This document discusses using design thinking with children to solve problems. It provides an example of using design thinking to redesign the school sandpit. The process involved gathering input from different stakeholders, developing ideas, creating prototypes, testing with users, and iterating the design. It emphasizes that design thinking is natural for children and focuses on collaboration, learning by doing, and solving real problems. The document concludes that teaching children design thinking can help them solve other problems in their school, community and country.

1. Design Thinking for Children
Edwin Dando
Assurity
@edwindando

2. GM
Long service Agile
Scrum.org trainer
Evidence Based Management consultant

4. SLIDE | 4

6. Assurity Consulting Limited • Commercial in Confidence • Company Presentation Nov 2015

8. Assurity Consulting Limited • Commercial in Confidence • Company Presentation Nov 2015
The 4th Industrial Revolution
Age of Manufacturing
Age of Distribution
Age of Information
Digital Age
(Age of the
Customer)

9. And what about these guys?
Uber -> worlds largest taxi company -> owns no vehicles
Airbnb -> worlds largest accommodation provider -> no real estate
Facebook -> worlds largest media owner -> creates no content
Alibaba -> worlds most valuable retailer -> no inventory

10. Disruption
Globally, 72 percent of CEOs believe that the next 3 years
will be more critical for their industry than the last 50.
CEOs believe it’s now or never.
Source: KPMG 2016
Global CEO Outlook

11. Our world is rapidly decentralising
• Easier
• Robust
• Control based
• Fragile
• Vulnerable - shocks, attacks & failures
• Resilient
• Participative
• Diverse
• Require connectivity
• Difficult to standardise
• Loss of economise of scale
• Highly responsive
• Naturally resilient and adaptive
• Intelligent
• Cannot be controlled
Examples
• Nature
• The Internet
• Etherum & Bitcoin
• Terror cells
• Crowd economics
• Future business?

12. •In 5 years, 35% of skills
considered important in
today will have changed.
•Creativity will be one of
the top three skills
workers will need.
•Emotional intelligence
will become the top skills
needed by all
*World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs study
Social skills
Poorly paid as
large supply of
workers
Future roles in demand
AUTOMATED
Engineers

13. Assurity Consulting Limited • Commercial in Confidence • Company Presentation Nov 2015
From management of work to
• Team work
• Emotional Intelligence,
• Facilitation

14. Assurity Consulting Limited • Commercial in Confidence • Company Presentation Nov 2015

15. “

17. “they need to the skills necessary for the future - collaboration,
creativity, empathy and the ability to solve complex problems”
What do we need to teach?
Ed: Agile? Maybe? On what work?
Gary: Hmmm, good point. What
about something practical we
could work on with them?
Ed: What problems do you face?
Gary: the sandpit! It’s a problem...

20. Learn about the audience for whom
you are designing by observation and
interview
Who is my user?
What matters to them?

24. • Data collection technique
> 2 interviewing, 2 writing, 1 recording, 1 drawing
•Key needs
> fun
> learning & development
> tidy & sand not wasted
> water conservation.
Group 1 - Principal
• Key concerns
> Fairness
> Behaviour
> Safety

25. Group 2 - Staff

26. Group 3 - Teachers

27. Group 4 - Kids

29. Group 5 - Parents
• Epic fail! Pivot and try again.
• A vital way for them to learn and grow
• We don’t have a sandpit at home. Using it in the weekend is great.
• Sandy clothes block the washing machine.
• My son copies his digger driver uncles
• Alternative to wet fields in winter

30. Collate all the information together - visual systems
Themes
Presentations – either poster or electronic
Discussions
Identify key learnings
Create a Learning Wall for ongoing reference

31. Group based
Individual
Over time…

33. First round – epic fail! Too ambitious
Go back to Ideate
Refine
Try again

37. • Testing prototype with users
• Does this solve their real problem?
• Now they see it, do they see any issues (IKIWISI)
• What could be better?
What’s happening this week?

38. • Develop a plan
> materials required
> labour & skills required
> order of work
> costs
• Kids to submit plan to Board for approval
• Build it!
Then what?

39. • Design Thinking is very natural for kids
• Collaboration is natural for kids
• Solutions come too quickly for all of us
• The parents LOVE it
>“what is happening with the sandpit project?”
> “my child raves about this!”
Key learnings

40. • Learning by doing is vital
• Adults often don’t feel comfortable with simple prototypes
• Kids minds are phenomenal
>“We could use this to solve problems in our school…”
>“We could use this to solve problems in our community…”
> “We could use this to solve problems in our country…”
Key learnings

41. edwin.dando@assurity.co.nz
agileforeveryone.com
@edwindando