NioPD ST design thinking

Design Thinking Skill

This skill applies the Design Thinking methodology to solve complex problems through human-centered, iterative innovation.

Theoretical Foundation

Origin

Design Thinking was developed at IDEO and Stanford d.school, building on work by Tim Brown, David Kelley, and Roger Martin.

The Five Phases

flowchart LR
    E[Empathize] --> D[Define]
    D --> I[Ideate]
    I --> P[Prototype]
    P --> T[Test]
    T -.->|Iterate| E

Phase	Purpose	Activities
Empathize	Understand users	Interviews, observation, immersion
Define	Frame the problem	Problem statement, POV
Ideate	Generate solutions	Brainstorming, sketching
Prototype	Make ideas tangible	Quick prototypes, mockups
Test	Validate solutions	User feedback, iteration

Key Mindsets

• Human-centered
• Bias toward action
• Embrace ambiguity
• Radical collaboration
• Learn from failure

When to Use

• Complex, ill-defined problems
• Innovation challenges
• Service design
• User experience improvement
• Organizational change

Instructions

Step 1: Empathize

• Conduct user interviews
• Observe users in context
• Create empathy maps
• Document insights

Step 2: Define

Create problem statement:

• POV (Point of View): [User] needs [need] because [insight]
• Challenge: "How Might We...?"

Step 3: Ideate

Generate solutions:

• Brainstorming rules: defer judgment, encourage wild ideas
• Quantity over quality
• Build on others' ideas
• Select promising concepts

Step 4: Prototype

Make ideas tangible:

• Quick and cheap
• Fail early to learn
• Test-worthy artifacts

Step 5: Test

Validate with users:

• Get feedback
• Observe reactions
• Iterate based on learning

Step 6: Generate Report

File path: 01-sources/[YYYYMMDD]-design-thinking-v0.md

Output Specifications

• File Naming: [YYYYMMDD]-design-thinking-v0.md
• Location: 01-sources/
• Template: references/design-thinking-template.md

Related Skills

• niopd-ur-feedback: User empathy
• niopd-pd-wireframe: Prototyping
• niopd-pd-experiment: Testing
• niopd-st-design-sprint: Structured sprint