Dsm 5a1 - Design Thinking

DSM 5A1 DESIGN THINKING

Assignment 2

Derek Attenburrow

December 4, 2014

Rosa Garcia

Word Count: 1861

Table of contents

1.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….…3

2.0 The process of design thinking…………………………………………………….…3

3.0 Criticism of design thinking …………………………………………………….…….6

4.0 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………….…..7

5.0 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………...….......8

6.0 Bibliography …………………………………………………………………...………….9

1.0 Introduction

In every organization, problems may arise from time to time. In order to ensure sustainability of the business, managers need to develop strategic ways of solving these problems and achieve outstanding results. Design thinking entails application of protocols that may be used by any professional in any organization to solve problems. Although design thinking is becoming a popular approach to problem solving in organizations, critics argue that creativity was never the problem. In order for organizations to arrive at unique and guaranteed solutions, there is a need to empathize with the situation, involve all members, listen to their opinions and choose the best possible solution through the design thinking process.

According to professor Allen Samuels, the process of design thinking is quite important regardless of one’s profession (Fast Company Staff 2006). While most people refer to the result as the design, they fail to realize that design is instead a continuous process aimed at achieving extraordinary results. Although the tools and techniques used differ, they all end up giving the same results. At the core of every business’ success, there has to be the effective tool of design thinking.

2.0 The process of design thinking

The process entails four major steps. First, the management team must define the problem. Although defining the problem may seem like a simple task, it requires identifying the right problem to solve. Prioritizing of problems is necessary at this point. In an organization, problems may occur on a wide range therefore making it essential for the management to choose which problems need quick solutions. In order to identify the problem, it is necessary that the team gets involved in the process as well as make observations (Schaub 2010). Relentless questioning is also necessary in order to arrive at the desired outcome. In order to get the desired solution, definition of the problem should be in a way that invites creative and suitable solutions.

The second element is creation of options. Most organizations rush the solution and implement the same solution repeatedly. Although the solution may be obvious, design thinking requires that the management team consider as many solutions as possible. A more fruitful solution may appear if five people create solutions in a day compared to an individual working on solutions for five days. The use of modern technology such as the 2D or 3D is efficient in presentation of the solution compared to the use of mere words.

The third step entails polishing of the selected directions. Although the best solutions promise a future free of problems, they need to be nurtured at the early stage. Therefore, the environment needs to accommodate the new idea and be conducive enough to allow the idea to grow to full potential. In this step, ideas may be integrated in order to give better results.  In case the idea or solution does not suit the situation, a repeat of the second and third step is necessary until the right answer is achieved. If the selected options do not met the needs, the management team needs to go back to the creation step in order to think of more suitable and applicable solutions or ideas.

The fourth step is selection of the best idea and executing it. Due to the integration of ideas, the end solution is unique (Wise 2014). This step marks a time to provide the necessary resources for achievement of the idea. Beforehand, prototypes of the chosen solution are created and tested in order to establish their feasibility, desirability and viability. This means identifying what people really desire, what is technologically applicable for the present opportunity.

Design thinking entails embracing risk and new ideas through viewing the problem objectively in order to achieve results that are beyond expectations. It is important to note that designing the solution enables the management to know what should be left out. According to the legendary designer Charles Eames, the type of design chosen depends on the constraints. However, design thinking always yields guaranteed solutions if applied accordingly as a guiding tool to decision making.

During the thinking process, participants are allowed to brainstorm without few or no limitations at all. This approach is helpful in reducing fear of failure among the participants. It also encourages participation where people get to give the most creative and unique ideas that they can come up with. Figure below (Fig. 1) represents the phases of design thinking. Once the right questions are asked, the team may be able to come up with more ideas to choose from. However, before finally implementing the chosen idea, the prototypes have to be tested in order to determine their feasibility.

 [pic 1]

Figure 1 Phases of design thinking

According to Robert McKim, the phases involved in design thinking can be labelled as the “Express-Test-Cycle”. In the definition stage, the decision is made on the issue to be discussed. Research is then conducted in order to establish the history of the problem. Next, people brainstorm in order to come up with a range of ideas suitable for the problem. At this point, all the ideas are accepted without judgement or debate. The ideas are then drafted in the prototype stage. The prototypes are presented to other people who give their input of the applicability of the ideas. After comparison with the initial objectives, the ideal idea is chosen and implemented. As a follow up procedure, feedback is collected in order to assess the success of the solution.

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