Throughout the first week of the learning intensive in the MACAL program, we explored many ideas and concepts that were somewhat new to me. From open learning, transdisciplinary learning, complexity and systems thinking, to design thinking. After reviewing my notes and digesting the material from week 1, the thing that I found surprising was that open learning was a new concept for me. Now that I know a more about open learning, it just makes sense.
Out of all of the ideas that we explored in week one, the idea that stands out to me the most is design thinking. The real-world examples of design thinking that were explored were truly impressive and often life changing projects. “Design thinking uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity” (Brown, 2008).
Cankurtaran and Beverland state that the three stages in the design thinking process are; disrupt, define and develop, and transform. I found disrupt to be the most unique element of design thinking compared to other planning and problem solving strategies. It is often default to hear of a problem and jump right to finding a solution. The disrupt stage ensures that everyone’s perspectives and the problem itself are understood before defaulting to a solution. Disrupt consists of naïve questioning, problem interrogation, and contextual immersion. The naïve questioning piece involves asking seemingly simple questions. When you think you have asked enough questions, ask more. According to Cankurtaran and Beverland, this will “uncover existing assumptions, and help generate ideas for new alternatives.” Problem interrogation allows you to spend more time on the problem, rather than jumping straight to an attempted solution. And lastly, contextual immersion, which is all about empathizing with the person/client involved.
Design thinking focuses on the needs and lived experiences of the person/client and does not jump to a solution without fully understanding the problem from their perspective. When learning about this valuable process, we were given many examples of how wonderfully design thinking had worked with specific people and communities. It wasn’t until we practiced design thinking and I was interviewing my partner in the “disrupt” stage that I fully understood the power of design thinking. Without realizing it, I had jumped to what I thought was a solution to the problem. After spending what I thought would feel like a long time (but actually went by quickly) naïve questioning, I realized that the “solution” that I had come up with in my head would not have worked at all. That experience taught me the power and importance of listening in the context of design thinking.
References
Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86 (6), 84-92.
Cankurtaran, P., & Beverland, M. B. (2020). Using design thinking to respond to crises: B2B lessons from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Industrial Marketing Management, 88, 255–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.05.030