Course: Design Thinking
Offered By: IBM
Modules: 14 lessons
Cost: Free because of the pandemic
The good folks at IBM have recently opened up their training guides to the common folks. I’ve decided to take advantage of this opportunity and learn a bit about design thinking and how to apply it.
You can check their site here: https://www.ibm.com/design/thinking
The course starts off with a nice way to understanding how to solve a problem. We are asked to design a Vase and then compare our work with others and then figure out: Why would one want to buy a vase?
Design thinking isn’t just for designers
Even though it includes the word “design,” design thinking is a mindset that anyone can apply. It simply means that you’re starting to think like a designer — about how you can improve the current experience of the people you serve: your users.
As we move ahead, we get a taste of what design thinking is about thru a few videos. From here, we move onto trying out one ourselves. The problem given to us is:
Windsor Airline’s consistent flight delays are hurting the company’s bottom line.
So the question is, how might we ensure that Windsor Airlines flights leave on time?
Before we proceed ahead, we were asked to reflect on two questions and save them to review later.
In design thinking, the most important thing is people. In Enterprise Design Thinking, we call this a focus on user outcomes.
I like these questions that we should think about asking. It all comes down to asking ‘WHY”. Asking this should be the first and last thing that should come to our mind, says Adam Cutler, Enterprise Design Thinking Leader.
Some questions to use:
Who are our users?
What is their current experience?
How could it be improved?
We are also take for a session ‘Warm up for brainstorming’. This was a useful exercise to do and try and I think it worked. I won’t tell you what it is so you will have to go and check out the course.
Absurdity is the KEY!!!
This is a brilliant chart as it tells you that from absurd ideas we get a jump to brilliant ideas. So keep those odd and absurd ideas coming. One way suggested in the course is to think of your users’ problem in a different context, like “without modern technology,” or “in the year 3019.”
“A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” — Charles F. Kettering
Overall, the course does make you think and ask ‘Why, Why, Why to getting your problem statement sorted. So if you are looking to get some understanding of the basics of design thinking, do think of this course as well. It should not take too much time ( 2 hours) to complete.
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