Have you ever wondered how to launch a new product, features or service with minimal risk and have you considered why some companies succeed with their campaigns? Design Thinking is a methodology from Lean Innovation process where everything starts.

What exactly is design thinking and why is it important?

Everything starts by combining two words: “Design” and “Thinking”.

First-word “Design” is often confused with physical design, how are things looking, how are visually designed and how do they feel like.

Second word “Thinking” is also a bit contextually confused. Because it is less about thinking and more about doing.

Therefore, we can say, that Design Thinking is a methodology which enables to increase focus on the user and experimental thinking. Meaning, that new products, features, and services are launched with minimal risk. With a step-by-step approach, we test our assumptions and lower potential risks. It is a user-centered approach to problem-solving. 

With this approach, you will more effectively respond to critical business issues. Therefore, you will better start up new projects and define more realistic marketing and growth strategies. With DT methodology you will tackle complex problems.

What are the principles of design thinking?

This methodology is often shown in 5 steps, as a linear process. But since latest guidelines are a bit different, we have to come to an understanding, that Design Thinking is a non-linear process.

The methodology consists of 5 steps / stages:

  • Empathy (To understand user/customer needs)
  • Define / Focus (To define the problem – user-centered)
  • Ideate / Ideation process (To create many ideas)
  • Prototype (To develop/create simple working prototype)
  • Test (To test prototype and solution to the problem).

We can read it backward: we are doing Test of our Prototype which we made with Ideation process, based on the Focus of information we received with Empathy.

The whole process is iterative, repeatable and cannot be shown as a linear process, because 5 steps are not always sequential.

  1. The information gained from Interviews is useful to help define the problem.
  2. Learn from prototypes feedbacks to generate new ideas.
  3. Tests reveal insights that redefine the problem.
  4. Tests feedbacks generate new potential ideas.
  5. Get learning from users through testing.

Understanding the use of these five steps of Design Thinking will enable anyone to apply the methodology in order to solve complex problems that occur around us.

Who should attend Design Thinking / Design Sprint Workshop and why?

Everyone who wants to know more about Design Thinking methodology and who wants to feel the five-step process.

Especially:

  • Start-up founders/Researchers/individuals – if you want to learn a practical method to really understand your customers, your opportunities.
  • UX Designers/Marketers/Engineers – all levels – if you are looking for a new way of a user-centered approach.

Participants will know the basics of the  process and possible approaches/tools. They will experience a simulation of the Design Thinking process, understand the principles of work and the importance of iterations.