Phase One of Design Thinking: Empathize
Design Thinking is a process or a methodology for problem-solving and innovation. This process helps provide for users needs and match these needs with what is technologically possible. It then forms a business strategy that offers value and market opportunity. Tim Brown, chair of IDEO, said that “design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” One of the most popular approaches to design thinking comes from the d.school at Stanford. It contains five phases and is a methodology that combines empathy for the problem, creativity in the formation of insights and ideas, and rationality in analyzing various solutions to form a final result. These five phases empathize, define, ideate, prototype test.
Design thinking has been around for some time but more as an afterthought in the process. But for human-centric products to truly help solve users’ needs and be useful, the design process needed to move to the beginning instead of the end. Such a change proved to be very useful and profitable for companies, which lead to a need for some standardization. This led to the creation of a framework in the form of design thinking, which has some key attributes. These attributes include developing empathy for the user, learning through making, being collaborative, creating divergent ideas, and having an iterative process.
This first phase is called empathize and involves understanding the user’s experience and is the heart of design thinking. Empathizing with your user can be done through a couple of research techniques such as observation or interaction. Conduct research to understand what your user is doing, saying, feeling, and thinking. One effective way to accomplish this might be through the use of empathy mapping. An empathy map is a collaborative visualization used to articulate what we know about a particular type of user. It externalizes knowledge about users in order to 1) create a shared understanding of user needs, and 2) aid in decision making. The goal should be to observe and gather enough data to empathize with the user’s perspective. Sometimes conversations with a user are the best way to gain unexpected insights. As they perform a task or interact with an object, ask them to talk through the process. Describe what is going through their mind is one of the most important things that will help understand the user’s needs, motivations, and experiences.
Discovery, immersion, connection, and detachment are four steps you can take to gather that data. Discovery involves making contact with the user and understanding the difficulties in their world. Immersion involves uncovering needs on a deeper level and conducting research where the participant lives. Connection means identifying with the user and being curious about what they are experiences. The final step, called detachment, involves stepping back and reflecting on the data you have gathered. Thinking about the information and insight gained from each of the first three steps helps formulate ideas and solutions to help solve the user’s needs through the final design or end product.
