From Problem to Possibilities-The Journey Of Design Thinking

Written By: Nishma Basnet & Sagar Bhandari

“The approach, once used primarily in product design, is now infusing corporate culture” by Jon Kolko

Design Thinking is a human-centered method that change the way of understanding and solving problems. This approach was discussed during the contact sessions on 9-10 March, where we carried out practical exercise based on empathy, collaboration, and experimentation. Together with these experiences and the knowledge provided by Brown (2008), Kolko (2015), and Brown (2019), they show how design thinking reshapes it focus away from merely finding solutions to a problem to finding meaningful possibilities.

Understanding the problem

An important lesson of the sessions was that it is important to have an in-depth problem understanding. We did not hurry to come up with solutions, but instead, we performed user interviews and observations to identify the actual needs. This process has shown that most of the assumptions that were initially made were false.

This is supported by Kolko (2015) who notes that design thinking is centered on the experience of users, in particular emotional. It is advised that organizations should monitor behaviors and see what people require, but not what they want. On the same note, Brown (2008) claims that innovations starts with empathy-putting people in the middle of the process.

This phase demonstrated that it is important to define the right problem. Even the most creative solutions may not work without this base.

Ideation and Possibility Generation

Once the issue was made clear, we proceed to ideation. This stage promoted critical thinking and innovation without judgment. Brainstorming was used to come up with diverse ideas including unconventional ones.

Brown (2019) states that collaboration and free flow of ideas are essential to design thinking. He points out that radical ideas are the drivers of innovation, not incremental advancements. This can be seen in our sessions, as the idea of adding on to the ideas of others resulted in more innovative ideas than working alone.

The ideation phase proved that creativity is not a process of finding one right solutions, but one of discovering many opportunities.

Prototyping and Testing

Prototyping translated ideas into reality. We developed models to visualize solutions and test them in quick time. This practical style simplified the process of determining strengths and weakness.

According to Kolko (2015), prototypes are the keys to findings solutions and sharing ideas. They enable teams to be experimental, learn and refine ideas. Notably, design thinking promotes failure-tolerance-design thinking considers mistakes as learning opportunities instead of failures.

Based on the Book Change by Design, Brown (2019) emphasizes that innovation is a continuous process that entails inspiration, ideation, and implementation. Prototyping relates these stages by making ideas become a reality which is subject to testing and improvement.

Conclusion

Transformation of problem to possibilities is a dynamic process. Design Thinking is not linear and consists of learning, testing and refining.

The contact sessions revealed the practice of empathy, creativity, and experimentation in practice. This literature also supports the fact that design thinking is not a designer tool only but a way of thinking that can change organizations and lead to innovation.

Finally, design thinking teaches us to live with uncertainty, prioritize human experiences, and see problems as opportunities. Through this, it helps us overcome constraint an open the door to new opportunities.

Reference

Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84-92

Kolko, J. (2015). Design thinking comes of age. Harvard Business Review, 93(9), 66-71

Brown, T. (2019). Change by design: How design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation (Revised and updated edition). New York, NY: Harper Business

Images are created through the help of reve.com

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Comments

3 responses to “From Problem to Possibilities-The Journey Of Design Thinking”

  1. Tripti Sapkota Avatar
    Tripti Sapkota

    I really enjoyed reading your blog because you explained design thinking simply and understandably. I especially liked how you described it as a human-centered approach and discussed empathy, collaboration, and experimentation. Your explanation helped me see that problem-solving is not just about finding a single correct answer; it’s about exploring different ideas and possibilities. I also found it interesting how you connected your experience from the contact session with the ideas from Brown and Kolko. This made your blog more meaningful and showed your strong grasp of the topic.

    In my view, one important idea is that design thinking teaches people to accept failure as part of learning. It emphasizes testing ideas and improving them step by step. This concept is useful not only in design but also in everyday life and learning situations. I think your blog would be even better if you included a small real-life example to explain one stage of the design thinking process in practice.

    Overall, your blog is clear, thoughtful and engaging. It made me think about problem-solving in a more creative way.

    Reply
  2. Bijaya Tamang Avatar
    Bijaya Tamang

    I always wanted to explore more abou the service to enhance my field of expertise in the field of service. As you have mentioned, the practical session and the study material actually helped us to broaden our perspective in the field of creativity and design.

    Furthermore, you guys have done very good job by explaining how the design thinking actually works. Understanding abount the problem without doing any urgency leads us toward ideation and possiblities generation. Similarly, the prototyping and testing of the ideation lead towards a clear vision of the solution.

    The way guys have presented what we have learned from the session to become a creative design thinker is very smooth and abvious. And I assume that the knowledge which we have got from the session will definitely help us in the practical world.

    Reply
  3. sundarlamsal Avatar
    sundarlamsal

    In your blog, Design thinking as a human reaction approach was well explained and clear. I enjoyed very much how you related the experience with contact session to the concepts of Brown and Kolko so well demonstrating the mastery of the subject. Your focus on empathy, collaboration, and experimentation allowed observing how design thinking is applied in reality easily.

    I particularly support your argument of having an in depth understanding of the problem before getting solutions. This is because as observed in the sessions, making assumptions and concentrating on the actual needs of the users will yield better ideas. Your ideation and collaboration explanation also point out how creativity increases when we develop on the ideas of another person and not work on our own.5

    Your other important observation is that you talked about prototyping and testing as a learning process. The concept of failure as a chance to do things better is a significant mentality to be used not only when thinking through designs but also in everyday life.

    A minor addition to make your blog even stronger is to take a very small real-life example as an illustration of one of the steps to the process. In general, I like your blog, which is well-structured and interesting and displays clear examples of how design thinking could be applied to support creativity and innovation.

    Reply

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