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THECHANGESCHOOL.COM
A school for self empowerment and positive transformation in Life + Work.
We help individuals and teams learn how to EMBRACE change, NAVIGATE transition, and THRIVE.
WHAT WE DO
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T R A N S F O R M AT I O N A L E X P E R I E N C E S O N L I N E C O U R S E
T O O L S + P R O D U C T S
HOW WE DO IT
Enabling 1000+ Humans Of Change since 2013
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A solution-based approach to problem-solving.
A process that draws upon logic, imagination, intuition, and systemic reasoning, to solve
complex problems by exploring possibilities of what could be and creating desired
outcomes that benefit the end-user (customer).
DESIGN THINKING DEFINED
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A BRIEF HISTORY…
60’s - Design As a Science
Developing a science out of the
design field, by applying scientific
methodology and processes to
understanding how design functions.
70’s - Design As a Way Of Thinking
Scientists and engineers explore rapid
prototyping and testing through observation,
visual thinking, and left- and right- brain
thinking for more holistic problem-solving.
80’s - Wicked Problems
Design Theorist Horst Rittel coined the term "Wicked Problems"
to describe extremely complex problems and focussed on the
application of design methodologies to tackle these problems in
a more multi-disciplinary, collaborative and human-centred way.
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DESIGN THINKING FOR BUSINESS
1991 - IDEO is formed as a merger, to create multidisciplinary teams from disparate fields (like
anthropology, business strategy, education or healthcare) to guide and augment their design teams
and processes. Recognised and awarded for bringing Design Thinking and Human-Centred Design
to mass market with its educational programs, terminology, and toolkits created for non-designers.
2005 - Design Thinking is taught at the Stanford School of Design (aka d.school) for the
development, teaching and implementation of Design Thinking for business.
2005 - The growth of the service design field created new tools and processes for co-creation and
participatory design. Design consultancies led the way in adapting design thinking for business
purposes, shifting toward collaborative design with multidisciplinary teams — opening up creative
creative processes and mindsets to make them more transparent and usable for everyone.
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SUMMARY
• DISCOVERY of academic comparative studies revealed the distinct approaches to problem-solving: Problem-focused (Science) vs
Solution-focused (Designers) problem-solvers —- ‘Solve for X’ vs Generate a large number of ideas and identifying the best solution
through a process of elimination.
• CONVERGENCE of engineers, architects, industrial designers, and cognitive scientists on the issues of collective problem solving,
driven by the significant societal changes and complexity of their time.They began to formulate new ways of leveraging their
existing (design-centric) problem-solving + innovation-driven activities + processes towards finding solutions to broader problems.
• APPLICATION of Design Thinking as a practice of combining the human + technological + strategic needs of our times.
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DESIGN THINKING AS A PROCESS
(Of) divergence and convergence requiring skills in observation, synthesis, searching and generating alternatives, critical thinking, feedback, visual
representation, creativity, problem-solving, and value creation.A design lens helps you to identify and act on unique venture opportunities using a toolkit of
observation, learning-by-doing, and understanding value creation across multiple stakeholder groups.
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DESIGN THINKING AS A PRACTICE
A mindful practice of designing, developing and delivering products or services by…
• Focusing on the customer - Understand their behaviour (what, when, where, why, how)
• Establishing clear objectives - Aligned to customer needs (not just business goals)
• Tapping into creativity - Encouraging collaboration and dialogue in the design and development phase
• Rapid development and iteration - Embracing failure as an option
• Listening to customer feedback - Refining solutions to best meet the needs of your customers
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DESIGN THINKING AS A METHOD
Human-centered design involves a different starting point in the creation process.
When evaluating new ideas, instead of asking Can it be done? Will it make money? a Design Thinking approach
forces you to first address What do people need?
Instead of just talking to customers and asking them what they need (marketing), it’s about observing people in
their environments to understand their lives, develop empathy, and uncover latent needs (anthropology).
Methods include: Co-design sessions, User research, Interviews
> To help you uncover how and why users value your and what they might expect from your product or service.
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DESIGN THINKING AS A MINDSET
That focuses on how to look at CHALLENGES around us with…
• Curiosity and Observation - Being a keen observer; paying attention to finer details.ASKING QUESTIONS to
understand why things are the way they are, why things don’t work, or why people behave the way they do.
• Empathy - Understanding the people you are designing for and seeing the world from their perspective.
• Innovation - Challenging your assumptions about the status quo to explore: “How can this be done better?”
Don’t just optimise — challenge to innovate.
• Systems Thinking - Seeing the ‘big picture’ — technological and social systems your users are part of, how this
will influence the innovation, and how the innovation will influence these systems.
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• Everyone is creative (you don’t need to be an artist… it can be provoked with a common visual language)
• Design thinking is about user experience
• Empathy helps us to imagine and design better solutions.
• Assumptions or pre-conceptions hinder creativity.
• Think outside the box!
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THE CHALLENGE
Big corporations lack the ability to be
creative and increasingly struggle to
create new products and services that
meet unmet needs of their customers.
20th Century education has fostered logic
over creativity, so most people have
grown up with more analytical thinking
skills - constantly disrupted by changing
trends and consumer values.
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THE OPPORTUNITY
Entrepreneurship recognises possibilities and generates business ideas that create value through…
•Understanding and solving COMPLEX and MULTI-DIMENSIONAL problems
•Simplifying and HUMANISING solutions
•A multidisciplinary approach to RESEARCH and RAPID IDEATION
•INNOVATING business products and services
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Focusing on WHY enables you to make better and more
relevant decisions around the things you design.
Focusing on VALUE enables you to create something that
customers want to pay for, share, and come back for.
Focusing on the BIG PICTURE enables you to find
solutions that are desirable, viable, and feasible for
solving real-world problems.
KNOW YOUR WHY
VIABILITY
(organisation)
DESIRABILITY
(human)
FEASIBILITY
(technology)
BIG PICTURE
INNOVATION
“Customers don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.”
- Simon Sinek
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ADVANTAGES OF DESIGN THINKING
•SOLVES PROBLEMS more effectively - By defining latent needs and addressing the “root” cause
•Enables INNOVATION - By generating better ideas and working effectively in collaboration
•Reduces DEVELOPMENTTIME - By rapid prototyping, testing and iterating
•Eliminates BIAS - By engaging the end-user in the discovery process and testing assumptions
•Builds CREATIVE CONFIDENCE - By removing fear of failure / judgement and navigating ambiguity
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When testing, let users play with your prototypes, watch and listen. If small tweaks are
easy to make, do them and test again. Get close to your users and most importantly,
never fall in love with your ideas. Have an open mind and listen to your users.
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Visualisation is about using
images. It’s not about drawing; it’s
about visual thinking. It pushes us
beyond using words or language
alone. It is a way of unlocking a
different part of our brains that allows
us to think nonverbally and that
managers might not normally use.
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Mind mapping - used to connect
ideas, categorise them, and look for
patterns and insights for key design
criteria. Pose the question, “Based on
what we have learned, if anything
were possible, what attributes would
our design have?”
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Journey Mapping traces the
customer’s “journey” when receiving
a service, focusing on emotional
highs and lows. Use to: identifying
(latent) needs that customers are
often unable to articulate.
Value Chain Analysis traces how
an organization interacts with value
chain partners to produce, market
and distribute new offerings (the
business-side equivalent of
customer journey mapping). Use to:
analyse ways to create better value
for customers along the chain and
understand partners’ capabilities
and intentions.
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Rapid Prototyping allows us to
make abstract new ideas tangible to
potential partners and customers.
Prototyping is all about minimising the
“I” in ROI.The cost of a simple 2-D
prototype could be as low as a pen and
some paper. Use storyboards,
storytelling, role-playing and skits. Play
with your prototype; don’t defend it.
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RECAP & TAKEAWAYS
What we call a “problem” is often more a symptom of an underlying cause. When we dive in too
quickly to fix a symptom, the effect will eventually come back or happen again. Instead, we need to
address the root cause to create innovative solutions and design for change.
Designing anything new starts with the right MINDSET. Not only in business but in everything we do
- family, relationships, culture, politics, environment… personal and professional growth! We need to
have a positive impact to create lasting change and to create value in our lives and in the world.
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An essential skill for success in Life + Work!
Connect with people Collaborative projects
Business negotiations
Customer service
Investor relations
MAKE EMPATHIC CONNECTIONS
User interviews
Stakeholder relations
Deepen relationships
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• Have a VISION of the future
• Find INSPIRATION everywhere
• Accept UNCERTAINTY
• Learn by DOING
• Think with your HANDS
• Go VISUAL
• Acknowledge problems as OPPORTUNITIES FOR INNOVATION
• FAIL often, early and cheaply
FINAL TIPS
