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#49 - Design Thinking VIII - Characteristics

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Article written by
Juan Jesús Millo

Writing of the week

This is the continuation of part six, Design Thinking VII - Attributes

In addition to the attributes of Design Thinking, inherent to the process, we must take into account the characteristics that we must have, either as facilitators or as participants.

These characteristics are a set of several mindsets proposed by Tim Brown of IDEO, (2008) by the d.school (2009 & 2010 update) and by Baeck & Gremett (2011).

  • Show don't tell: express yourself through visuals, stories or using storytelling.
  • Focus on human values and needs : empathy is the core of Design Thinking. The project will never be perfect the first time, iterate, ask for feedback and implement it.
  • Work for clarity: align the vision of all participants. Contextualize the project so you can all work with the same mindset.
  • Embrace experimentation: make and build to learn. Improve the product with each prototype you create.
  • Be mindful of process: Design Thinking is not typically a waterfall process, if necessary go to the step that interests you the most and use the tools that are useful to you.
  • Bias toward action: at all times, throughout the Design Thinking cycle we must do, test, implement, improve and go back to the beginning.
  • Radical collaboration: collaborate with people from different disciplines and various points of view. Diversity is the key here.

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