design thinking Archives - Page 2 of 6

Design Better How Might We Statements

TomDesign Thinking, FeaturedMay 14, 2020December 7, 20213 Comments

It is widespread for us all to wrestle with the DEFINE stage of design thinking as we try and seek out a well-defined how might we statement. This might be true of your team, or perhaps your students struggle with writing a clear How Might We (HMW) statement.

If we have fully committed to the previous EMPATHY stage, we have a bucketload of data and insight for our design challenge. We are also switching our thinking mode and mindset from divergent to convergent. That change can often be tricky. We are attempting to make sense of the information we have gathered. The DEFINE phase brings clarity as you make connections and see some directions to explore.

But how do we know we have clearly defined a problem? What makes a good HMW statement from a great one? What should we focus on when offering critique to improve them? What do we know works best in this phase?

In this post, I have gathered together some of my key recommendations to improve your problem defining efforts. These are my top strategies and tactics for navigating the DEFINE stage of design thinking and creating compelling how might we statements.

Is The Problem Worth Solving?

We develop how might we statement in the DEFINE stage of design thinking. The problem should clearly state and define a genuine need or issue. Whatever happens next has to be worthy of your time and creative effort. Your defined problem should coherently represent the issue you are addressing and the learning you have experienced so far.

Once you have some examples, a good question is: How do we know this is the issue we need to resolve? This question will force you to connect back to the previous work and justify your choices.

The Goldilocks Problem

My standard approach to developing an HMW statement, or critiquing them, is to use the Goldilocks Principle. You can use this to offer feedback and review the versions and ideas you have created. We are looking for a balanced problem statement. Not too narrow and not too broad. It has to be just right.

A narrowly scoped challenge won’t offer enough room to explore creative solutions. And a broadly scoped challenge won’t give you any idea of where to start.
(DesignKit)

Consider the following HMW statement about adapting and changing the physical learning environment. Notice the different versions and how each iteration broadens or narrows:

HOW MIGHT WE change the classroom to provide my students with more opportunities for choice in their learning? (Too broad)

HOW MIGHT WE change the room layout and types of chairs to provide my students with more opportunities for choice in their learning? (Too narrow)

HOW MIGHT WE make small changes to my learning space this term to provide my students with more opportunities for choice in their learning? (Just right)

Start and Iterate

Developing a powerful HMW question is an iterative process and takes tweaks and many versions. It is easy to get stuck wondering where to start. Perhaps you are looking at all the interviews you did or student data you have gathered and begin to feel overwhelmed. My best advice is to get started writing some HMWs down, and then you can refine and iterate as you go.

What is your 4th Word?

Focus on the fourth word. The imperative, the fourth word, signals the action. We use the How Might We structure, so the fourth word is the first choice you have in crafting a problem. Consider what action you want from this creative problem-solving process.

Is this aligned with what we are trying to achieve? Is it aligned with the needs of the people we have interviewed? “How might we encourage” is very different from “How might we direct.”

4100721032 dc27ac74ab o — Image from Doug Belshaw, CC-BY-SA

Language Inspiration

Explore word banks and vocabulary sets to support students with fourth-word choices. I sometimes use Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs as a good starting point.

Explore the verbs from the taxonomy. There is plenty of inspiration and options to consider.

It is powerful to have alternatives to our stock language: create, help, support, make, implement. Sometimes more nuanced word choice helps capture our intentions better.

Breadcrumb Trails

Keep it connected to the EMPATHY phase. Ask yourself: where is the evidence for this focus in the data we gathered? Which insight or experience tells me this is a real need? Force yourself to articulate the breadcrumb trail back to the EMPATHY stage again and again. That will help you develop a rigorous and well-defined problem, not just something in response to your bias or interpretation.

Stick to a Template

Use the HMW template to help comprehensively build each element of the statement. Explore the quality of the different parts as well as the overall idea and how it reads. What are we trying to communicate with each element? Who are we helping?

How Might We Statement Template — Use this template for writing your How Might We statement.

Focus on Your Intended Impact

Pay attention to the part of the statement that signals your intended impact, the “In order to…” element. What change are you looking for? Share feedback about the desired effect we are seeking from this process. Consider how it is aligned to the needs of the people at the centre of the issue.

A great provocation for problem framing is to finish the sentence, “It’s not right that.” This helps us focus on impact, unmet needs and genuine problems people are facing. Thanks to Annie Parker for teaching me this back when I ran the Google Teacher Academy in Sydney in 2014.

It’s not right that________
Fill in the blank

Resist Excessive Wordsmithery

Try not to wordsmith the problem statement too much. We can easily get bogged down in the language and start to split hairs over small changes. Yes, I know this might seem to contradict the use of word banks – design thinking is full of tensions.

Remember this problem definition phase is there to help you. We are not writing to impress others. Be clear and concrete in your writing style and try to avoid too much jargon and abstractions. Does it represent the needs of the people we have connected with? Is our intention clearly stated?

Take the time you need

Please don’t rush this phase, as it will have a knock-on impact on the remaining process. I have seen many design thinking processes grind to a halt because of a lack of investment in the DEFINE phase. There is no need to rush to ideas. Take your time to identify a significant unmet need and define it clearly.

A clearly focused problem statement invariably yields both greater quantity and higher quality solutions.
(Stanford d.school)

One of the most powerful ways to know whether you are on the right track with the problem DEFINING phase is to listen to your team’s reactions and trust your judgment. If the problem you have defined is a genuine reflection of the needs of the people you are trying to help, you now have the responsibility to CRACK ON and figure it out.

Let me know what resonates, and if you would like some independent critique on your ideas, email me your HMW statements. I would be happy to help.

Some other readings worth exploring

Download the PDF template guidelines and ensure each step has been explored thoughtfully. (See below)
Design Kit (including a short video link)
Stanford d.school – Method – How Might We questions.
“How Might We” Notes – Yasith Abeynayaka – Medium.
Framing and Re-framing the problem
Up and Down the Ladder of Abstraction

Download a FREE Problem Framing Resource (PDF)

I have updated and refreshed my popular Problem Framing Resource, which hundreds of design thinkers use to support their work in the DEFINE stage of DESIGN THINKING. You can download a FREE copy of the PDF below.

Download a free copy of my Design Thinking – Problem Framing resource by subscribing to my small but perfectly formed newsletter, the Dialogic Learning Weekly – ideas and insight about Innovation, Leadership and Learning.

Step by step process and detailed instructions for you to follow.
Key provocations to challenge your thinking.
Space to iterate and create multiple versions.
A tried and tested template for writing HMW statements.
Graphic organiser structure.

Featured photo by Thanos Pal on Unsplash

Set Your Design Thinking Process up for Success

TomDesign Thinking, FeaturedFebruary 19, 2020December 7, 20212 Comments

On Tuesday I co-facilitated a design thinking education event with Google in Melbourne. We worked alongside 50 teachers from Catholic schools.

It got me wondering about what it takes to get the most from a design thinking (DT) process. Although my lense is for teachers and education teams, these ideas apply to anyone using the DT process.

For each idea, I have shared some links to further articles and readings to allow you to dig deeper.

Context

Design Thinking (DT) has to be meaningful for us to make the most from it. Connecting to a clear context is a vital commitment. We might do this by thinking clearly about the people at the heart of the problem. Unless we have a meaningful purpose we might easily check out.

Collaboration

Forming a team to work with is a basic tenet of quality design thinking. Every phase of DT benefits from sharing and critique from others. In fact when we say “How Might We” we are signalling our intent to share and create a solution with others.

Concept

Our willingness to explore ideas that are barely formed is a critical disposition. In fact, we might say this is a prototyping disposition. Ideas and solutions from DT are often first explored in conceptual ways. We need to know when to bridge from this to enacted or built forms.

Challenge

There has to be enough of this component to instil an urgent, edge of your seat, discomfort to do good. Our message to the teachers was to take the ideas and make them happen. Build-in milestones and opportunities for really early (painfully early) feedback with the people we are trying to help. Increasing the level of challenge often materialises from connecting our DT process to a real context or stakeholder group. Invite them in to see your results – keep the whole effort grounded in who we are trying to help.

Conditions

The teachers working with us were outside of their normal physical space. The renowned function and aesthetic of a Google workplace formed a provocative backdrop for our group. This was not just the living moss wall Google sign in the Melbourne office or perfectly formed booths, it is what these spaces represent. If we want more creative thinking in our schools, we need to consider how the physical environment can mediate that.

Another key reflection from one of the participants about the conditions was time. I know that allowing ourselves dedicated time to immerse in a topic or challenge is very powerful. It often feels like a luxury, but we will likely be more creative and productive if we can be present and focused.

Critique

One of the ways I describe the prototyping phase of DT is that it is about communicating your idea so that other people can share feedback. A prototype is not an end of itself. It is created to provoke critique from others so that we can refine our idea and make another version.

But the impact of critique cuts through the whole process. Early feedback helps us understand we are on track. Critique about our reframed problem always provides a new perspective or language we can use.

Culture

The big question for us all is how we shift the culture in our schools. The design thinking process challenges our capacities and dispositions – perhaps stretching them in new ways.

But really it is the persistent, ongoing, intentional use of the DT protocols and practices that reap the greatest reward. Not just once every term but an effort over many months and years.

When we utilise DT day in day out. When we normalise the language and the critical thinking expectations, that come with DT, it elevates the impact beyond just a process to a better collaborative culture.

An interesting mix of ideas there for you to ponder on. Certainly not an exhaustive list of the considerations, but a strong set of provocations nonetheless.

In order for us to make the most of the Design Thinking process we need the tools and activities, but perhaps, more importantly, we need to intentionally build the best possible conditions for the deeply creative and critical thinking that occurs.

Google for Education, Forward events are an opportunity for Educators, IT leaders, Googlers and Design Thinkers to tackle some of the big educational challenges we face. This is a chance to bring your creativity, collaboration skills and critical thinking to an authentic challenge.

Drop me a note if you are interested in learning more about these events.

tom@dialogiclearning.com

How to frame and reframe a problem

TomDesign ThinkingFebruary 14, 2018December 7, 20211 Comment

When you are participating in a Design Thinking process a crucial phase is the time when your team begins to define the problem you are attempting to solve.

This method outlined by Design Kit refers to framing the problem and is a powerful process you can use to increase the quality of the problem statements you are generating.

Rushing into Ideas

You may already know that once we have defined the problem we move into generating ideas. This is a critical transition and one we all have a tendency to rush.

We all enjoy the energy lift and change of pace of generating and developing ideas. In fact, many teams can’t help themselves and skip over the definition of the problem too quickly.

So the issue is often that we bounce too quickly onto ideation and we do not spend long enough in the problem state. Then we are left with ill-defined problems – too broad, too narrow, not worthwhile, are all characteristics you might look out for when reviewing your problem statements.

The framing and re-framing process force us to loop back into the process of defining the problem a little longer. It slows us down a little and checks our enthusiasm to rush ahead and ensures we have carefully crafted our problem statement and it is an accurate reflection of a worthwhile issue.

Step by Step Process

I have adapted some of the Design Kit steps below and have a HMW Framing template you can download here (just sign up to my newsletter to gain access)

Describe the problem or issue
List the stakeholders
Re-frame the issue as a How Might We statement
Describe the impact you are attempting to have.
Who needs your help the most?
What are some possible solutions to your problem?
Describe the context and constraints you have to your future ideas.
Re-write a different version of your original HMW statement.

Download the template here.

A clearly focused problem statement invariably yields both greater quantity and higher quality solutions (Stanford d.school, 2011)

FREE Bonus Problem Framing Resource

My Problem Framing template will help you to structure the process of defining a problem or challenge more clearly.

The PDF resource includes

Step by step process to follow.
Key provocations to challenge your thinking.
Space to iterate and create multiple versions.
Graphic organiser structure.

Download your copy of the resource by subscribing to my small but perfectly formed newsletter, the Dialogic Learning Weekly – ideas and insight about Innovation, Leadership and Learning.

Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash

Finding Ways to Doubt Myself

TomThinkingFebruary 9, 20181 Comment

Over the last few years I have been shifting the way that I read content to do with education and learning.

The shift has been a subtle but very important one for me. I deliberately recognise the bias I have towards certain bundles of ideas and find ways to explore the opposing views.

Earlier this year I developed some course content for a Masters course on Innovation in Education. One of the subjects was Design Thinking and despite having many years of experience working with this process I decided to doubt everything I thought I knew about it.

Rather than rest on the laurels of my experience I actively doubted my understanding. This forced me to reconsider, question and ponder on what I might be missing and to be a learner again. It also helped me to see my own bias much more clearly.

A recent example is seeing that I have a negative bias towards furniture being organised so learners are sitting in rows in a classroom.

Tom Sherrington nudged me into this direction with his post about The Timeless Wisdom of Sitting in Rows. He points out that:

…in the majority of situations when I am likely to be teaching, explaining, instructing, questioning – or getting my students up to do it – rows work absolutely beautifully. Is this about exerting my authority, sage on the stage, being in control, telling students things, asking them things…? Yes, of course it is. That’s my responsibility. Is this a miserable, oppressive state of affairs for the poor compliant souls at my mercy? No. Not at all. They can see me; look me in the eye, communicate, engage, interact, listen, learn, think… It’s all good. Efficient and effective, yes. And human – always human.

These types of posts and reflections allow me to not just have a counter point to something I might believe, but I begin to see my own bias with more definition.

In the past I might discount such articles simply from the title but now I seek them out and actively doubt what I think I know.

#28daysofwriting

Photo by Stephen Crowley on Unsplash

Up and Down the Ladder of Abstraction

Tom28 Days of Writing, Mental ModelsFebruary 3, 2018February 3, 2018Leave a Comment

A mental model that I frequently use is the Ladder of Abstraction. It was developed by the American linguist S. I. Hayakawa in his 1939 book Language in Action.

The model describes varying levels of abstraction (up) and concreteness (down) and helps describe our language and thoughts.

The higher up the ladder you are the more abstract the idea, language or thought is. The lower you are on the ladder the more concrete the idea, language or thought is.

You can also think about the ladder as scaling out (abstracting) and scaling back in (concrete). I often use the language:

Let’s zoom out for second. Why is this connected to other projects?

OR

What does this look like in the classroom? Zoom back into the day to day experience for me.

And of course there is a parallel to the ideas of theory Vs experience.

It is helpful to note that different types of questions or interactions move dialogue up or down the ladder.

Let’s look at some simple examples based on developmental work in schools. The first few illustrate how you can use the ladder as a way to think about problem solving. You can also use the 5 Whys mental model here.

*Remember that the ideas illustrated on the ladders below would each emerge during discussion and dialogue. Each idea might unfold as different questions are posed and pondered on.

The blue example below is simple enough to see it is a not a behaviour issue but a communication issue perhaps.

The green example suggests the link between report writing and staff wellbeing. It not just an assessment issue but something that might have a negative impact on health.

Yellow and purple below are slightly different as they might illustrate a more general use of the ladder. Not necessarily to understand the problem, as above, but to broaden our understanding of an idea.

When we ladder down into the concrete and back up into the abstract concept we have a much more rounded sense of the idea. This makes communication much more successful as you work both ends of the ladder.

Be mindful of which end you spend time in the most when working with your ideas or with your teams. Try and strike a balance.

The Ladder of Abstraction is commonly used as a model for interviewing and I have used this many times during the design thinking process. As this piece from the dschool illustrates.

Often times abstract statements are more meaningful but not as directly actionable, and the opposite is true of more specific statements. That is why you ask ‘why?’ often during interviews – in order to get toward more meaningful feelings from users rather than specific likes and dislikes, and surface layer answers.

So it is great model for your design toolkit.

Take a look at these further thinking prompts to help you move in an agile way on the ladder, by Andrew Dlugan on the Six Minutes site. A great post that is well worth a read.

Moving Down the Ladder

Embrace the phrase “For example…” .
Provide real-world tangible examples for your theories and ideas.
Use sensory language.
Help your audience see, touch, hear, taste, and smell.
Be specific.
Provide ample details.
Tell stories and anecdotes.
Stories add emotion and realism to any theory.
Cite data, statistics, and case studies.
They offer support for your theories.
Feature photographs and props.
Remember that all words are a higher level of abstraction compared to the real thing. Use the real thing.
Have a strong call-to-action.
Show your audience how to put your message into practice.
Answer “How?” questions.
Questions like “How does this work?” force you to more concrete explanations.

Moving Up the Ladder

Answer “Why is this important?”
Give the deeper meaning behind the concrete facts and data.
Provide the big picture.
Explain the context and orient your audience.
Reveal patterns and relationships.
Help your audience see how the ideas connect — both to other ideas and their lives.
Draw diagrams.
Help your audience form mental models of processes, objects, etc.
Use appropriate charts.
Go beyond pure data to show trends.
Reveal the lesson.
Follow every story or case study with the key insights.
Draw inferences.
Apply sound logic to generalize from particular cases.
Summarize into principles and guidelines.
Help the audience learn from your experience by providing principles they can use.
Appeal to shared ideals.
Draw connections between your message and the ideals held by your audience, such as justice, truth, liberty, or freedom.

–

Let me know how you get on with this little model, a worthy addition to your toolkit. This is a core activity for me, something I keep coming back to again and again.

Emerging leaders often find this difficult as they have to step out of just thinking about their own classroom.

I firmly believe that the capacity to move up and down the Ladder of Abstraction is a key skill for any leader.

Some further reading:

Method 19 of 100: Laddering Questions | Designing the User Experience as Autodesk

How/Why Laddering | The K12 Lab Wiki | dschool

Abstraction Laddering: Clearly Define the Problem | Autodesk

The Ladder of Abstraction and the Public Speaker | Six Minutes

Enter your search term below

Tag: design thinking