How do you apply human-centered design thinking to prototype problem-solving and innovation?

One think which really helps when taking about customer usage and interaction with product when our knowledge is low, is Gemba, go and observe when customer is using, Lot of time the person who is purchasing might not be the end user, but when we try to observe we find lot of met and unmet needs and understand the customer process flow. If we have the protos available we can ask potential customer to use and give feed back and we can observe the interaction too, in past such activities has given more edge in product development and reduce defect before launch.

Empathising with users is a key step, as the product is going to used by them, not by the designer. However, interviews with users could bring their biases, beliefs and the mental solution that they have. It is important to be conscious of that. It is important to consider them instead of just dismissing them as ‘noise’, as it could play a key role in product adoption and success/failure of the product.

While various frameworks and techniques are available, personally, I find that meeting individuals and understanding their perspectives is paramount. Here are some points I consider before conducting interviews: * Always approach with an open mind. * Pose open-ended questions. * Pay Close attention to what user is saying * Allow the user to guide the conversation, follow their lead and ask relevant questions based on what they are saying. * Don’t rush, give them the space, respect their silence

In all these surveys or research, esp when it comes to talking to the users, we should be cognisant of the fact not to lead them into taking sides or telling you things you want to hear. Talk with a very open mind, intact more of listen and less of talk. Let them play out their day or set of activities done and the problem will unravel themselves.

There is power in human centred design thinking. By focusing on solutions that put the essence of humanity and the user experience in the midst, you are more likely to develop and nurture a product that meets the needs of the user. I have always loved Tim Brown's explanation: "human-centred approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibility of technology, and the requirements for business success." That is exciting - it is a great way to tackle product development head on, with the end customer in mind.

The core principal for me is to bring the voices of the users into the room. Here's 2 examples; 1/ Through video - At a renowned high-street fashion brand, I set up an in-store popup lab. Recording 20 customers navigating our website to buy shoes, I edited these clips to highlight their struggles. Within two weeks, I presented this reel to the CEO, securing immediate funding for further research. 2/ Empathy Workshops - I ensure firsthand user experiences are represented in team discussions. We co-create an empathy map, and I read it back in the first person while everyone closes their eyes. This technique has led to deeply empathetic moments, even moving some to tears.

I like to call it HUMAN interviews instead of "user", because when you talk to so many people the differences fade and you begin to see the similarities. You begin to realize that everyone is human and how everyone feels the same feelings, though their way of dealing with them differ. In time the barriers between "us", the designers and "them" the users collapse and what's left is human beings.

Every user is unique, but they often share common interests with others. To help them effectively, we must understand their needs from their perspective. Though it takes time, there are various ways to figure out what they want. The key to assisting them is thorough research of our target audience, followed by direct interactions to gather the essential information that will guide our product's development.

Each user faces a different challenge. These challenges could be related to accessibility, complexity, functionality, or user experience, among other things. In such cases, the goal is to design a product that meets the necessary requirements so that the group of people interacting with the platform feels comfortable. It's about ensuring that their actions make sense and that they know how to perform tasks without experiencing frustration.

The 2nd step is to define the problem statement based on user research inputs. * It's necessary to clearly narrow down the challenge/user problem /pain points.At this point I would suggest to revisit a section of the respondents (if you have that luxury) to check if you have defined their problem as closely as possible to their perspective.This step is a sort of confirming the fitment of the solution to the problem. * once the problem statement is framed properly it is easy to guide the design process.

First, understand your user, what they need to accomplish, and how their current tools and processes are failing them. Then ideate, document, and frame each problem so that it is possible to choose the right problem to solve before beginning.

Properly defining the problem is a crucial step in product design; the shape of the solution depends on both the user needs and the design constraints. When chiseling out a problem statement, it helps to ask oneself: What is the job that needs doing? Are there problems the user isn't aware they have? Who are the stakeholders aside from the user, and what would they want or need? How will the solution be distributed? What industry regulations apply? Questions like these can serve as a guide when defining a problem, and the sub-problems, that drive product design.

Before starting the design, we must find a problem and solve it. This problem may be a main need of the user, which we can prioritize by carefully analyzing the user's problems.

Defining a problem in statement format provides a clear direction reasoning. However, the article doesn't state how exactly you can do that; here is a path to do it: 1. Identify the goals of the users while using your product. 2. Evaluate and prioritize user goals that align with your business goals and objectives and prioritize them. 3. Identify the common themes or challenges the user faces and see the patterns among them while trying to achieve their goal that aligns with your business objective. 4. Once you find the common theme of their challenges, frame that into a problem statement that captures the user's needs, context, and desired outcome. By doing so, you are sure to strike a balance.

The mission of a product designer is to envision the ideal user experience. Users typically know when something is going wrong, but they may not know why they're disengaging. So, the smartest approach is to brainstorm more solutions than problems, think outside the box, and remember that you are not the user. You have to design for the people who will interact with your product, not for yourself. Put yourself in their shoes, see things from their perspective, and if you were them, think about what you would want to see on the platform and how you would feel about the experience.

Product from the perspective of different stake holders are different, for eg. Product is a solution as perceived by an architect, while it is business for the investor, a tool for an end user which will solve mundane tasks. Product Design has to be able to understand this perspective holistically to ensure it meets the expectation of each of its stakeholders.

Once you've worked on all the "essentials," it's time to test your product and seek feedback. There will always be something new to consider, and you won't have the right decision until it's validated by a large group of people. The ideal approach is to test the product, ask questions, and review the experience. Afterward, filter the previously mentioned feedback and focus on what was most relevant and common. Although, in some cases, certain individuals may have different opinions, we shouldn't close ourselves off to that. Always think about the future and how we can make our audience feel comfortable with our product.

Skipping this step might be very expensive for your company. We must be aware that our brains often have biases that can lead us astray. Every idea or assumption we have about user behavior should be tested and validated before we can confidently say it's effective and works as intended. Testing is crucial to ensure that our hypotheses align with the real experiences of our users.

What I try is to choose particular elements of the concept I want to test or confirm with a prototype. Am I evaluating user engagement, usability, functionality, or something else? The prototyping process will be guided by having clear objectives.

Portotype is a prototype of the ideas that we have. In order for these ideas to be analyzed, a prototype of it needs to be designed in order to find out whether this prototype matches our idea or not.

Iteration is one of the most vital activities in product design because it considers external factors, relying on user feedback. We must consider everything, from the smallest details to the grandest aspects, to ensure that launching the product is worthwhile. Remember that a more personalized product is usually better. It's essential to address the most common issues and find solutions that leave users satisfied. A product is never 100% complete; there will always be room for improvement. Before inventing something new, test it with the user!

Getting feedback from the user can improve the product development process, getting feedback can help to better understand the needs of the audience and design a product that fits the needs of the user.

This step, when it gets more challenging, here are a few pointers: 1. For the feedback received from users, in any way it was synthesized, make sure to look for patterns " some feedback can be "aha," but in reality, it is not. 2. From a designer's perspective, always look to the correct design pattern you are using to solve a UI issue. 3. Filter the Feedback through the lens of best practices, business goals, and your skill as a designer. 4. Finally, users can easily point out the problem or challenge during feedback and also, to top it off, provide a solution. We should analyze the suggested solution carefully and find the best way to solve it for all users, not just one. Cheers :)

Any design thinking approach should start with an initial set of problem statements which we are trying to solve. These statements don't need to be precise and accurate. Once we empathize with the customers/users and get their perspective through survey, questionnaires or interviews. We should use this information to reframe the problem statements. This new problem statement leads to a broader range of potential solutions and encourages creative thinking.

Let humans test the products. There's an angle that the designers are usually blind to which only takes humans to test it out intuitively.

As a product manager it is important to keep your eyes and ears open always it is because most of the time user would've adopted to the problem situation or he might not realise it's a problem which can have solutions. In this situation giving solution might not be the end but should be keep exploring the solution time to time to evaluate the solution and make it better.

Design thinking is a behavior, a mindset toward solving problems. It's not just a method. However, a product discovery phase in design thinking is to understand your users and balance business goals, but finding a method to continue living in the design thinking space, for example, design sprints where you can do feature discovery or product improvements if the performance is not as expected for your products. One critical aspect of utilizing design thinking or user-centric approaches is to make sure you are solving the correct problem with the correct solution. Don't blindly trust your competitor's success.