CertificateOfCompletion_Learning Design Thinking Lead Change in Your Organization 2016
This activity provided me further insight into the problem-solving approach known as design thinking and how it could be applied to any organization to enact change and propel success. The course defined design thinking as various avenues a team within an organization could take to better understand the needs of the user and developing solutions based on those needs. There are various ways to implement design thinking such as developing prototypes, coming up with quick iterations, and synthesizing key elements to highlight what is important. These approaches are best at solving nonlinear and complex problems.
One key point that was stressed within this series was making a space to create. Especially now a days when everything is more conveniently done online through zoom or teams, having a physical space to collaborate and share ideas is very important and is something I noticed that affected me personally. It seems a lot easier to share ideas and work with people in person rather through a screen.
Not only did this series cover what design thinking is but also how to form a proper team and what skills are valuable for a leader within this process to possess. Collaboration is key, especially incorporating different outlooks from as many people as possible and having a leader with a positive mindset to facilitate all this makes the process that much easier.
Maintaining a goal and actively aligning it with the desired outcome of the project is especially useful as well. As mentioned before, prototyping is a huge part of this goal and doing things such as journey mapping, synthesizing, and concepting are crucial to achieving this goal.
Overall, design thinking is a super effective way to approach problem solving, and teams that can effectively implement this way of thinking and especially successful. The design thinking mindset should also be considered a process, it is not something that will happen overnight but rather something that needs to be engrained within the culture. Getting to know the people who not only use your product but rather everyone that your product may affect is important, including team members. Lastly, asking questions and coming up with ideas that may be considered unorthodox are crucial to developing a great solution to your problem. Experimentation through prototyping and idea generation are key and would not be possible without an open environment and a solid workspace.
