# Design Thinking Worksheet ## Overview Design Thinking is a human-centered, iterative problem-solving approach that focuses on understanding users, challenging assumptions, redefining problems, and creating innovative solutions through prototyping and testing. It consists of five phases: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. ## Pre-Workshop Setup **Project Name:** _________________________________ **Date:** _____________ **Design Team:** _________________________________ **Facilitator:** _________________________________ **Challenge Statement:** _________________________________ **Timeline:** _________________________________ ## Phase 1: EMPATHIZE *Understand the user and their needs* ### User Research Planning **Target Users:** 1. User Group: _________________ Characteristics: _____________________ 2. User Group: _________________ Characteristics: _____________________ 3. User Group: _________________ Characteristics: _____________________ **Research Methods:** - [ ] User Interviews - Target: _____ Completed: _____ - [ ] Observations - Target: _____ Completed: _____ - [ ] Surveys - Target: _____ Completed: _____ - [ ] Journey Mapping - Target: _____ Completed: _____ - [ ] Diary Studies - Target: _____ Completed: _____ - [ ] Other: _________________ ### User Interview Guide **Opening Questions:** 1. Tell me about your typical day regarding [topic]? _________________ 2. What's most frustrating about [current situation]? _______________ 3. What would make your life easier? ________________________________ **Deeper Exploration:** 1. Can you walk me through the last time you...? ____________________ 2. Why do you do it that way? _______________________________________ 3. What workarounds have you created? _______________________________ 4. How does this make you feel? _____________________________________ **Observation Notes:** - Body language: ______________________________________________________ - Environment: ________________________________________________________ - Tools used: _________________________________________________________ - Pain points observed: _______________________________________________ ### Empathy Map **User: _________________________________** **SAYS** *(quotes)* - "_________________________________________________________________" - "_________________________________________________________________" - "_________________________________________________________________" - "_________________________________________________________________" **THINKS** *(beliefs, thoughts)* - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ **DOES** *(actions, behaviors)* - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ **FEELS** *(emotions, feelings)* - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ ### Key Insights from Empathy Phase 1. Insight: _________________ Evidence: ______________________________ 2. Insight: _________________ Evidence: ______________________________ 3. Insight: _________________ Evidence: ______________________________ 4. Insight: _________________ Evidence: ______________________________ 5. Insight: _________________ Evidence: ______________________________ ## Phase 2: DEFINE *Define the problem based on user needs* ### Problem Framing **Initial Problem Statement:** _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ **Root Cause Analysis:** - Why 1: ______________________________________________________________ - Why 2: ______________________________________________________________ - Why 3: ______________________________________________________________ - Why 4: ______________________________________________________________ - Why 5: ______________________________________________________________ ### Point of View Statement **Format:** [User] needs [need] because [insight] **POV Statement:** _________________________________________________________________ needs _________________________________________________________________ because _______________________________________________________________ ### How Might We Questions *Generate 10-20 HMW questions* 1. How might we _______________________________________________________? 2. How might we _______________________________________________________? 3. How might we _______________________________________________________? 4. How might we _______________________________________________________? 5. How might we _______________________________________________________? 6. How might we _______________________________________________________? 7. How might we _______________________________________________________? 8. How might we _______________________________________________________? 9. How might we _______________________________________________________? 10. How might we ______________________________________________________? **Selected HMW for Ideation:** How might we __________________________________________________________? ### Design Principles *What principles will guide our solution?* 1. Principle: _________________ Because: _____________________________ 2. Principle: _________________ Because: _____________________________ 3. Principle: _________________ Because: _____________________________ 4. Principle: _________________ Because: _____________________________ ## Phase 3: IDEATE *Generate creative solutions* ### Brainstorming Rules ✓ Defer judgment ✓ Strive for quantity ✓ Build on ideas ✓ Stay focused ✓ Encourage wild ideas ✓ Be visual ### Idea Generation **Individual Brainstorm (3 minutes):** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________ 6. _________________________________________________________________ 7. _________________________________________________________________ 8. _________________________________________________________________ 9. _________________________________________________________________ 10. ________________________________________________________________ **Group Brainstorm (Build on others):** 11. ________________________________________________________________ 12. ________________________________________________________________ 13. ________________________________________________________________ 14. ________________________________________________________________ 15. ________________________________________________________________ 16. ________________________________________________________________ 17. ________________________________________________________________ 18. ________________________________________________________________ 19. ________________________________________________________________ 20. ________________________________________________________________ ### Idea Clustering **Theme 1: _________________** - Ideas: _____________________________________________________________ **Theme 2: _________________** - Ideas: _____________________________________________________________ **Theme 3: _________________** - Ideas: _____________________________________________________________ **Theme 4: _________________** - Ideas: _____________________________________________________________ ### Idea Selection Matrix | Idea | Impact (1-5) | Feasibility (1-5) | Innovation (1-5) | Total Score | Selected? | |------|--------------|------------------|------------------|-------------|-----------| | | | | | | ☐ | | | | | | | ☐ | | | | | | | ☐ | | | | | | | ☐ | | | | | | | ☐ | ### Top 3 Ideas for Prototyping 1. **Idea:** _________________________________________________________ **Why promising:** ________________________________________________ 2. **Idea:** _________________________________________________________ **Why promising:** ________________________________________________ 3. **Idea:** _________________________________________________________ **Why promising:** ________________________________________________ ## Phase 4: PROTOTYPE *Build to think and learn* ### Prototype 1 **Concept Name:** _____________________________________________________ **Type:** ☐ Paper ☐ Digital ☐ Physical ☐ Role-play ☐ Storyboard ☐ Other: _____ **Key Features to Test:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **Materials Needed:** - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ **Build Time:** _____ minutes/hours **Questions This Prototype Will Answer:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **Prototype Sketch/Description:** [Space for drawing or detailed description] ### Prototype 2 **Concept Name:** _____________________________________________________ **Type:** ☐ Paper ☐ Digital ☐ Physical ☐ Role-play ☐ Storyboard ☐ Other: _____ **Key Features to Test:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **Materials Needed:** - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ **Build Time:** _____ minutes/hours **Questions This Prototype Will Answer:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ### Prototype 3 **Concept Name:** _____________________________________________________ **Type:** ☐ Paper ☐ Digital ☐ Physical ☐ Role-play ☐ Storyboard ☐ Other: _____ **Key Features to Test:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **Materials Needed:** - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ - _________________________________________________________________ **Build Time:** _____ minutes/hours **Questions This Prototype Will Answer:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ## Phase 5: TEST *Learn from user feedback* ### Testing Protocol **Test Participants:** | Name | User Type | Test Date | Prototype Tested | |------|-----------|-----------|------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | **Testing Script:** 1. Introduction: ______________________________________________________ 2. Context: ___________________________________________________________ 3. Task 1: ____________________________________________________________ 4. Task 2: ____________________________________________________________ 5. Task 3: ____________________________________________________________ 6. Closing questions: _________________________________________________ ### Testing Observations **Participant 1: _____________________** - What worked: ________________________________________________________ - What didn't work: ___________________________________________________ - Surprises: __________________________________________________________ - Quotes: "_________________________________________________________" **Participant 2: _____________________** - What worked: ________________________________________________________ - What didn't work: ___________________________________________________ - Surprises: __________________________________________________________ - Quotes: "_________________________________________________________" **Participant 3: _____________________** - What worked: ________________________________________________________ - What didn't work: ___________________________________________________ - Surprises: __________________________________________________________ - Quotes: "_________________________________________________________" ### Feedback Synthesis **Patterns Observed:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ **Validated Assumptions:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **Invalidated Assumptions:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **New Questions Raised:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ## Iteration Planning ### Insights to Actions | Insight from Testing | Action Required | Priority | Owner | |---------------------|-----------------|----------|-------| | | | H/M/L | | | | | H/M/L | | | | | H/M/L | | | | | H/M/L | | ### Next Iteration Focus **What to Keep:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **What to Change:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **What to Explore Further:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ### Refined Solution Concept **Updated Problem Statement:** _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ **Solution Description:** _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ **Key Features:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________ ## Implementation Roadmap ### Development Phases **Phase 1: MVP (0-3 months)** - Features: ___________________________________________________________ - Resources: __________________________________________________________ - Success Metrics: ____________________________________________________ **Phase 2: Enhanced Version (3-6 months)** - Features: ___________________________________________________________ - Resources: __________________________________________________________ - Success Metrics: ____________________________________________________ **Phase 3: Full Release (6+ months)** - Features: ___________________________________________________________ - Resources: __________________________________________________________ - Success Metrics: ____________________________________________________ ### Success Metrics **User Metrics:** - Adoption rate: Target ____% - User satisfaction: Target ____/10 - Task completion rate: Target ____% - Error rate: Target < ____% **Business Metrics:** - Cost savings: $_____ - Revenue impact: $_____ - Efficiency gain: ____% - ROI: ____% ## Team Reflections ### Process Evaluation **What Worked Well:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **Challenges Faced:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **Lessons Learned:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ### Individual Takeaways **Team Member 1: _____________________** Key Learning: _________________________________________________________ **Team Member 2: _____________________** Key Learning: _________________________________________________________ **Team Member 3: _____________________** Key Learning: _________________________________________________________ **Team Member 4: _____________________** Key Learning: _________________________________________________________ ## Example Design Thinking Project **Challenge:** Improve the hospital emergency room waiting experience **Empathize:** Observed 50+ patients, interviewed 20 families, shadowed 5 nurses **Define:** Anxious families need transparent communication about wait times because uncertainty increases stress and leads to conflicts with staff **Ideate:** Generated 100+ ideas including digital boards, SMS updates, comfort ambassadors, activity kits **Prototype:** Created cardboard mockup of digital status board and role-played comfort ambassador interactions **Test:** Families loved real-time updates but wanted personalized messages. Ambassador role highly valued. **Solution:** Digital check-in system with personalized SMS updates + trained comfort ambassadors who proactively engage waiting families **Results:** 40% reduction in complaints, 25% increase in satisfaction scores --- *Completed by:* _____________ *Date:* _____________ *Next Review:* _____________