Change The Way You Solve Problems Using Design Thinking

Summary

This video script delves into the concept of design thinking, a problem-solving approach that prioritizes human-centered solutions. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of systems and the importance of understanding root causes, as illustrated by the Washington Monument case study. The speaker shares insights on applying design thinking to various problems, from business to personal life, and encourages viewers to use problem tree analysis to uncover biases and mental models, ultimately leading to elegant solutions.

Takeaways

• 🤔 Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that involves moving from an undesirable situation to a more desirable one, as suggested by Herbert Simon.
• 👕 Design thinking is not just for products; it's a daily practice that influences decisions from clothing choices to meals.
• 🔗 It encourages viewing problems as interconnected systems to find elegant solutions, emphasizing the importance of understanding the root causes.
• 👥 This approach is people-centric, prioritizing the individual's experiences and stories in the problem-solving process.
• 🔄 Design thinking offers a repeatable process that has been proven successful in various studies and applications, from academia to corporate environments.
• 🌐 It can be applied to a wide range of problems, both business and personal, with the process remaining consistent regardless of the content.
• 🌳 The Problem Tree Analysis is a tool used in design thinking to visualize the problem and its effects, as well as to identify underlying root causes.
• 🏛 The Washington Monument case study illustrates how design thinking can lead to uncovering the root cause of a problem and result in a simple, effective solution.
• 💡 Design thinking involves questioning assumptions and challenging the status quo to get to the heart of the issue, as demonstrated in the Silicon Valley company example.
• 🗣️ Asking questions is fundamental to the design thinking process, helping to reveal biases and mental models that could hinder finding an elegant solution.
• 🔑 Keeping the human perspective central to the problem-solving journey is key to finding solutions that resonate and create raving fans.

Q & A

What is the definition of design thinking according to Herbert Simon?

Design thinking, as defined by Herbert Simon, is a way of thinking that involves moving from an undesirable situation to a desirable one through the process of design.

Why is design thinking considered powerful in everyday life?

Design thinking is powerful because it is used in everyday decisions, from choosing clothes to selecting food, and it helps in transitioning from an undesirable state to a more desirable one.

What are the two main reasons design thinking is essential to problem solving?

Design thinking is essential because it puts people first in the problem-solving journey, ensuring solutions are tailored to human needs, and it provides a repeatable process that leads to successful solutions.

Can design thinking be applied to any type of problem?

Yes, design thinking can be applied to any problem, from business issues to personal challenges, as it offers a universal process that adapts to different content.

What is the purpose of problem tree analysis in design thinking?

Problem tree analysis helps to identify the root causes of a problem by examining the visible effects and underlying causes, enabling a more elegant and effective solution.

What is an example of how design thinking was applied to solve a real-world problem?

The Washington Monument maintenance issue was addressed using design thinking by identifying the root cause of the deterioration as the moths attracted by the lights, leading to a solution of turning off the lights to reduce the problem.

What is the significance of asking questions in the design thinking process?

Asking questions is crucial in design thinking as it helps to uncover biases, mental models, and root causes, leading to more effective and elegant solutions.

How did the speaker use design thinking to address a growth problem at a Silicon Valley company?

The speaker applied design thinking by questioning the pre-diagnosed problem and solution, revealing the need to keep the human perspective central and to explore biases and mental models to find an elegant solution.

What is the role of keeping the human at the center of the conversation in design thinking?

Keeping the human at the center ensures that solutions are tailored to human problems and needs, leading to solutions that make people raving fans.

What tools or resources are suggested for enhancing the understanding of design thinking?

The script suggests downloading the problem tree analysis template and exploring links to powerful design thinking books and articles to deepen one's understanding and application of design thinking.

How does design thinking help in revealing biases or mental models that could hinder an elegant solution?

Design thinking surfaces biases and mental models by encouraging questioning and exploration, which helps in identifying and overcoming obstacles to finding effective solutions.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 Introduction to Design Thinking

The first paragraph introduces the concept of design thinking as a problem-solving approach. It references Herbert Simon's view from the 1960s, suggesting that design is the process of moving from an undesirable to a desirable situation. The speaker emphasizes that design thinking is a daily activity, from choosing clothes to selecting food, and highlights its power in addressing problems at various levels. The paragraph also points out that design thinking views problems as interconnected systems, aiming for elegant solutions. It underscores the importance of design thinking in putting people first and providing a repeatable process for successful problem-solving, supported by studies from Stanford University and Fortune 500 companies like PepsiCo. The paragraph concludes by stating the universal applicability of design thinking to any problem, from business to personal issues.

05:00

🌳 Problem Tree Analysis and Root Cause Identification

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of the design thinking process, introducing the problem tree analysis as a tool for identifying root causes of problems. It describes the structure of the problem tree, with the problem at the center and visible effects above, while the root causes lie below, often unseen. The paragraph uses the example of the Washington Monument's maintenance issue to illustrate how a design thinker would question the assumptions and identify the root cause, leading to a simple and effective solution. The example demonstrates the power of design thinking in reframing problems and reaching elegant solutions by addressing the root causes. The speaker also shares personal experience with a Silicon Valley company facing a growth problem, hinting at the challenges of scaling and the inefficiency of administrative work, and suggesting that the company's preconceived notions about the problem and solution may need reevaluation.

Keywords

💡Design Thinking

Design Thinking is a problem-solving approach that focuses on empathy for the end user, creativity in the problem definition phase, and learning through experimentation. It is central to the video's theme as it is presented as a method to move from an undesirable situation to a desirable one. The script uses the example of the Washington Monument to illustrate how Design Thinking led to a more elegant solution by addressing the root cause of the problem.

💡Problem Tree Analysis

Problem Tree Analysis is a tool mentioned in the script that helps visualize the problem and its effects, as well as the underlying causes. It is a key concept in the video as it provides a structured way to understand and solve complex problems by identifying root causes, which is demonstrated in the context of the Washington Monument example.

💡Root Causes

Root Causes refer to the fundamental reasons behind a problem. In the video, identifying root causes is emphasized as a crucial step in the Design Thinking process. The script illustrates this with the Washington Monument case, where the root cause of deterioration was not the cleaning chemicals but the presence of moths attracted by lights.

💡Herbert Simon

Herbert Simon was an American economist whose perspective on design as a way of thinking is referenced in the script. His definition of design as moving from an undesirable situation to a desirable one sets the stage for the video's exploration of Design Thinking.

💡Interconnected Systems

Interconnected Systems are complex networks of elements that interact with each other. The script mentions that Design Thinking asks viewers to look at problems as interconnected systems, which is essential for finding more elegant solutions, as it encourages a holistic view of the problem.

💡People-First

People-First is an approach that prioritizes human needs and experiences in the problem-solving process. The video highlights that Design Thinking puts people first, suggesting that solutions are more effective when they are grounded in understanding the person's stories and needs.

💡Repeatable Process

A Repeatable Process is a method that can be consistently applied to achieve similar outcomes. The script emphasizes that Design Thinking provides such a process, which is supported by studies and has been adopted by organizations like Stanford University and PepsiCo.

💡Elegant Solution

An Elegant Solution refers to a simple and effective answer to a problem. The video uses this term to describe the outcomes of the Design Thinking process, which aims to find solutions that are not only effective but also efficient and satisfying, as shown in the Washington Monument example.

💡Biases

Biases are preconceived opinions or judgments that can influence decision-making. The script discusses the importance of uncovering biases in the Design Thinking process to ensure that solutions are not skewed by pre-existing assumptions, which can lead to more innovative and effective outcomes.

💡Mental Models

Mental Models are the cognitive frameworks people use to understand and interpret the world around them. The video script suggests that Design Thinking helps in revealing any mental models that might hinder the path to an elegant solution, by encouraging questioning and re-evaluation of existing beliefs.

💡Universal Language

Universal Language refers to a common set of terms or concepts that can be understood by all participants in a discussion or process. The script mentions that using methods like Problem Tree Analysis helps build a universal language for problem-solving, which is essential for effective collaboration.

Highlights

Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that views problems as interconnected systems.

Herbert Simon defined design as moving from an undesirable situation to a desirable one.

Design thinking is applied in everyday life, from choosing clothes to selecting food.

It emphasizes putting people first in the problem-solving process for better solutions.

Design thinking offers a repeatable process that leads to successful solutions, supported by studies from Stanford University and Fortune 500 companies.

Design thinking can solve any problem, from business to personal issues.

The universality of design thinking makes it a powerful tool for various problems.

Problem Tree Analysis is a graphic tool used in design thinking to identify root causes of problems.

The Washington Monument case study demonstrates how design thinking addressed the root cause of deterioration.

Turning off lights reduced moths, spiders, and pigeons, leading to less cleaning and maintenance costs.

Design thinking helps reframe problems to get to the root cause effectively.

A Silicon Valley company's growth problem was addressed by questioning preconceived notions and biases.

Asking questions is a fundamental part of the design thinking approach.

Keeping the human perspective central is crucial for elegant solutions in design thinking.

Design thinking reveals biases and mental models that might hinder finding an elegant solution.

Problem Tree Analysis helps build a universal language for collaborative problem-solving.

Encourages the use of the Problem Tree Analysis template and resources for enhancing design thinking skills.

Transcripts

when you approach a problem to solve do

you ever wonder

if there's a better way to get to the

solution

stick around to learn how design

thinking can help

start it up

so what is design thinking anyway let's

take

herbert simon the american economist and

something he suggested

in the late 1960s his point of view was

design

can be a way of thinking that design is

nothing more than moving from an

undesirable situation to a desirable one

you design every day

from the clothes you choose to the food

you eat an undesirable situation is

i'm hungry a desirable one i'm fed

so you're doing this every day just at

different levels

that is the power of design thinking now

what design thinking asks you to do

is look at all these problems as

interconnected systems to come to a more

elegant solution

now design thinking is essential to

problem solving for two really big

reasons one it puts people

first in the problem-solving journey the

closer you stay

to the person and their stories the

better the solution will be

number two design thinking provides a

repeatable process that leads

almost virtually to successful solutions

and there are studies to show this from

stanford university

to fortune 500 companies like pepsico

now what kind of problems can design

thinking solve

simply put any you can look at anything

from a business problem to a personal

problem

i use it to help my customers solve

communication strategies

but i also help my daughter communicate

more effectively with her peers

the process is the same the content is

the only thing that differs

and when you see the universality of

this it becomes such a powerful tool

okay so how does this work let me help

you by having you take a look at this

graphic

this is called the problem tree analysis

now what you see here the center of the

trunk is

the problem and as you look upward you

see all the visible effects of this

problem but if you look down below there

are

all the different causes now like in

real life the challenge is

really getting to the root causes

you can't see what's underneath and what

design thinking helps you to do

is get to the heart get to the root of

that potential problem

and what design thinking provides is

the ability to question do i have

everything i need to solve this problem

so let's make this real

the washington monument in washington dc

is a great example

there's a group that's responsible for

maintaining

the monument and what they saw was that

it was crumbling

little bits and pieces were actually

coming off the monument

now the group responsible for

maintaining the

large monument felt that it was the

chemicals in their cleaning process that

was creating

the deterioration but one lonely design

thinker asked

why are we so aggressive with the

cleaning process to which most replied

it's because of the pigeon poop why are

pigeons pooping there

it's an obelisk there's really no place

for a bird to sit

let alone poop and the group replied

it's because they're there for the

spiders

pigeons love to eat spiders okay well

why are spiders there

right there's a lot of foot traffic you

know that's not a safe place for spiders

well spiders are coming there because of

moths moths are a delicacy to spiders so

they're

willing to risk their lives to have that

moth

okay well why are the moths there and

the group replied well because of the

lights

they turn on the lights an hour before

dusk to which the design thinker

pointed out why don't we just turn off

the lights

so over the next six weeks the group

tested this root cause out and what they

found was that there was an

85 reduction in moths

and which led to less spiders which led

to less

birds and their poop and a wonderful

byproduct

is that they were able to spend less

money on the cleaning

and maintenance process so the design

thinking is a powerful way to reframe

and get to the root of the real problem

let me share a little bit of my

experience

i was invited to a silicon valley

company a few years ago to help them

with a

growth problem at the time the company

was experiencing a 10x growth

not a bad problem to have but what was

happening is all these top sellers

were trying to respond to these

customers and prospects

but were being dragged down by

administrative work like contracts and

sows and that type of thing and it

wasn't that the team was above doing the

work

they just couldn't scale fast enough and

even if they did hire people

the onboarding process was just too long

in order to really effectively help

their clients

so when i entered the building and met

their stakeholders

they were already pre-diagnosed as

knowing the problem

and the solution they said eric the

issue is we need a new piece of software

a new platform would just fix everything

and they could go back to selling before

i even think about

solving the problem i asked three

questions

of my clients first do we know this is

true

if you make decisions of this type or do

this type of research

what does that look like what i'm trying

to unearth are any biases or mental

models

helps me get into the mind to figure out

what they've done in the past

number two who else believes it's true

if you've done research what do the

researchers say is there context that

needs to be said

and so we want to get these people in

the room talking and exploring

lastly who makes the final decision even

if you all agree

that the problem is what it is you have

to figure out

are you tackling it the same way are you

coming at the problem

from the same approach if not it creates

misalignment which creates

some real red flags design thinking

helps surface that

so what did i just learn well asking

questions and

asking questions again is a great start

to using the design thinking approach

but most importantly you need to keep

the person

at the center of the conversation how

are we solving

for other human problems but we also

want to reveal any biases or

mental models that might get in the way

of an elegant solution

when you keep the human front and center

of the problem-solving journey

you will come to elegant solutions that

makes them

raving fans number two design thinking

is a repeatable process and when you use

methods like the problem tree analysis

it helps build a universal language

to have others join in your problem

solving journey

number three design thinking is about

asking

questions to get to the root causes

i want you to put this to use today

download

the problem tree analysis template in

the description below

get teams together your friends to

figure out what you could do

using the problem tree analysis to learn

more

check out our links to powerful design

thinking books

and articles across the internet we

think you'll find these very useful in

jump starting your design thinking

[Music]

process