Introduce to the Design Thinking Teaching terms.

The world of design thinking requires a vocabulary to be mastered. The notions will be clearly explained in order to grasp the subtleties of the methodology

• Teaching terms

AFFORDANCE

The ability of an object/environment to do something that was not originally envisaged by the user. The object is not created for its own sake but for the possibilities of action that it modifies, since the creator seeks to understand the user’s reaction to this object and to think of it in terms of what it will allow to be achieved, and no longer in terms of a list of pre-defined functions linked to the nature of this object.

BRAINSTORMING

A method of collective reflection which should allow creativity to be released around a project. The total expression of this inventiveness requires rigour in order to create a constructive and liberating state of mind. This approach is based on 7 golden rules: defer judgement, stay focused on the subject, carry on one conversation at a time, be visual in your expression, encourage creative ideas, look for quantity, get inspired and build on the ideas of others.

BRIEF

Instructions given by the industrial or commercial partner that form the starting point of an innovation project to create a new product or service. It describes the objective to be achieved, the context of the problem, the main constraints and the criteria defining good proposals. The initial design thinking brief includes reinventing an ideal experience that is as desirable to the target users as it is technically feasible and economically viable for the organisation to deliver.

CREATIVE CONFIDENCE

The ability developed by design thinking to solve unstructured or unclear problems in a given context, whereas educational systems most often focus on finding the right answer to an abstract and predefined question. Creative confidence comes from a double capacity: that of identifying relevant ideas from an understanding of the needs of those for whom one wants to innovate and that of being able to realise them from one’s own capacities. The ambition is to achieve what we design. The challenge for any project manager is to give creative confidence to his collaborators.

DEDUCTION - INDUCTION - ABDUCTION

The combination of different types of logical reasoning that lead to the outcome of the innovation.

• Deduction

  Starting from theory and applying it to a practical case.

• Induction

  Starting from concrete observation to theory are classic modes of innovation rooted in the scientific tradition.

• Abduction

  Abduction is a third logic characterised by an approach of exploring new solutions by confronting them with the reality of the problem posed, in order to define a most probable future. A logic correlated with pragmatism.

DIVERGENCE - CONVERGENCE

Complementary phrases to move forward in the design thinking process. Divergence encourages exploration beyond the framework defined by the project and to draw inspiration from this wider field of vision to bring out new ideas. Convergence leads to a synthesis of the results of these reflections and to making choices in order to decide on the directions to take after the wider exploration stages. These two phases alternate in the inspiration and ideation phrases. They are crucial for discovering areas of innovation that go beyond what is known. The combination of different types of logical reasoning that lead to the outcome of the innovation.

• Deduction

  Starting from theory and applying it to a practical case.

EMPATHY

The art of projecting oneself into the feelings of others, particularly those to whom one wishes to propose new responses, in order to open oneself to original creative opportunities. The innovator’s empathy allows one to adopt the perspectives of the people concerned by projecting oneself into their individual experiences:

• understanding their constraints and problems, but also their expectations and dreams.

FRAMEWORKS

Techniques for analysing, sorting and visualising the qualitative and quantitative data collected during the needs definition phase of the blinds targeted by a new project. They can take many forms, from scripting the experience of a real user to studying the historical evolution of the characteristics of a product or service.

IMPERATIVES

Synthesis of a specification mainly related to the constraints of uses. Some will talk about design principles (set of rules to respect in the design) or value propositions (tangible benefits for the end user). The imperatives are defined during ethnographic research or once the insights have been analysed. The definition of the imperatives guides a team in a common vision. The innovative solutions generated afterwards must respond to these imperatives.

INSIGHTS

Sparks or illumination in the manner of Archimedes’ “eureka”, they always happen in the field, in a real context, often in contact with users or during prototyping, revealing latent needs that are hardly expressed spontaneously. Once detected, they can prove to be meaningful for creating a product or service and developing an activity in an organisation.

INSPIRATION - IDEATION - IMPLEMENTATION

Trilogy in “I” which structures the innovation cycle through design thinking. Inspiration is based on a detailed understanding of users (ethnographic research), questions the issues and trends, looks at the potential of existing technologies and considers the fundamentals of the business model. Ideation goes beyond the mere emission of ideas bringing an answer to a question or a problem ; It integrates the prototype and the tests with the users of the envisaged solution. The implementation ensures the transition of these exploration steps towards the exploitation and transforms the project in the state of conception into the elaboration of a new offer for the market. It includes storytelling, a pilot and the generation of internal operations within the organization.

INTRAPRENEUR

Employee of a large company who develops an economically viable innovative project within the company and in line with its strategy. The intrapreneur can explore new markets, initiate process changes, etc. He/she makes the company evolve both in terms of offers and activities, but also in terms of internal culture and the way in which innovation is viewed.

LEARNING STORY

Story of a journey of exploration led by the team to find new opportunities. A phase of team analysis of the work done and awareness of the creative journey taken, It is a real learning path to capitalise on the accumulated practice and find new opportunities. This reflection allows the team to understand the path taken, the avenues explored, the results and the decisions taken to carry out a project that has mobilised time, action, energy, imagination and concentration.

LIVING LABS

Working environments that promote the shared design of innovations centred on people’s needs. In the life laboratory, where creators, users, companies, public actors, etc. meet, concepts, prototypes and products can be demonstrated and tested in real life.

POINT OF VIEW

Meaningful direction built on insight is the essential link between ethnographic research and the search for solutions. The Point of View is built as follows: users need to do because insight. The definition of a PoV allows a team to develop a rich experience based on a common vision. For design thinking professionals, this is one of the most difficult tools to understand, use and teach, but so structuring when mastered ! Working environments that promote the shared design of innovations centred on people’s needs. In the life laboratory, where creators, users, companies, public actors, etc. meet, concepts, prototypes and products can be demonstrated and tested in real life.

T-PROFILES

A person who combines recognised expertise in a discipline. The vertical part of the T and a marked ability to collaborate with other disciplines, to accept other avenues of exploration, whether primary or complementary. The horizontal branch of the T. This dual competence is complemented by an empathy that allows the user’s perspective to be adopted. T-profiles are essential for the smooth functioning of multidisciplinary teams.

QUICK AND DIRTY PROTOTYPE

A cobbled-together artefact that presents the idea of a solution in a tangible way, which can be of different natures (object, service, system, process). All materials at hand can be used to give concrete form to an idea and to present the imagined solution to the user in an experiential way. What is important is not the quality of the representation, but the ability of the artefact to be presented in the simulation of an ideal experience. The aim is to get potential users to react very early on in order to speed up the design of this final solution.

REFRAMING

Ability to continually (re)frame one’s thinking and action according to the discoveries and the path taken, in order to hit right to hit hard. Thus, creating an ideal experience requires constant reframing. In advancing one’s innovation agenda, reframing allows one to identify something appropriate and relevant to those for whom one wants to innovate, something that others do not see. This recalibration not only illuminates a given situation, it invalidates previous models of how the world works.

NEEDFINDING

Essential activity in design thinking in the inspiration phase which aims to identify the latent needs of the individuals for whom we want to innovate thanks to methods and tools inspired by ethnography. The research is based on the study of the project’s target populations, their requirements and their own difficulties. The state of mind is that of the anthropologist: to be adopted in order to observe and exchange in order to understand with finesse the referentials of a target group of people. Successful ethnographic research reveals insights that allow us to create a meaning carrier for the development of solutions.

REFLEXIVITY

Ability to reflect on past actions to improve future practice and outcomes. This is an essential quality for the innovator, as it allows him/her to learn from experience in a structured way and to develop his/her skills related to his/her know-how and his/her behaviour. Reflexivity allows not only an awareness of one’s actions, but also a structuring of one’s new knowledge related to one’s practice.

STORYBOARD

A series of drawings in the spirit of a comic strip that presents the use of an imagined product or service through the eyes of the end user. It describes the succession of key moments in this experience, the interactions between the new proposal and the user, through the eyes of the latter. You don’t need to be an illustrator to draw up a storyboard: the basic rule is the simplicity of expression as a line.

STORYTELLING

The art of telling one’s audience the scenario of the ideal experience that led to the proposal of an innovative response, object or service, to a problem based on the identification of existing problems. The discourse is structured, starting with a description of the current situation and its shortcomings for the consumer and ending with the new offer and the improvements made. The forms are diverse and complement each other to convey the emotion of the new user experience.

TRANSDISCIPLINARY

Enriching innovation work by using the skills of several disciplines without competing with each other. Multiple expertise must complement each other, without aiming to impose itself. Transdisciplinarity implies that the boundaries between the different disciplines are fluid

END USER

A user whose behaviour towards a product or service diverges radically from that of the average user (as described by market research.) Extremes are inspiring because they allow the spectrum of innovative possibilities to be broadened by identifying original attitudes and behaviours towards a product, or workarounds to problems generated by that product that are deemed unsatisfactory. For example, an extreme user in an office coffee study would be the employee who never takes a break.

VISUAL THINKING

Using the power of drawing to clarify and solve a problem and to imagine and communicate a solution. It allows the creation of a common vision for a team around a project through a complete process of reflection articulated in 4 steps:

• Look
• See
• Imagine
• Show

The techniques developed by Dan Roam, a master in this art, help to promote fluidity between the two brains, between logic and creativity in a collaborative state of mind. Visual thinking is also long-lasting, as ideas or arguments are better remembered when they are drawn.

7S SHOP

The “workshop” area should never be more than 7 seconds away from the “project” area where the teams are located. These 7S shops thus symbolise the maximum time between the idea and its tangible implementation, the passage from concept to reality, even if its expression is rudimentary. The objective is also to confront as quickly as possible the test of concreteness and users who will react more precisely with tangible artefacts. The 7S shop is immediately adjacent to the “materials library” which concentrates all the physical or digital elements needed to build a prototype.

• Solve problems by finding solutions appropriate to the context.
• Imagine an ideal experience in a pragmatic way.
• Collaborate with all stakeholders.
• Combine design and implementation.
• Keep as a compass what makes sense for the person for whom you want to innovate.