Design Thinking and Innovation Course - Day 4 - Synthesis

TEK495 - Design & Innovation
Day 3
Introduction to Synthesis
A crash course on how to make meaning out of data
TEK495
Jan Schmiedgen
September 14, 2015
Course conceptualization, and previous versions developed with Ingo Rauth, Kira Krämer

Comic by Tom Chalklay in the December 1982 issue of THE FUTURIST - right is granted by courtesy of the World
Future Society Society, 3220 N Street NW, Suite 161, Washington, DC 20007. http://www.wfs.org

CHEWING
GUM

Reflection
#2 Interviewing
Think about one reflection you want to
share in 30 sec.
4-5x share reflection in 30 sec, the others
try to sketch the main idea.
Reflect upon your reflections
1min
5min
5min

Design Thinking Process
Introduction to Synthesis
5
Source: Stanford University, d.school
EMPATHIZE
DEFINE
IDEATE
PROTOTYPE
TEST

PROBLEM
SPACE
Wrestle with the problem from
different angles
#1 Synthesis

Challenging client’s challenge
#1 Synthesis
BEST PRACTICE
“General anaesthesia should be preferred in
preterm or small children as safety and
success are predictable.
For optimal performance trained, experienced
and certified personnel, appropriate drugs for
the individual patient risk profile and sufficient
monitoring equipment are essential.”
Anaesthesia or sedation for MRI in children.
(2010), Schulte-Uentrop L1, Goepfert MS.
Image Source: Background -wikimedia.org, child - wikimedia.org

Reframe the challenge
#1 Synthesis
User: Kids which need to undergo an MRI scan.
Need: Want to play and have fun.
Insight: Kids voluntarily participate in things they perceive as fun and adventure
“How might we turn MRI scans into an fun adventure?”

TEK495 - Design & Innovation 12
#1 Synthesis
GE
Video: Pittsburg Chidrens Hosptial Makes Visits Fun for Kids

Challenging client’s challenge
#1 Synthesis
BRIEFING & BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Physical Activity
● Only one in three children are physically active every day.1
● Less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day;2
only one
receive the recommended amount of physical activity each week.3
● Only 35 – 44% of adults 75 years or older are physically active, and 28-34% of adults ag
physically active.4
● More than 80% of adults do not meet the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strength
activities, and more than 80% of adolescents do not do enough aerobic physical activity
guidelines for youth.5
● In 2013, research found adults in the following states to be most likely to report exercisi
days a week for at least 30 minutes: Vermont (65.3%), Hawaii (62.2%), Montana (60.1%
(60.1%). The least likely were Delaware (46.5%), West Virginia (47.1%) and Alabama
national average for regular exercise is 51.6%.6
● Children now spend more than seven and a half hours a day in front of a screen (e.g., T
computer).7
● Nationwide, 25.6% of persons with a disability reported being physically inactive durin
compared to 12.8% of those without a disability.3
● Only about one in five homes have parks within a half-mile, and about the same numbe
or recreation center within that distance.5
● Only 6 states (Illinois, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York and Vermont) re
education in every grade, K-12.22
● 28.0% of Americans, or 80.2 million people, aged six and older are physically inactive
● Nearly one-third of high school students play video or computer games for 3 or more h
average school day.24
Problem:
Teenagers need to
eat nutritious food
because vitamins are
vital to good health.
#1 Synthesis

“Garbage in garbage out” …
#1 Synthesis#1 Synthesis
superficial good ideas
superficial good insights
superficial good data
IMAGE: DESPOSITPHOTOS

Analysis Synthesis
Unpack
what you heard
and observed
Explore
your data
Connect
how data and
information
points relate to
each other
Model
current reality,
what you want
to find out
Conceive
possible futures
/ what might be
Ideation

ANALYSIS
1#

Unpack your data round
#1 Analysis

Unpack your data round 1
#1 Analysis
What to share:
Whom did you meet?
What was the most memorable /
surprising information?
What motivated or frustrated
him/her?
How to share:
One after another shares findings
Team members write down key
information
Already aggregate similar data
points (post-its) on the board.
Everyone listens & adds.

Unpack your data round 1
#1 Analysis
Prepare. Which interesting things did you
learn?
Tell you team! Capture notes.
Share in the group!
We are curious to know.
2min
5x5
min
5min

BREAK
20

Explore
Form cluster of similar information.10min
#1 Analysis

(RE) FRAMING
THE PROBLEM
2#

[Sense-making is] a motivated,continuous effort to
understand connections (which can be among
people, places, and events) in order to anticipate
their trajectories and act effectively.
Klein, G., Moon, B., & Hoffman, R. R. (2006).

Explore & Connect
#2 (Re) Framing the problem
Interesting or surprising details.
Makes you go “huh.”
NUGGETS
NEEDS
INSIGHTS
“Sophomore year was a really
good time. One time we all
skipped history and went to
McDonalds.”
“If you don’t eat the fries at
lunch, everyone thinks you’re
anorexic, but if you do, you get
fat.” → You can’t win.”
“She needs to feel socially
accepted while eating healthy
food. Social risks are more
dangerous to her than health
risks.”
What’s beneath the need?
Why do you think this user has
this needor why does the user
have thisneed in this context?
Unmet needs revealed by the
nugget. A verb, not a noun.

Explore & Connect

Explore & Connect
Explore relations, contradictions and
interdependencies. What surprised you?
Select an important problem to work on.
Share in the group!
Who has the problem? Why?
What surprised you (insight)?
Why did you choose it?
10min
5min
5x1
min

BREAK
27

MODEL /
PERSONAS
3#

Persona examples
Due to copyright reasons, we were not allowed to share the
examples we used in the lectures. We showed three
example, from simple (what we did) to complex.
1) sketched persona
2) complex persona created for industry brief
3) a physical room designed with a life size cardboard
person who lived in it.
#3 Model / Personas

Choose the right problem statement
A teenager needs to eat
nutritious food
because vitamins are
vital to good health.
#3 Model / Personas
A 9th grade girl at a new
school needs to feel
socially accepted when
eating healthy food
because in her life a
social risk is more
damaging than a health
risk.

Choose the right problem statement
#3 Model / Personas
A 9th grade girl at a new
school
needs to feel socially
accepted when eating
healthy food
because in her life a
social risk is more
damaging than a health
risk.
USER
+
NEED
+
INSIGHT

Persona & POV template
Fill out forms in pairs.
Share and discuss in the group.
Reformulate 1 joint persona & pov.
Share in group.
10min
6min
4min
#3 Model / Personas
5min

“Forced” Framing
#3 Model / Personas

HOW MIGHT WE …?
4#

HMWs and user, need and insight
#4 How might we … ?
User: Kids which need to undergo an MRI scan.
Need: Want to play and have fun.
Insight: Kids voluntarily participate in things they perceive as fun and adventure
“How might we turn MRI scans into an fun adventure?”

POV to HMW...
A 9th grade girl at a new school
needs to feel socially accepted
when eating healthy food
because in her life a social risk is
more damaging than a health
risk.
… make healthy eating the norm?
… help Anna feel the long-term
effects of her everyday choices?
… help Anna feel more comfortable
being herself?
… make Anna’s social risks disappear?
… magnify health risks for Anna?
… make eating healthy the
coolest thing to do?

POV to HMW...
A 9th grade girl at a new school
needs to feel socially accepted
when eating healthy food
because in her life a social risk is
more damaging than a health
risk.
… make healthy eating the norm?
… help Anna feel the long-term
effects of her everyday choices?
… help Anna feel more comfortable
being herself?
… make Anna’s social risks disappear?
… magnify health risks for Anna?
… make eating healthy the
coolest thing to do?
5min

Persona & POV template
TEAM: each individual presents his/her
TOP3 HMWs
Discuss, select or distill your top
two HMW questions.
3min
4min

IDEATE &
BRAINSTORMING
5#

TEK495 - Design & InnovationTEK495 - Design & Innovation
Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttWhK-NO4g8

Brainstorm
Brainstorm HMW question 1
Brainstorm HMW question 2
6min
6min
#5 Ideate

Select ideas
#5 Ideate

Present user, problem and idea
#5 Ideate
1
2
3

TEK495 - Design & Innovation 44
“Show, don’t tell.”
Stanford d.school

References
Alexander, C. (1974). Notes on the Synthesis of Form (Auflage: Revised.). Cambridge: Harvard Univ Pr.
Cooper, A., & Reimann, R. M. (2003). About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design (0002 Aufl.).
Indianapolis: Wiley & Sons.
Dorst, K. (2015). Frame Innovation: Create New Thinking by Design. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The
MIT Press.
D.School - Bootcamp-Bootleg - Methodcards.pdf. (o. J.). Abgerufen von
http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf
Duarte, N. (2008). Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations (1. Aufl.). Beijing ;
Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly and Associates.
Duarte, N. (2010). Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences (1. Auflage). Hoboken,
N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
Gumienny, R., Dow, S. P., & Meinel, C. (2014). Supporting the Synthesis of Information in Design
Teams. In Proceedings of the 2014 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (S. 463–472). New
York, NY, USA: ACM. http://doi.org/10.1145/2598510.2598545

References
Gumienny, R., Lindberg, T., & Meinel, C. (2011). Exploring The Synthesis Of Information In Design
Processes – Opening The Black-Box. DS 68-6: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on
Engineering Design (ICED 11), Impacting Society through Engineering Design, Vol. 6: Design
Information and Knowledge, Lyngby/Copenhagen, Denmark, 15.-19.08.2011.
Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Stanford. (2010). D.School Bootcamp - Bootleg 2010. Bootleg
Collection of Design Thinking Methods, University of Stanford.
Hey, J. (2007, Juli 24). Recording Ethnographic Observations: Six Useful Frameworks [Blog]. Abgerufen
von http://palojono.blogspot.de/2007/07/recording-ethnographic-observations.html
HMW - How three words make design better. (2011). MX 2011 | Charles Warren. Abgerufen von
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTpa-bJiMp4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Humantific. (2002, 2012). SenseMaking for ChangeMaking. Abgerufen 7. September 2014, von
http://issuu.com/humantific/docs/humantific_sensemaking4changemaking
Klein, G. (2013). Seeing What Others Don’t: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights (First Trade Paper
Edition). PublicAffairs.

References
Klein, G., Moon, B., & Hoffman, R. R. (2006). Making Sense of Sensemaking 1: Alternative Perspectives.
IEEE Intelligent Systems, 21(4), 70–73. http://doi.org/10.1109/MIS.2006.75
Kolko, J. (2010). Exposing the Magic of Design: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Methods and Theory of
Synthesis (Auflage: 1). Oxford University Press, USA.
Kumar, V. (2012). 101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your
Organization (1. Auflage). John Wiley & Sons.
Madsbjerg, C., & Rasmussen, M. B. (2014). The Moment of Clarity: Using the Human Sciences to Solve
Your Toughest Business Problems. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press.
Martin, B., & Hanington, B. (2012). Universal Methods of Design. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers.
Segel, E., & Heer, J. (2010). Narrative Visualization: Telling Stories with Data. IEEE Transactions on
Visualization and Computer Graphics, 16(6), 1139–1148. http://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2010.179
Spradlin, D. (2012). Are You Solving the Right Problem? Harvard Business Review, 90(9), 84–93.
VanPatter, G. K. (2012, September 20). Origins of How Might We? Abgerufen von
http://www.humantific.com/origins-of-how-might-we/

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