One of the hardest things to do in design thinking is to delay coming up with solutions as long as possible. The goal is to spend time problem framing and doing needs assessments, primarily by understanding users.
Earlier in the month, I had sent out surveys and wanted to get a bunch of client interviews under my wing before moving to solutions. This was much easier in theory than in practice. Mostly because when I started talking to people, all the ideas started flooding in.
Earlier in the month, I had sent out surveys and wanted to get a bunch of client interviews under my wing before moving to solutions. This was much easier in theory than in practice. Mostly because when I started talking to people, all the ideas started flooding in.
This happens when we start getting excited about the possibilities. I have advised our workshop participants numerous times to think about what the problem is that you are solving for rather than trying to make a solution fit.
We live in a culture of solutions. We look for answers. We strive to fix.
This isn't a bad thing and ultimately in design thinking, the goal is to come up with a solution. Primarily a solution that is needed by the users rather than by the designer.
This is the part I think we struggle with the most. It has been hard to separate some of my personal goals from that of the users needs. I am admittedly eager to make impact and to get prototypes out there in the world and testing how I think some of ideas might make it in action. This is all a part of the iterative process.
The part I love about design thinking is that you are constantly reflecting on who you are solving for, what the design challenge is and where you can start to make change - it isn't about solving the whole problem at once. This has given me a great deal of permission to prioritize small wins as a part of an overall plan.
As I move through this process, I have gained a tremendous amount of empathy for our clients and participants when they work through the process and demonstrate impatience with finding the answer. I know it well and am looking forward to continuing to be the champion of delaying solutions and helping each and every design thinker get through this fog.
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Jenn - loving the fogginess - eager to get going
This isn't a bad thing and ultimately in design thinking, the goal is to come up with a solution. Primarily a solution that is needed by the users rather than by the designer.
This is the part I think we struggle with the most. It has been hard to separate some of my personal goals from that of the users needs. I am admittedly eager to make impact and to get prototypes out there in the world and testing how I think some of ideas might make it in action. This is all a part of the iterative process.
The part I love about design thinking is that you are constantly reflecting on who you are solving for, what the design challenge is and where you can start to make change - it isn't about solving the whole problem at once. This has given me a great deal of permission to prioritize small wins as a part of an overall plan.
As I move through this process, I have gained a tremendous amount of empathy for our clients and participants when they work through the process and demonstrate impatience with finding the answer. I know it well and am looking forward to continuing to be the champion of delaying solutions and helping each and every design thinker get through this fog.
--
Jenn - loving the fogginess - eager to get going