DESIGN THINKING

The session of Design Thinking can be summed up in just four

words-Fun filled learning session. A session which involved
taking up a problem, and dissecting the problem into smaller
components, getting to the grass root of the problem and then
using out of the box thinking, trying to find an apt solution to
the concern. Using this mechanism we got many insights to the
issue which we had never thought of before. Also during the
whole process we had numerous interactions with the public
which gave us several insights on how to tackle the problem.
So basically this is a new problem solving technique which not
only enables us to find a solution to a concern but also helps us
to understand the major cause of our problem. With the
summary already made I will describe what design thinking is
and then continue with my experience.
Design Thinking is a methodology used by designers to solve
complex problems, and find desirable solutions for
clients. Design Thinking draws upon logic, imagination,
intuition, and systemic reasoning, to explore possibilities of
what could be, and to create desired outcomes that benefit the
end user.
Our design thinking class started on 15/02/2016 for two days
and the first day we mainly focused on the introduction of the
topic and how it is used to creatively solve problems. Our
discussion started by defining innovation in our own terms and
then choosing a problem that we face in our campus and finally
trying to find a solution using Design Thinking .It seemed to be
a waste of time for me as I had assumed that the issue
provided had no immediate solution. But on the other hand the
clients who had followed this kind of approach had come up
with many fruitful and low investment solutions. So keeping this
startling fact in mind I participated in the discussion.
In the beginning the problem provided was very vague and we
needed to understand the source of problem. Once that is done
we need to find a solution to this concern. For this numerous
ideas needed to be generated. But ideas cannot be generated

from thin air. So we were presented few ways to generate the

ideas. These ways are:
1 Child-like Ideation In this we need to think ourselves as a
child and then try to find five ways we could have solved
the stated problem like a child would do in the given time
limit.
2 Zero-budget Ideation In this we need to think ourselves
running on tight budget and then think five ways we could
have solved the problem.
3 Ideation In this we need to find five ways to solve the
problem in the logical manner in the specified time limit.
4 Superpower Ideation In this we need to assume
ourselves as superheros and then think of the solutions to
the problem in given time limit.
5 Billionaire Ideation In this we need to consider ourselves
as billionaire and then think of solutions to the problem in
five different ways.
Using these ways of ideation numerous ideas came up. Few
were funny, few were out of the box, few were nonsensical but
few had some matter to it. It seemed that a solution might
come up to the problems.
Next we were asked to segregate all the Ideation into various
groups and see if we could put all these into some meaningful
sense. This was to connect the ideas generated into a category.
This was basically to get a broader perspective of ideas, a
categorization. Few of the categories which we developed were#Technology
#Infrastructure
#Desi
#Jugad
We combined these both to form two major categories and
those were:#Infrastructure and Technology
#Desi Jugad

After the generation of ideas and then categorizing them, we

went interview few people to know more about the issue. And
also to understand few of the measures they had taken as an
alternative to the issue. Once the interviews were done and all
the responses noted, we categorized them onto another sheet.
Once that was done we had a new insight. It seemed we were
dealing with the wrong issue. The issue was totally different
from the initial problem statement. With this new insight, we
changed the problem statement and then started pondering on
the ideas to solve the problem. Now the ideas generated
initially were used in this case to develop some concrete ideas
which could be used to tackle the issue. In this case we made
an assumption. The assumption was the solution would be
a low investment solution. Once this assumption was kept
in mind we consolidated the ideas and found few alternatives
that could act as solution to tackle the issue. We represented
the alternatives pictorially which would make them easier to
understand. Once the alternatives generated we needed to test
their feasilibility. So we again went for interviewing people to
test the ideas and note their remarks.
Once the remarks were noted they were again distributed onto
a sheet known as FEEDBACK CAPTURE GRID.
FEEDBACK CAPTURE GRID is future divided into four
quadrants i.e. Positives, Constructive criticism, Questions and
Ideas. It was very much difficult for our group to subdivide the
responses into this quadrant and after dividing the responses
we were able to reach to a totally unexpected solution. What
once seemed to be unsolvable concern suddenly seemed to be
something that could be tackled. Or in other words it could be
solved.
Once we came to a consensus regarding the solution we
demonstrated it to the class for their reviews. With the mixed
bag of reviews, the once though unsolvable issue was actually
nailed and a solution was actually generated which could be
actually incorporated as an alternative to the current issue.
In all, my key learning in all this process was that if we put in a
systematic approach to the generation of ideas and learn to

channelize them into solution using Design Thinking then it can

really be a great guide for us in the future innovation process.
Also innovation is not something that is out of reach. A slight
change in thinking and few systematic steps can actually do
wonders.
Having said that I really think that Design Thinking class was
really a wonderful and rich experience, even the approach to
teach design thinking was good as we really got the practical
experience to put in the use of Design Thinking. And I really do
believe that it will become a powerful tool to solve problem in
the near future.