Design Thinking is an iterative, human-centered approach to problem-solving, emphasizing creativity, empathy, and experimentation to develop innovative solutions.
Five-Stage Process:
- Empathize: Understand user needs through research and observation.
- Define: Clearly articulate the problem statement.
- Ideate: Brainstorm and generate multiple creative solutions.
- Prototype: Develop low-fidelity models or early versions.
- Test: Gather feedback and refine the solution iteratively.
Example:
Design Thinking helps a software business rewrite its customer support chatbot. Observing customer difficulties, they redefine the problem, generate fresh conversation flows, build an improved chatbot, and test it with users before full release.
Why It’s Essential:
Design Thinking fosters innovation, encourages user-centric solutions, and enhances problem-solving in projects.