Design Thinking

How to Save the World: 『Design Thinking』　創造力と想像力の違い。そして、デザイン・シンキングのルールについて。Focus, Objective, Prerequisites, Methodology。
Design Thinkingに関するエントリーのリンクが続いているが、内容を理解するのは難しい。

This begs the definition, I suspect, of the difference between creativity and imagination. The way I make the distinction is to say that creativity (the domain of artists) is an ability to model things concretely in the real world, while imagination (the domain of dreamers) is an ability to conceptualize something not limited to the real world.

We all imagine, but I believe our modern world suffers from horrific imaginative poverty. Most people's imaginations, from what I can see, are terribly derivative, incapable of coming up with anything more original than a sexual fantasy about a favourite movie star in a different setting.

'rule set' for Design Thinking

1. Focus:
It is focused on people's (customers') deep personal needs, and addresses 'wicked problems', the intractable, complex-system challenges that require parallel iterations of both the 'problem' and the 'solution', until both become clearer at the same time (and sometimes once you find the 'solution' you realize your concept of the 'problem' was wrong).
2. Objective:
It is aimed at discovering new alternatives, creating new options beyond those people usually think of, that effectively deal with the 'wicked problem' you're focused on.
3. Prerequisites:
It requires a (preferably self-selected and self-managing) team with diverse skills and knowledge (ideally including customers and representatives of IDEOs ten innovation personas), understanding of the context for the 'problem', great tolerance for ambiguity, and passion about finding a resolution.
4. Methodology:
It uses knowledge and idea sharing, reciprocal learning, collaborative, interpretive brainstorming, inductive/abductive reasoning, improvisational,holistic, integrative thinking, and models (rapid, parallel prototyping and improvement by continuous experimentation).

＝＝＝

Vol. 2: design-management.de: 『Swarms, Pipelines, Design Thinking and Heraclitus』
list of things what “Design Thinking” comprises

? A Focus on Customers/Users.
It’s not about the company and how your business is structured. The customer doesn’t care about that. They are care about doing their tasks and achieving their goals within their limits. Design thinking begins with those.

? Finding Alternatives.
Designing isn’t about choosing between multiple options, it’s about creating those options. Brenda Laurel speaks of her love of James T. Kirk’s “third option” instead of two undesirable choices. It’s this finding of multiple solutions to problems that sets designers apart.

? Ideation and Prototyping.
The way we find those solutions is through brainstorming and then, importantly, building models to test the solutions out. Now, I know that scientists and architects and even accountants model things, and possibly in a similar way, but there’s a significant difference: our prototypes aren’t fixed. One doesn’t necessarily represent the solution, only a solution. It’s not uncommon for several prototypes to be combined into a single product.

? Wicked Problems.
The problems designers are used to taking on are those without a clear solution, with multiple stakeholders, fuzzy boundaries, and where the outcome is never known and usually unexpected. Being able to deal with the complexity of these “wicked” problems is one of the hallmarks of design thinking.

? A Wide Range of Influences.
Because design touches on so many subject areas (psychology, ergonomics, economics, engineering, architecture, art, etc.), designers should bring to the table a broad, multi-disciplinary spectrum of ideas from which to draw inspiration and solutions.

? Emotion.
In analytical thinking, emotion is seen as an impediment to logic and making the right choices. In design, decisions without an emotional component are lifeless and do not connect with people.”

six adjectives characterising “Design Thinking”

? Collaborative,
especially with others having different and complimentary experience, to generate better work and form agreement

? Abductive,
inventing new options to find new and better solutions to new problems

? Experimental,
building prototypes and posing hypotheses, testing them, and iterating this activity to find what works and what doesn’t work to manage risk

? Personal,
considering the unique context of each problem and the people involved

? Integrative,
perceiving an entire system and its linkages

? Interpretive,
devising how to frame the problem and judge the possible solutions

#関連リンク
『Thinking About Design Thinking』
『What is Design Thinking?』
『“Open Source”-thinking = Optimal Design Process?』

『Design Thinking and Business』　Design Thinkingに関する記事へのリンク