Design Thinking: Empathy and Ideation

I've recently had the opportunity to work with the University of South Australia, an institution that has previously hosted me twice before as a student. I've been fortunate enough to join the tutoring team for a course for first year future innovators called Design Thinking Studio, and it's really had me thinking about how fun working with products and problem solving can be.

But more than that, I've been reminded of the importance of emapthising with users and ideation techniques that can be used to ensure that what was once a users pain-point, can now be a moment that delights users and strengthens your product, even improve your NPS.

Let's dive in.

Empathising: Unlocking Insights through Understanding

When it comes to design thinking, empathy is the name of the game. By putting yourself in the shoes of your users, you can uncover invaluable insights that pave the way for truly impactful solutions.

• "What's the hardest part about [workflow], how does that impact users?"

• "Can you walk me through the last time you used [product or similar product], what worked well and what didn't?"

• "What goals are you trying to achieve? What obstacles are standing in your way?"

• "If you could change one thing about [product/process] what would it be?"

These sorts of questions can really get you engaging with your current or future users and the conversations you have can provide real insight into areas of potential improvement.

Obviously, speaking with personas from within your user-base is only one way to develop empathy and many other techniques exist, but what is vital is that empathy is established within the design and product team to ensure that they can be the true champion of the users.

Here's how to harness the power of empathy, and leverage it into innovation:

Ideation: From Insight to Innovation

Once you've gained a deep understanding of your users' needs and pain points, it's time to shift gears and start generating ideas. But where to begin? Well many techniques and methods exist, and ultimately the best for you will be the method that matches your teams unique skillset (and let's be honest, time/resource availability) – but here are Two novel ideas to get started.

1. Twist what Exists: Finding Inspiration in the Familiar

What is it?

This technique involves taking something that already exists and giving it a creative twist. Now this does not even need to be from things that exist within the same market, many great ideas take inspiration from products outside of their own industry and reimagine similar solutions so that they are fit for purpose.

Examples

• Revamping a public transportation system by incorporating elements of ride-sharing apps or implementing dynamic pricing based on demand.

• Taking the social interactions from a forum site like Reddit and introducing them into a streaming service to provide a point of difference

• Taking the best parts out of your favourite collaborative task management tool and introducing them to a CRM

2. Worst Possible Idea: Embracing the Absurd for Breakthroughs

What is it?

Embrace the absurd and explore the worst ideas imaginable to spark creativity and uncover hidden gems. This technique works a treat to get a design and product team on the ball and can be especially helpful for new teams, or teams with introverts who may be hesitant to provide input.

To get the most out of this idea encourage the team to provide their worst possible ideas for solving a problem. Once the worst ideas have been listed, you can get the team to identify what traits make each idea just so horrible.

The idea is, that by identifying what makes an idea bad, than the inverse of those traits must make an idea good.

Examples - Scenario: Improving workplace productivity

• Mandatory nap times at the office

• Office-wide dance breaks

• Increasing office-hour requirements
  

Conclusion: Driving Innovation Forward

In the fast-paced world of design thinking, empathy and ideation are the twin engines that propel us toward innovation and impact. By empathising with our users and leveraging powerful ideation techniques like Twist what Exists, Worst Possible Idea, and many others, we can break through barriers, challenge assumptions, and create solutions that truly make a difference.

So let's roll up our sleeves, tap into our creativity, and solve problems that are worth solving.