Reflection On Design Thinking Activities And Personal Development

Steps of designing methodology

The designing methodology undertaken by the designers is based on the utilization of different steps like Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test, which helps the designer in creating designs through the critical observations. The report will be undertaking a reflection on the different activities that are undertaken in order to create an innovative design while understanding the needs of the people. The report will be reviewing the blogs and thereby develop the different personal and knowledge development characteristics that are induced within the designers in order to enhance the efficacy of the designing setup. The report will also enumerate an action plan that will be helping the designer in understanding the critical areas that are required to be developed in order to enhance the efficiency of the functions.

2. Personal development 

            Reflection is one of the major elements that help in enhancing the efficiency of the designers through a better understanding of the customer point of view by correlating to the customer mindset. The Week 3 activities helped in identifying the needs of reflecting on the different procedures that are undertaken by the designers and the manner in which the idea that is generated can be aligned to the customer’s point of view. Behm,   Culvenor and Dixon  (2014).

stated that the utilization of empathy helps the designers  in understanding the viewpoint of the clients  by setting aside their own assumptions. Therefore, the week 3 activities will be helping me  to understand the manner in which the reflection process can be undertaken for gaining an insight of the specific needs of the customers without assuming as per my viewpoint. The activities have helped me in developing a peripheral vision through critical observation of the needs of the clients.  

            However, the Week 4 activities helped me in understanding the target audience through the identification of the persona.  Kim and Ryu  (2014) stated that the identification of the target customers will be helping the designer in maintaining the efficacy of the designing activities as per the concern of the clients. Therefore, the identification of the persona will be helping me to devise the goals more strategically while designing.  I learnt that the judgement of the position of individuals is based on the understanding of the parameters through which the smooth functioning of the designing systems can be undertaken.

            The Week 5 activity exposed the manner in which the mapping of the tasks can be made. Clear conception in the mapping activity will be helping me to develop an insight of planning the tasks through an assessment of the capabilities and competencies. Du,   Jing and Liu  (2012) stated that mapping the activities through proper planning and execution of suitable methodology will be helping the designers in maintaining the efficacy of the designs. Therefore, mapping the different activities will be helping to enhance the understanding of the same through segmentation and segregation.

Erzurumlu and Erzurumlu  (2015) stated that breaking up the tasks will be helping the designer in simplifying the complex nature of the tasks which will be resulting to efficiency of the activities. Therefore, the week’s activities has helped me in efficiently segregating the tasks in a chronological order in order to ensure the proper functioning of the systems has per the objectives of the client.

Personal development

            Week 6 introduced the concept of mind mapping and the value chain. The tutor assigned us with three different companies and thereby we were required to undertake a value chain analysis of any one of the companies. The value chain analysis has helped me in identifying the different aspects through which organizations create a value for their offerings in the market. The identification of the value chain of the organizations has helped me in understanding the different aspects of customer centric functions that are undertaken by the firms. Venkatesh et al. (2012) stated that the analysis of the value chain helps in identifying the objectives of the organization relating to the product offerings of the business. It has helped in maintaining the different changes in the approaches that are utilized by the organizational management to improve the idea of the offerings.

             Week 7 introduced us to the issues that are faced by the designers while undertaking an interview on design thinking. The identification of the different problems related communication and collaborative action will be helping me to identify different mitigation strategies in order to resolve the issues related to the design thinking interviewing. Carlgren,   Elmquist and Rauth  (2014) stated that the appropriateness of the different interviewing methodology helps in maintaining the efficacy of the designs that are created by the designers as per the identification of the client concerns.

Therefore, through the week’s activity I could identify the different issues that might be faced by the individuals while designing the different operations.  The identification of the issues will be helping the designer in devising different mitigation strategies in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the systems as per the needs of the customers (Adikari,   McDonald  & Campbell,  2013).

            Week 8 I was introduced to the concept of prototyping, which included the creation of frameworks to support the ideas through assessment of different feasibility factors. The prototyping session has helped me in developing the different systems through which customers can identify the nature of the product or the service that are offered to the same. On the other hand, the prototyping will be helping me to identify the different issues in the design through customer feedbacks, which will be helping me to undertake the designing activity as per the concern of the customers.

Fischer  (2015) stated that prototyping a product or a service helps the designer in making the customers aware of the model and concept of the design that is being created. It thereby helps in enhancing the design mechanisms that are undertaken by the designer through induction of different changes. Therefore, the prototyping session has helped me in understanding the different elements of applying models in the designs in order to cope up with the concerns of the customers. The session also assisted me in developing my personal insight in the prototyping process for assessing the value created by the designs.

            Week 9 focused on achieving the feedbacks from the concerned customers on the applicability of the project design as per the needs of the organization.  The different ways in which customer feedback can be assessed has helped me in identifying the diverse change needs in the design that is created by me. Fortunately, I received positive comments from the customers on the applicability of the design that was prepared by me.

Week 3

However, the understanding of the manner in which the feedbacks can be assessed of the customer will be helping me in the future years. Welsh and Dehler  (2013) stated the customer reviews play a major role in enhancing the operations that are included in the designing attributes. The customer reviews assists the designers in undertaking considerable changes in the project design in order to suit the purpose of the customers (Ben Mahmoud?Jouini, Midler  & Silberzahn,  2016).  

            The different activities that were undertaken during the course have helped me in identifying the different issues that are faced by me while designing ideas as per the needs of the customers. The course has contributed to my personal development criteria of the skills that are required in a designer relating to the understanding of the client’s position and the demands of the same.

3. Knowledge development 

            The course has helped me in enhancing my knowledge on designing attributes relate to the identification of the needs of the customers and the manner in which the prototyping is required to be done. The course has helped me in enhancing my efficiency to empathize the situation of the customers through non- judgmental insight. Carlgren,   Rauth and Elmquist (2016) stated that the empathetic nature of the designers contribute mostly to the efficacy of the design as per the concerns of the customers.

The course helped me in identifying the position of the customers through conducting interviews with the same. The ability of placing oneself in the position of another individual assists the designers in understanding the concerns though the utilization of critical observation. Empathy serves the designers with a lucid understanding of the needs of the customers while devising the products and services (Soledade et al., 2013).

            Empathy helps in devising the problem that is faced by the client or the organizations. The identification of the problem leads to the understanding of the persona and the objectives for designing the projects. Viswanathan and Linsey  (2012) stated that the lucid understanding of the objectives helps the designers in enhancing the efficacy of the design correlating it to the needs of the customers. The course has helped me in acquiring the knowledge of the manner in which the interviews might be conducted in order to identify the issues of the customers more dynamically.

 On the other hand, the challenges that might be faced by me while undertaking the interviews are also being induced during the course activities. It will be helping me to bring forth modifications in the methodology to suit the purpose of proper understanding of the issues. Liedtka (2014) stated that the ideation of the different design thinking procedures helps in maintaining the efficacy of the functions through divergence and convergence. The synthesis and analysis of the different prospects of the idea through the implementation of the concepts of divergence and convergence helps the designer in creating a coherent design as per the need of the customers.

Therefore, I understood the manner in which the ideas can be synthesized as per the analysis of the needs of the customer, empathizing on the position of the same. On the other hand, the course has helped me in understanding the different aspects through which the divergence and convergence can be utilized in order to enhance the designing capabilities. However, I face issues while dealing with different customers and thereby adjusting myself as per the requirements of the same. It might affect the efficiency of the design methodology that will be framed by me in future.

Week 4

            The proper identification of the persona helps in setting suitable objectives in order to support the functions of the designer. Lack of suitable understanding of the persona affects the proper functioning of the design thinking methodology. On the other hand, during the course I realized that there are issues that are faced by me while undertaking interviews with the different concerned customers, which might affect the efficacy of the design created by me in future. Therefore, I must take steps to develop different aspects of change in the approach for maintaining the efficacy of the design.

Müller and Thoring  (2012) stated that the identification of the client’s issues relating to the design helps the designer in enhancing the performance through enumeration of empathy and prototyping methodology. The key changes that are required to be undertaken by me are based on the proper identification of the needs customers and thereby implement suitable methodologies to test the applicability of the design in the context. Bjögvinsson,   Ehn  and  Hillgren  (2012) stated that the allocation of the tasks as per the concern of the project design is based on the selection of appropriate methodologies.

The suitable breakup of the tasks and their allocation as per the schedule and costs affects the smooth functioning of the systems as per the concern of the customer. On the other hand, the identification of the needs through applying empathetic approach will be helping me to resolve different issues that are faced while designing a task. 

4. Action plan 

Goals	Activities	Timeframe	Rationale
Identification of needs of the customers	·         Interacting with the customers and making use of empathy in order to identify their position ·         Undertaking analysis of the feedbacks given by the customers and listing the different needs of the same in order to formulate design correlating to the demands	4- 5 months	The identification of the needs of the customers will be helping the designer in enhancing the design parameters to suit the context
Adjusting to different situations	·         Identification of the situation as a critical event and thereby undertaking steps in order to adapt oneself to the circumstance in order to fulfil the needs of the client ·          Prioritizing different situations and thereby creating the timeframe of the tasks in order to enhance the design parameters	3- 4 weeks	The adjustment with the different situations helps the designer in understanding their role and the manner in which the tasks are required to be prioritized for the proper implementation of the project as per the needs of the client
Efficient segregation of tasks	·         Prioritizing the tasks as per the schedule ·         Dividing the tasks as per the efficacy of the different departments of the design thinking team in order to enhance the efficacy of the tasks	3- 7 weeks	The efficient segregation of the tasks helps in maintaining the efficacy of the functions of the design thinking team while operating on the diverse aspects relating to a favorable project outcome. The tasks are designed in a manner so that they are not affected by overruns. Therefore, suitable segregation of the tasks through segregation will be helping the designer in enhancing the performance of the project as a whole.
Identification of issues and resolving the same	·         Analysis of the position of the issues and the root cause of the same ·         devising different strategies for resolving the issue in order to enhance the smooth functioning of the designer	4- 7 weeks	The identification of the issue and the mitigation of the same will be helping the designer in adhering to the relevant frameworks as per the synthesis on the needs of the client

Conclusion 

            Therefore, from the above analysis it can be stated that the design thinking incorporates the collaborative performance of Empathy, Definition, Ideation, Prototyping and Testing, which is being induced through the course that I undertook. The report enumerates the different outcomes of the course through an analysis of my personal development skills and knowledge skills. The analysis of the skills has helped me in identifying the different challenges that I might face in future while working as a designer myself. The proper application of mind mapping and empathy will be helping me to enhance the efficacy of the functions while operating as per the needs of the clients.

On the other hand, the identification of the view point of the customers will be helping me to bring forth modifications in the designing methodology.  The report also enumerates an action plan in order to bring forth improvements in the functions that will be undertaken by me. The action plan will be helping me to undertake the suggested measures in order to enhance the performance through the identification of different concerns and resolving the same. The overall presentation of the report emphasizes on portraying the smooth functioning of the design thinking approach and the manner in which the individual capabilities, being a designer, can be improved.    

References

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Behm, M., Culvenor, J., & Dixon, G. (2014). Development of safe design thinking among engineering students. Safety science, 63, 1-7.

Ben Mahmoud?Jouini, S., Midler, C., & Silberzahn, P. (2016). Contributions of design thinking to project management in an innovation context. Project Management Journal, 47(2), 144-156.

Bjögvinsson, E., Ehn, P., & Hillgren, P. A. (2012). Design things and design thinking: Contemporary participatory design challenges. Design Issues, 28(3), 101-116.

Carlgren, L., Elmquist, M., & Rauth, I. (2014). Design thinking: Exploring values and effects from an innovation capability perspective. The Design Journal, 17(3), 403-423.

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Erzurumlu, S. S., & Erzurumlu, Y. O. (2015). Sustainable mining development with community using design thinking and multi-criteria decision analysis. Resources Policy, 46, 6-14.

Fischer, M. (2015). Design it! Solving sustainability problems by applying design thinking. GAIA-Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 24(3), 174-178.

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Liedtka, J. (2014). Innovative ways companies are using design thinking. Strategy & Leadership, 42(2), 40-45.

Müller, R. M., & Thoring, K. (2012). Design thinking vs. lean startup: A comparison of two user-driven innovation strategies. Leading through design, 151.

Soledade, M., Freitas, R., Peres, S., Fantinato, M., Steinbeck, R., & Araújo, U. (2013). Experimenting with design thinking in requirements refinement for a learning management system. Anais do Simpósio Brasileiro de Sistemas de Informação, 182-193.

Venkatesh, A., Digerfeldt-Månsson, T., Brunel, F. F., & Chen, S. (2012). Design orientation: a grounded theory analysis of design thinking and action. Marketing theory, 12(3), 289-309.

Viswanathan, V. K., & Linsey, J. S. (2012). Physical models and design thinking: A study of functionality, novelty and variety of ideas. Journal of Mechanical Design, 134(9), 091004.

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