Ep 187| One big Design thinking tool prominently used - Design thinking principles

What does mean by the design thinking and what are all its foundational principles? Many of you might be really wondering. This podcast is going to address you exactly this. Okay, so design thinking, as we all know, this is a series of steps which is there in order to find out the real root cause of a problem. This is methodology, this is a process. You can treat it like anything. But in this podcast I'm going to tell you there are different principles, which is like a foundation, which is going to make you understand this in a deeper way. And then I'm going to tell you the one big tool which is used most, most most commonly in the design industry. I'm going to repeat it. Okay, so the very first thing about the principles of design thinking is empathy. Okay, so you must have learned it from online, from YouTube, this, that, but I'm telling you guys, this is a kind of standardized method which can be applied for any kind of a linear or nonlinear process. Again, if I'm teaching in my program or in my classes, I tell this is not the only way. This is not the only process or a way to look at it. There could be some alternative ways, but this is one such method which has been prone in the market. Okay, so don't treat it like a entire bible of the design syllabus or whatever. It's not like that. Take it as a pinch of salt and understand this and eventually you can able to explore new process also you can even to even when you will be able to even explore some new methodology, new research tool, new way of thinking and solving a problem most critically. Okay, if you have that mindset, then exactly. This podcast is going to add value and a lesson for you. But if you are in a very rigid mindset like this is the only way I'll memorize it, I'll don't do that kind of a schooling or colleging method what we typically have in our education system. Okay, so the very first thing is understand the user, which is called empathy. So design thinking primarily starts with that to understand the user needs and desires very deeply. So putting yourself in their shoes. The second important point is defining. So once we have empathized with users, like empathize with users, now we have to define the problem statement. What is the problem? What exactly we are solving, who is the Persona, what impact it's creating, how I'm going to solve it. So if you're able to synthesize those insights from the empathy, this defines a problem. Clearly, once this particular definition is done, then we can move into a stage Called ideation, which is stage three. So ideation is all about generating a wide possibilities of idea, doing divergent thinking, convergent thinking, exploring variety of possibilities and pushing beyond the conventional thinking. That's up to you. Okay, the fourth is prototyping. So prototyping involves a very good low fidelity or high fidelity or even if it takes a physical product, you can make a like let's say alpha prototype or beta prototype, a soft prototype, a hard prototype, you can able to check it out and get some feedback to the user so that you can correct your feedbacks, iterate it rapidly so that you're errors and mistakes are reduced. So this is a very tangible artifact case. You know what, this helps us understand our assumptions in the whole product design life cycle. The final is testing. Okay, so testing allows you to validate your particular prototype with real time user observation, recording their feedbacks and iterating it. So let me quickly recap. Empathy, define ideate prototype testing. Okay, there are 1 lakh plus videos which is there in the YouTube which is going to tell you this. But what I told you, if you can able to recollect during this podcast, this is not the only way to really look at it. Okay, Anything could be started with only testing the product and reiterating it and then redesigning it. Any product could start with making a prototype, testing out and then going ahead. Any product could start about just finding out the real definition of the problem. And with that itself we can conclude a project. Right? Can I give you an example? Some of the times we may think it's a big problem, okay. But after you really go into that real need of the thing, maybe a small thing which is hindering this problem and if we define it properly, if we make some system corrections, that's it, it will be permanently solved. You don't need to ideate, you don't need to develop a prototype, you don't need to develop and test it. You don't need anything. This is the power of using this method in a won't create a. Guys, just because Empathy define ideate prototype testing. I'll do definition, I'll do my ideation, I'll do some prototype. I don't have that of a rigid mindset. Okay, so this is the caution for it. Now we'll go into the very important part. What is the one tool which design thinkers really use which is called double diamond approach. Okay, so double diamond is a widely used framework, guys, I'll tell you what is the simple meaning of it. Okay, so you'll get a more Clarity. Whenever you're ideating in a problem statement, or whenever you're doing research, or whenever you're doing prototype testing, any point of time, what will happen is there will be a phase you'll be getting really confused, okay? At that particular point of time, you will have to find out some keywords or a process or a research method in order to dive, in order to converge your process with the findings, whatever you got. Like let's say if you did a lot of research, if you did a lot of primary, secondary research, you understood some real problem and then you started making some ideas. So now with that you can able to converge with the possibilities what you can have right now with that, what ideas you can able to generate with that, what experimentation you can make. And you can able to create a prototype. And then after a point of time, from that point, you can able to again diverge and find out some more possibilities of what can go wrong, what cannot happen, or what is other possibilities. See, now your search will be little refined. You're not divergently going, you already converged and then you're diverging, okay? And after that point of time again, you can able to converge on that particular area in order to find out, okay, here lies the real problem. Let us focus on this, okay? Here lies the real user. He's our ideal user. He's the ideal problem. He's the ideal way I can solve it. Let me go and work on that ideation. See, now your idea will be much clearer, much crystal clear, much close to the problem, much more solving the problem, and you will see the tangibility. So why Jagdish is really important to converge and diverge. I'll tell you guys, if you're not converging and diverging, the very first thing, what will happen is your project will go endless. You will be in a spiral. You will not know when your project is starting, when it's going to end. Neither you know or your management knows or your client is going to know. So that's why this kind of a convergent and divergent is important. And the second advantages of using this convergent and divergent method for the double diamond is you will precisely know. Are you really close to the problem? Are you away? No process I've seen so far is really giving you this clarity. And if you are stuck into any real design problem, you will know what I am saying. So that is why double diamond, it is very prominent and I have used it successfully in some of the big projects which I have worked on. So as the Name suggests it's like converging, diverging, let's say. Keep your thumb, finger and your forefinger. Okay, so just diverge means just open it up. It's like a V, right? It's like a smile. Converge. It's like close it up with your finger again, open, close, open, close. So when you do it like that, it forms a little shape of a diamond. So moving progressively forward. So that's why people have called it in that way. But yeah, you can call it as triple diamond, whatever you want. Guys, the name is not the point. The framework is the point and the thought process behind is the point. It's not just a methodology. I would say it's a mindset. You can unlock greater amount of possibilities. Guys, this is like endless. You know what? A study by Design Management Institute found design driven companies outperformed s and P by 219 percentage over a decade. IBM design thinking practice led to 300 percentage ROI over the next three years. For the last three years. So it's a tangible demonstration of this design thinking, guys. McKinsey found 84% of the executives agree that innovation is crucial for their growth strategy, with design thinking being a key driver. So companies that really encourages this design thinking experience a 41% higher market share, including the effectiveness of customer centric and user satisfaction index. So what are you really waiting for? Why don't you just go and apply this particular design thinking methodology and flourish your process? Okay, so thank you so much, guys. I hope this podcast would have given you clarity, but if you needed to do a live project, like let's say I give a three weeks of project, a very intensive project and a two weeks of quick project for my students to make sure they get this concept very clear so that they can solve any problem in the world. Okay. Literally any problem could be solved using this framework. But if you want to really experience that, why don't you just jump into my program? Send an email to DFC Design for changemail.com which is there in the description. We'll be able to happily help you out, guys. Just come and experience. We have a trial program as well. You can come and experience so that you can know the possibilities of the design are numerous. Okay, so I welcome to this field of creativity. I welcome to this field of new design thinking. I welcome to the field of challenge. Challenging this whole framework and status quo and thinking your own way. Okay, see you guys. Take care. All the best. See you.