The document discusses the importance of empathy in design thinking. It defines empathy as understanding another person's perspective. The author provides an example of interviewing a user about a booking form without empathy, where the user's problems were not fully understood. With empathy, the author was able to understand the user's frustrations and root causes by listening without judgment, exploring emotions, and using techniques like empathy maps. This led to designing a solution that better addressed the user's needs and feelings, improving adoption of the product. The document emphasizes that to truly understand users, designers must try to experience problems from their perspective using empathy.

1. Empathy: The Backbone of
Design Thinking
- Anmol Tuteja

2. About Me
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anmol-tuteja/
anmol.tuteja@hotmail.com
Product Owner Scrum Master

3. Empathy: Definition
“Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is
experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to
place oneself in another's position.” - Wikipedia

4. Few Confusing Terms
Pity Sympathy
Empathy Compassion

5. The Booking form Case

6. My thoughts before meeting the end user
Experienced in
solving problems
Designed many
systems like these
I just need to know
What and Why this
is needed
This meeting will be
quick
Have a comprehensive
questionnaire Product Owner/
Business Analyst/
UX Researcher

7. Glimpses from the interview
Q; Who needs it?
A: The ticket reservation agent.
Q: What is needed?
A: I need a confirmation pop up, so that the reservation form is not
submitted by mistake.
Q:Why is it needed?
A: Because I want to be sure all fields are filled before submission.
❖ I know what the customer
wants
❖ I know the business need.
❖ I am sorry for the user who
was living with this problem

8. The behaviour in play
● I recognized there is a need.
● I knew why it’s needed.
● The solution they need is pretty easy.
● We can build this within given
time/budget/quality.
● I care about your problem.
● However I care from my
perspective.

9. Now Imagine this
You are sick and you visit the doctor and the doctor asks:
Doctor: What’s your problem?
Patient: I have fever.
Doctor: Why do you think you have it?
Patient: I probably ate something bad.
Doctor: Please have crocin for 3 days. Next patient please!!
Also Imagine if the
doctor is also
receiving other calls
while speaking to
you.

10. The Gap
For the user
● Was the user feeling that he was heard? - No
● Was the user bringing out the actual “Why” - No
● Was the user in a comfort zone while describing the situation - No
● Was the user talking to a friend or a robot? - Probably a robot
Will the user describe the problem better to a friend or a robot - A Friend
For me
● Do I know the what user wants will actually solve the problem. - Somewhat
● Do I know that the user actually knows the problem? - Probably
● Do I know, if that problem is big for the user? - Kind of

11. Increased the level of Engagement
Pity
I acknowledge your
problem
Sympathy
I care about your
problem
Empathy
I feel your problem
Engagement

12. Let me try Empathy
Beginner’s Mindset Suspend Judgement
Listen Listen and Listen
Encourage story
telling
Observe non verbal
cues
Explore Emotions
Be Fully Present

13. Glimpses of my Empathetic Interview
Q: How is your day going so far? - Assessing current mood, emotion / forming relation
A: Pretty frustrating, trying to book tickets for 100 people standing outside the office through this app.
Q: Do you like your job? - Assessing General user behaviour
A: Yes, I like what I do, I am serving people get a ticket easily.
Q: How are you trying to use this app? - Observing user’s problems/ emotions, Beginner’s mindset
A: I have been booking tickets non stop, and I have to go back and forward on the page and I click the submit
button often.
Q: Tell me about an incident when you were really frustrated with the current system - Encouraging
storytelling
A: It was around Diwali when there were too many people……………………...
Q: How bad were the consequences? - Encouraging user to think about the worst case
A: It was horrible, I made 2 wrong bookings out of 10.
Q: How bad they were? - Using 5 Why’s to get to the root cause. Are the consequences that bad?
But those 2 bookings were small monteraliy since I only deal with bus bookings.

14. What was behind the “Why”?
Happy and EnergeticRisk averse - want more
security
Impatient if things don’t
work on the app
Frustrated during Peak time
Likes to use technology
to get things done
User

15. Techniques that helped me - Empathy Maps

16. Empathy Map - While Interviewing
Says
I am facing an issue in my existing
booking system
Thinks
Incorrect booking is causing
business loss
Does
Submits the booking form
hurriedly in peak hours.
Feels
Frustrated
Now I know the reactions of the users in advance. Helps in designing solution

17. Feeds for my Design Thinking
Solution 1
Give user a confirmation pop up
- Will give a sense of security
- Will still be frustrated at peak
time
Solution 2
Give an undo button
- Will be faster and less frustrating
- Will give some sense of security.
- Still risky for the user as undo button
lasts 60 seconds
Solution 3 - Most Empathetic one
Give an undo button and ask for confirmation only if
transaction value is greater than Rs 10,000
- Will be faster for the user - less frustrating
- Will give absolute sense of security for higher
valued (riskier) transactions

18. Outcome of Empathy Maps
Empathy Map
User Personas

19. Beauty of using Empathy in Designing Systems
● The user started forming a trust relationship with me.
● The user started discovering the root causes of the “Why”.
● Was able to tap the subconscious mind of the user
● Was able to understand the root cause of the problem.
● Built a Rapport - User was at ease while talking to me.
● More adoption of the product because the solution gave a happy and
secure experience, tickling the right emotions of the user.
The Results

20. What changed for me?
- Became a better listener
- Became more compassionate
- Made better connections.
- Started considering Human Emotions in
designing solutions
- The designed solutions were better adopted.

21. “You never really understand a person until you consider things
from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk
around in it” - Atticus Finch
Barack Obama’s Farewell Speech

22. Ultimate level of Engagement
Pity
I acknowledge your
problem
Sympathy
I care about your
problem
Empathy
I feel your problem
Engagement
Compassion
I want to relive your
problem

23. Getting into someone’s shoes
Actually experiencing the struggles

24. Conclusion
❖ Humans are a complex entity working of a lot of emotions.
❖ Each human has its own set of knowledge, environmental conditions,
feelings
❖ To design a system that can help the use, we need to understand Why.
❖ To understand this “Why” of a user, we need Empathy else we can never
fully understand that Why.
❖ It will still not be 100%, but Empathy will get you closer.
❖ Systems have to interact with Humans and emotions are in play for
success or failure of your product

26. References
● https://uxdesign.cc/ux-design-and-empathy-are-we-doing-it-right-ec903e060e64