2. Design Thinking Research
My personal understanding of Design Thinking
The Definition
What is Design Thinking?
My journey into Design Thinking began with a curiosity about how to solve problems in a more human-centered way. I’ve always been intrigued by the intersection of creativity and logic, and Design Thinking seemed like the perfect blend of both.
As I delved deeper, I realized that this methodology isn’t just a process - it’s a mindset that encourages innovation by focusing on the people who will ultimately use the products or services we create.
But what is the definition of Design Thinking?
Here's a definition that I research from Dam, R. F. and Teo, Y. S. (2024, February 21). What is Design Thinking and Why Is It So Popular?. Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-is-design-thinking-and-why-is-it-so-popular:
💡 “Design thinking is an iterative, non-linear process in which you seek to understand your users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions which you can prototype and test.”
They also included a video featuring Don Norman, the "Grandfather of Human-Centered Design," where he explains how the approach and flexibility of design thinking can help us address major global challenges.
💡 "Designers have a special way of addressing issues. We called it Design Thinking."
What is design, as a way of thinking?
Interaction Design Foundation, CC-BY-SA 4.0
Mr.Don Norman called it Human-centered Design, which has 4 important components:
People-centered: Focus on people and their context in order to create things that are appropriate for them. Participatory design ensures user involvement in the process.
Solve the Right Problem: Understand and solve the right problem, the root causes, the underlying fundamental issues. Otherwise, the symptoms will just keep returning.
Everything is a System: Think of everything as a system of interconnected parts.
Small & Simple Interventions: Do iterative work and don't rush to a solution. Try small, simple interventions and learn from them one by one, and slowly your results will get bigger and better.
💡 The solution has to come from the people.
💡The people themselves be part of the solution. Quite often, they've already started it - their own solutions to things.
The Final Goal
The Final Goal of Design Thinking
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
The design thinking process aims to satisfy three criteria:
Desirability: What do people desire?
Feasibility: Is it technically possible to build the solution?
Viability: Can the company profit from the solution?
Desirability: Focus on Users' Needs
Design Thinking starts by understanding the needs, desires, and behaviors of users to discover what users truly want.
Feasibility: Assess Practicality
While any idea could work with unlimited resources, practicality is key, and the team may adjust the solution or seek additional resources if necessary.
Viability: Ensure Profitability
A solution must also be financially viable. Beyond being desirable and feasible, it must generate revenue and be sustainable.
💡 Unlike traditional methods that start with feasibility or viability, Design Thinking prioritizes user needs first, and then bring in the other two lenses late.
The Process
The 5 Phases of Design Thinking?
Design Thinking is an iterative, non-linear process, ranging from 3 to 7 phases.
The model I researched base on Design Thinking Process from Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF has five: 1. Empathize, 2. Define, 3. Ideate, 4. Prototype, and 5. Test.
These stages can be carried out in parallel, repeated, or revisited at any point in the process, allowing for continuous refinement and adaptation.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 3.0
Stage 1: Empathize - Research Your Users' Needs
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Empathize: the first phase of design thinking, where you gain real insight into users and their needs. You want to gain an empathic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve.
Empathize allows design thinkers to set aside their own assumptions about the world and gain real insight into users and their needs.
💖 The main aim of the Empathize stage is to develop the best possible understanding of your users, their needs and the problems that underlie the development of the product or service you want to create.
Stage 2: Define - State Your Users' Needs and Problems
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Define: the second phase of design thinking, where you define the problem statement in a human-centered manner.
You’ll analyze your observations to define the core problems you and your team have identified up to this point. Defining the problem and problem statement must be done in a human-centered manner.
🎯 The Define stage will help the design team collect great ideas to establish features, functions and other elements to solve the problem at hand - or, at the very least, allow real users to resolve issues themselves with minimal difficulty.
Stage 3: Ideate - Challenge Assumptions and Create Ideas
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Ideate: the third phase of design thinking, where you identify innovative solutions to the problem statement you’ve created.
💡 With this solid background, you and your team members can start to look at the problem from different perspectives and ideate innovative solutions to your problem statement.
There are hundred ideation techniques you can use - like Brainstorming, Brainwriting, Worst Possible Idea, SCAMPER and more - that allow you and your team to generate as many ideas as possible at the outset of the ideation process.
Stage 4: Prototype - Start to Create Solutions
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Prototype: the fourth phase of design thinking, where you identify the best possible solution.
The design team creates inexpensive, scaled-down versions of the product or its features to explore key solutions from the ideation phase. These prototypes are then tested within the team, across departments, or with a small external group.
✏️ This is an experimental phase, and the aim is to identify the best possible solution for each of the problems identified during the first three stages.
Stage 5: Test - Try Your Solutions Out
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Test: the fifth and final phase of the design thinking process, where you test solutions to derive a deep understanding of the product and its users.
Although this is the final stage, results often reveal new problems, prompting further iterations. This deeper understanding can lead you to revisit earlier stages, refine solutions, and continue iterating.
📋 The ultimate goal is to get as deep an understanding of the product and its users as possible.
The 5 Phases of Design Thinking?
Design Thinking is an iterative, non-linear process, ranging from 3 to 7 phases.
The model I researched base on Design Thinking Process from Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF has five: 1. Empathize, 2. Define, 3. Ideate, 4. Prototype, and 5. Test.
These stages can be carried out in parallel, repeated, or revisited at any point in the process, allowing for continuous refinement and adaptation.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 3.0
Stage 1: Empathize - Research Your Users' Needs
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Empathize: the first phase of design thinking, where you gain real insight into users and their needs. You want to gain an empathic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve.
Empathize allows design thinkers to set aside their own assumptions about the world and gain real insight into users and their needs.
💖 The main aim of the Empathize stage is to develop the best possible understanding of your users, their needs and the problems that underlie the development of the product or service you want to create.
Stage 2: Define - State Your Users' Needs and Problems
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Define: the second phase of design thinking, where you define the problem statement in a human-centered manner.
You’ll analyze your observations to define the core problems you and your team have identified up to this point. Defining the problem and problem statement must be done in a human-centered manner.
🎯 The Define stage will help the design team collect great ideas to establish features, functions and other elements to solve the problem at hand - or, at the very least, allow real users to resolve issues themselves with minimal difficulty.
Stage 3: Ideate - Challenge Assumptions and Create Ideas
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Ideate: the third phase of design thinking, where you identify innovative solutions to the problem statement you’ve created.
💡 With this solid background, you and your team members can start to look at the problem from different perspectives and ideate innovative solutions to your problem statement.
There are hundred ideation techniques you can use - like Brainstorming, Brainwriting, Worst Possible Idea, SCAMPER and more - that allow you and your team to generate as many ideas as possible at the outset of the ideation process.
Stage 4: Prototype - Start to Create Solutions
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Prototype: the fourth phase of design thinking, where you identify the best possible solution.
The design team creates inexpensive, scaled-down versions of the product or its features to explore key solutions from the ideation phase. These prototypes are then tested within the team, across departments, or with a small external group.
✏️ This is an experimental phase, and the aim is to identify the best possible solution for each of the problems identified during the first three stages.
Stage 5: Test - Try Your Solutions Out
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Test: the fifth and final phase of the design thinking process, where you test solutions to derive a deep understanding of the product and its users.
Although this is the final stage, results often reveal new problems, prompting further iterations. This deeper understanding can lead you to revisit earlier stages, refine solutions, and continue iterating.
📋 The ultimate goal is to get as deep an understanding of the product and its users as possible.
The 5 Phases of Design Thinking?
Design Thinking is an iterative, non-linear process, ranging from 3 to 7 phases.
The model I researched base on Design Thinking Process from Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF has five: 1. Empathize, 2. Define, 3. Ideate, 4. Prototype, and 5. Test.
These stages can be carried out in parallel, repeated, or revisited at any point in the process, allowing for continuous refinement and adaptation.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 3.0
Stage 1: Empathize - Research Your Users' Needs
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Empathize: the first phase of design thinking, where you gain real insight into users and their needs. You want to gain an empathic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve.
Empathize allows design thinkers to set aside their own assumptions about the world and gain real insight into users and their needs.
💖 The main aim of the Empathize stage is to develop the best possible understanding of your users, their needs and the problems that underlie the development of the product or service you want to create.
Stage 2: Define - State Your Users' Needs and Problems
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Define: the second phase of design thinking, where you define the problem statement in a human-centered manner.
You’ll analyze your observations to define the core problems you and your team have identified up to this point. Defining the problem and problem statement must be done in a human-centered manner.
🎯 The Define stage will help the design team collect great ideas to establish features, functions and other elements to solve the problem at hand - or, at the very least, allow real users to resolve issues themselves with minimal difficulty.
Stage 3: Ideate - Challenge Assumptions and Create Ideas
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Ideate: the third phase of design thinking, where you identify innovative solutions to the problem statement you’ve created.
💡 With this solid background, you and your team members can start to look at the problem from different perspectives and ideate innovative solutions to your problem statement.
There are hundred ideation techniques you can use - like Brainstorming, Brainwriting, Worst Possible Idea, SCAMPER and more - that allow you and your team to generate as many ideas as possible at the outset of the ideation process.
Stage 4: Prototype - Start to Create Solutions
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Prototype: the fourth phase of design thinking, where you identify the best possible solution.
The design team creates inexpensive, scaled-down versions of the product or its features to explore key solutions from the ideation phase. These prototypes are then tested within the team, across departments, or with a small external group.
✏️ This is an experimental phase, and the aim is to identify the best possible solution for each of the problems identified during the first three stages.
Stage 5: Test - Try Your Solutions Out
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Test: the fifth and final phase of the design thinking process, where you test solutions to derive a deep understanding of the product and its users.
Although this is the final stage, results often reveal new problems, prompting further iterations. This deeper understanding can lead you to revisit earlier stages, refine solutions, and continue iterating.
📋 The ultimate goal is to get as deep an understanding of the product and its users as possible.
A Personal Experience
A case study based on my personal experience with product design
I’d like to share a recent case study that showcases the application of Design Thinking throughout my design process. It’s a clear, relatable example that’s easy to understand.
You can read my full case study here. But for now I'd just go over some of the main focus point. This case study is a re-designing of Employee Timesheet for an HRM product.
I will outline this case study using the five stages of Design Thinking for clearer and easier understanding, so you can follow along more effectively as it is also similar to my Design Process.
Stage 1: Empathize
In this case study, I directly experienced the feature, which provided me with a deep understanding of the challenges faced with the system in my previous company.
Being a user of the product myself is both an advantage and a disadvantage. On one hand, it means I don’t need to adopt a separate user perspective to understand their needs. On the other hand, I may be more subjective and biased towards my own ideas.
☹️ It's outdated and lack of engagements.
🤯 It operates on a separate platform unrelated to our main systems, making it challenging to keep track of everything.
However, upon reviewing the entire design process and the old design, I see that it remains functional and useful, much like the evolution of the Apple Pencil from the first to the second generation. 😶🌫️
Stage 2: Define
At the early stage, I conducted interviews to gather feedback from colleagues about the issues they encountered with the old design, along with their ideas and proposed solutions for addressing those issues.
🕒 People don't just use their timesheet to check their time log, they need more insight on their time.
Stage 3: Ideate
My team and I broke down the timesheet functionality into smaller core features and made assumptions about which ones users would actually need.
When designing an engagement product, a designer can generate many ideas, but usability must always be considered.
One feature we debated heavily was whether to keep the option for employees to view each other’s timesheets. In the end, we decided to remove it. However, after the design and implementation process, we realized that some users still found this feature necessary, even if it wasn't a majority number.
🚀 What I want to say here is that there's no perfect solution to every problems. We just have to start with the best possible option and continuously refine it over time.
Stage 4: Prototype
Once we determined the primary features, we turned our attention to resolving secondary and less common user cases, such as check-in and check-out issues, system errors, missing time logs, and entries on holidays or vacations.
The primary goal was to greatly reduce system errors and streamline the HR department's settlement process.
We then assembled the core functions to create the final design.
✅ At this stage, we’re ready for the feature launch. We've checked off everything on the list: Essential Timesheet Features, Improved Productivity, Engaging Elements, and Solutions for Unusual Cases.
🫠 However, we can’t just assume our UX will work perfectly - the final step is to test the system in real-world conditions.
Stage 5: Test
The most straightforward and real result we got was that our employees liked the new design better, because who doesn't like a beautiful and eye-catching design?
However, most users overlook the solutions for unusual cases 🙃. Many aren't aware of them unless explicitly informed.
🚩 Changing user behavior is challenging, but educating them on a completely new feature is even harder.
A case study based on my personal experience with product design
I’d like to share a recent case study that showcases the application of Design Thinking throughout my design process. It’s a clear, relatable example that’s easy to understand.
You can read my full case study here. But for now I'd just go over some of the main focus point. This case study is a re-designing of Employee Timesheet for an HRM product.
I will outline this case study using the five stages of Design Thinking for clearer and easier understanding, so you can follow along more effectively as it is also similar to my Design Process.
Stage 1: Empathize
In this case study, I directly experienced the feature, which provided me with a deep understanding of the challenges faced with the system in my previous company.
Being a user of the product myself is both an advantage and a disadvantage. On one hand, it means I don’t need to adopt a separate user perspective to understand their needs. On the other hand, I may be more subjective and biased towards my own ideas.
☹️ It's outdated and lack of engagements.
🤯 It operates on a separate platform unrelated to our main systems, making it challenging to keep track of everything.
However, upon reviewing the entire design process and the old design, I see that it remains functional and useful, much like the evolution of the Apple Pencil from the first to the second generation. 😶🌫️
Stage 2: Define
At the early stage, I conducted interviews to gather feedback from colleagues about the issues they encountered with the old design, along with their ideas and proposed solutions for addressing those issues.
🕒 People don't just use their timesheet to check their time log, they need more insight on their time.
Stage 3: Ideate
My team and I broke down the timesheet functionality into smaller core features and made assumptions about which ones users would actually need.
When designing an engagement product, a designer can generate many ideas, but usability must always be considered.
One feature we debated heavily was whether to keep the option for employees to view each other’s timesheets. In the end, we decided to remove it. However, after the design and implementation process, we realized that some users still found this feature necessary, even if it wasn't a majority number.
🚀 What I want to say here is that there's no perfect solution to every problems. We just have to start with the best possible option and continuously refine it over time.
Stage 4: Prototype
Once we determined the primary features, we turned our attention to resolving secondary and less common user cases, such as check-in and check-out issues, system errors, missing time logs, and entries on holidays or vacations.
The primary goal was to greatly reduce system errors and streamline the HR department's settlement process.
We then assembled the core functions to create the final design.
✅ At this stage, we’re ready for the feature launch. We've checked off everything on the list: Essential Timesheet Features, Improved Productivity, Engaging Elements, and Solutions for Unusual Cases.
🫠 However, we can’t just assume our UX will work perfectly - the final step is to test the system in real-world conditions.
Stage 5: Test
The most straightforward and real result we got was that our employees liked the new design better, because who doesn't like a beautiful and eye-catching design?
However, most users overlook the solutions for unusual cases 🙃. Many aren't aware of them unless explicitly informed.
🚩 Changing user behavior is challenging, but educating them on a completely new feature is even harder.
A case study based on my personal experience with product design
I’d like to share a recent case study that showcases the application of Design Thinking throughout my design process. It’s a clear, relatable example that’s easy to understand.
You can read my full case study here. But for now I'd just go over some of the main focus point. This case study is a re-designing of Employee Timesheet for an HRM product.
I will outline this case study using the five stages of Design Thinking for clearer and easier understanding, so you can follow along more effectively as it is also similar to my Design Process.
Stage 1: Empathize
In this case study, I directly experienced the feature, which provided me with a deep understanding of the challenges faced with the system in my previous company.
Being a user of the product myself is both an advantage and a disadvantage. On one hand, it means I don’t need to adopt a separate user perspective to understand their needs. On the other hand, I may be more subjective and biased towards my own ideas.
☹️ It's outdated and lack of engagements.
🤯 It operates on a separate platform unrelated to our main systems, making it challenging to keep track of everything.
However, upon reviewing the entire design process and the old design, I see that it remains functional and useful, much like the evolution of the Apple Pencil from the first to the second generation. 😶🌫️
Stage 2: Define
At the early stage, I conducted interviews to gather feedback from colleagues about the issues they encountered with the old design, along with their ideas and proposed solutions for addressing those issues.
🕒 People don't just use their timesheet to check their time log, they need more insight on their time.
Stage 3: Ideate
My team and I broke down the timesheet functionality into smaller core features and made assumptions about which ones users would actually need.
When designing an engagement product, a designer can generate many ideas, but usability must always be considered.
One feature we debated heavily was whether to keep the option for employees to view each other’s timesheets. In the end, we decided to remove it. However, after the design and implementation process, we realized that some users still found this feature necessary, even if it wasn't a majority number.
🚀 What I want to say here is that there's no perfect solution to every problems. We just have to start with the best possible option and continuously refine it over time.
Stage 4: Prototype
Once we determined the primary features, we turned our attention to resolving secondary and less common user cases, such as check-in and check-out issues, system errors, missing time logs, and entries on holidays or vacations.
The primary goal was to greatly reduce system errors and streamline the HR department's settlement process.
We then assembled the core functions to create the final design.
✅ At this stage, we’re ready for the feature launch. We've checked off everything on the list: Essential Timesheet Features, Improved Productivity, Engaging Elements, and Solutions for Unusual Cases.
🫠 However, we can’t just assume our UX will work perfectly - the final step is to test the system in real-world conditions.
Stage 5: Test
The most straightforward and real result we got was that our employees liked the new design better, because who doesn't like a beautiful and eye-catching design?
However, most users overlook the solutions for unusual cases 🙃. Many aren't aware of them unless explicitly informed.
🚩 Changing user behavior is challenging, but educating them on a completely new feature is even harder.
My question list
Questions that have been on my mind since the started of my design journey
1️⃣ My goal is to create intuitive UI/UX designs that don’t require user education. How can I achieve this, and what steps can I take to refine my current design thinking approach?
2️⃣ I work in a small team where the processes are unclear and communication is lacking. For me, there's no right or wrong answer, only suitable ones. How can I assess my team’s capabilities and limitations to determine which ideas are most suitable for us?
Questions that have been on my mind since the started of my design journey
1️⃣ My goal is to create intuitive UI/UX designs that don’t require user education. How can I achieve this, and what steps can I take to refine my current design thinking approach?
2️⃣ I work in a small team where the processes are unclear and communication is lacking. For me, there's no right or wrong answer, only suitable ones. How can I assess my team’s capabilities and limitations to determine which ideas are most suitable for us?
Questions that have been on my mind since the started of my design journey
1️⃣ My goal is to create intuitive UI/UX designs that don’t require user education. How can I achieve this, and what steps can I take to refine my current design thinking approach?
2️⃣ I work in a small team where the processes are unclear and communication is lacking. For me, there's no right or wrong answer, only suitable ones. How can I assess my team’s capabilities and limitations to determine which ideas are most suitable for us?
Key Takeaways
Here’s what I discovered after my research
😀 Design Thinking is for Everybody
"Design thinking taps into capacities we all have but that are overlooked by more conventional problem-solving practices. It is not only human-centered; it is deeply human in and of itself." - Tim Brown, Change by Design, Introduction
😀 Design Thinking is for Everybody
"Design thinking taps into capacities we all have but that are overlooked by more conventional problem-solving practices. It is not only human-centered; it is deeply human in and of itself." - Tim Brown, Change by Design, Introduction
😀 Design Thinking is for Everybody
"Design thinking taps into capacities we all have but that are overlooked by more conventional problem-solving practices. It is not only human-centered; it is deeply human in and of itself." - Tim Brown, Change by Design, Introduction
💬 Design thinking starts with people.
It is an iterative, non-linear process which focuses on a collaboration between designers and users. It brings innovative solutions to life based on how real users think, feel and behave.
💬 Design thinking starts with people.
It is an iterative, non-linear process which focuses on a collaboration between designers and users. It brings innovative solutions to life based on how real users think, feel and behave.
💬 Design thinking starts with people.
It is an iterative, non-linear process which focuses on a collaboration between designers and users. It brings innovative solutions to life based on how real users think, feel and behave.
📦 Design Thinking is often called outside-the-box thinking
It encourages exploring innovative approaches that challenge conventional problem-solving methods, much like the creativity seen in art.
📦 Design Thinking is often called outside-the-box thinking
It encourages exploring innovative approaches that challenge conventional problem-solving methods, much like the creativity seen in art.
📦 Design Thinking is often called outside-the-box thinking
It encourages exploring innovative approaches that challenge conventional problem-solving methods, much like the creativity seen in art.
