase how they fit into your users’ lives. Use
Storyboards to create a low-fidelity narrative that focuses on people and their actions,
thoughts, goals, emotions, and relationships. While you can include user interfaces as

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props in your story, avoid drawing too many screens. A quick, low-resolution prototype,
a Storyboard can help you visualize your concept from start to finish.

With a partner, determine what it is you want to prototype. You don’t have to
Storyboard the entire offering. Use it to test even one component of your idea, like an
interaction, or how a customer finds your product. Spend no more than 30-45 minutes
drawing how your ideas work. Use a series of comic book-style frames for your drawing.
This will help you spotlight key moments and build a short narrative. Don’t get hung up
on your drawing abilities. It’s more important that it helps you fully think through your
concept than create something that looks beautiful. Once you’re done, act out the
Storyboard to your team for feedback.

Story Board Example


3.3.4 MIND MAP
A Mind Map is an easy way to brainstorm thoughts organically without worrying about
order and structure. It allows you to visually structure your ideas to help with analysis
and recall. Mind maps provide a structured way to capture and organize ideas and
information. They help users to understand concepts by breaking them down into their
component parts. The technique is used to develop new ideas, or to break down and
better understand existing information. Mind maps provide an expansive and flexible
structure to support your thinking.

A Mind Map is a diagram for representing tasks, words, concepts, or items linked to and
arranged around a central concept or subject using a non-linear graphical layout that
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allows the user to build an intuitive framework around a central concept. A Mind Map
can turn a long list of monotonous information into a colorful, memorable and highly
organized diagram that works in line with your brain's natural way of doing things.

Mind Mapping is perfect for:

➢ Brainstorming and visualizing concepts

➢ Presenting and communicating ideas

➢ Graphic organizers and electronic note books

➢ Running meetings more effectively

➢ Outlining reports and documents

➢ Simplifying task and project management

➢ Writing essays

The Five Essential Characteristics of Mind Mapping:

1. The main idea, subject or focus is crystallized in a central image

2. The main themes radiate from the central image as 'branches'

3. The branches comprise a key image or key word drawn or printed on its
associated line

4. Topics of lesser importance are represented as 'twigs' of the relevant branch

5. The branches form a connected nodal structure

Mind Map Structure


A mind map structure can seem quite messy at a first glance. Especially if you are a
person who prefers tidiness and order, it can seem like it’s too unstructured. Depending
on who you are as a person, you might want to layout your notes in a certain way to
feel that you have control over them. Maybe you feel secure with the traditional bullet
point lists, or you don’t want too much going on. Below are some layout ideas for you
to try out. Use different styles and identify a way comfortable style for you to use.

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Mind Map Example

Different Mind Map Layouts

3.3.5 SCAMPER TOOL


The SCAMPER method as an improvement of a well-known technique called
‘brainstorming’. This incredibly successful technique was created by Alex Osborn in
1953 and it focused on the monitoring of habits and exchange of ideas in a group of
people. In 1971, American psychologist Bob Elerle advocated the SCAMPER method in his
book SCAMPER: “Games for Imagination Development.” It is a way to stimulate people’s
creative thinking and it is one of the easiest graphic techniques of mind mapping for critical
thinking and brainstorming ideas.

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SCAMPER is an acronym for a series of words:

• Substitute – Can we change it for something else?


• Combine – What can we combine?
• Adjust – How can we adjust it?
• Modify – Could we modify it?
• Put to other uses – Can it be used for something else?
• Eliminate – Is there a reason why we should eliminate it?
• Reverse – Can we change the order?

SCAMPER Template in Visual Paradigm

SCAMPER for New Product Development


It can also be useful for generating ideas for new products and services by encouraging
your team to ask the following 7 questions, which will help you understand how you
can innovate and improve existing products, services, problems and ideas. In addition
to product improvement, it can also be used to improve the operational process, helping
workers to review existing work items and various arrangement possibilities.
SCAMPER Case Study – New Beverage
Suppose today we are developing a new beverage, we can think from these seven
directions
Step1. Replace – What alternatives are available for bottle materials? What natural
ingredients of the beverage contents can be replaced with?
Step2. Merge / Combine – Can the marketing of beverages be promoted together
with a combination of other products?
Step3. Adapt – Can I mix it with ingredients to make a mix and match drink with flesh
and crisps? How to formulate the taste to satisfy the taste buds of the general public?
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Step4. Magnify – How could the color of the drink look better? How does the
proportion of additives affect the taste and make it smoother?
Step5. Put to other uses – Is it possible to boost the body? i.e. Refreshing? Additional
effects such as beauty
Step6. Remove – Remove unnecessary additives to make drinks more natural? Does
designing one-piece packaging reduce costs?
Step7. Reverse –What if you develop a drink made entirely without water?
When thinking about a product, we need to spend a lot of effort, using this thinking
method to reshuffle the existing things, to develop a new idea. In addition to creative
ideas, it can also be used for brainstorming to improve the workflow.
How to implement this method

The SCAMPER method consists of a series of phases:

Identify the problem


The first step that we have to take is quite logical. First of all, we need to identify
the problem that we want to solve. Some examples would be: “Why isn’t a specific
group able to move forward?” or “Why aren’t we advancing?”

Ask the SCAMPER questions


As you know by now, the word SCAMPER is an acronym. Once we’ve identified the
problem, the next step is to ask the questions. Said questions should be answered
in groups and every single answer should be taken into consideration. For
example: “Why is it so difficult for us to move forward?”, “What’s causing the
problem?”, or “What lies behind our setbacks?”
Organize the answers
It’s important to take every answer into account. Collect them all and make sure
there’s no censorship. No matter how stupid or irrelevant an answer may seem,
it may actually help find a solution to an issue.
Evaluate the ideas
At this point, you begin to select the answers. You have to identify the ones that
seem the most valid, those that can lead to the solution of the problem. However,
invalid answers can be used to solve future conflicts, so it’s vital to keep them in
mind.

Select the ideas


The last and final step is to select the ideas. Keep your mind concentrated on looking
for the right solution and only choose the ideas that you believe will lead to it. In

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addition, it’s also important to explain to the rest of the group the reason why you
chose those concrete ideas over the others.

Role of Scamper in the Creative Processes

Scamper plays a critical role in the solving of simple as well as complex creative
problems. The motive of using Scamper is to make the processes more comfortable
and more fruitful. Scamper helps in brainstorming in the right manner for getting the
most optimal solutions. It encourages you to improve the existing methods to reduce
the wastage of any available resources and make the best use of them. Scamper has
gained so much popularity since it is straightforward to use and implement.

If the traditional ways of critical thinking are not that fruitful, one can turn to the
modern and novel ways like that of Scamper. Scamper does not restrict you to only
one single format of innovative thinking. It instead lets you move freely among the
various forms of problem-solving. It is indeed a creativity-boosting resource. It asks
you questions and then deciphers your answers to find the permanent solution.

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