GWU Senior Thesis "iCan"
The traditional model of design thinking can be reimagined into a flexible and user-friendly format, making it more accessible to smaller companies without specialized UX design resources. By developing a practical toolbox that adapts the principles of design thinking, my thesis, called “iCan”, aims to democratize user experience innovation across various business sectors regardless of financial situations. With an innovative twist to the mainstream design thinking process, iCan addresses many challenges currently faced in the practice, allowing the user to better understand their problem and how to solve it creatively, but effectively. Highlighting accessibility and sustainability, iCan will be a path for longterm success, inspiring anyone regardless of design experience to put on their design thinker cap and get to work making their products or ideas more user friendly.
Time Frame: November 2023 - April 2024
Tools: Figma, User Research, User Testing
Research
Design thinking is a widely adopted methodology in UX design for fostering innovation and solving complex problems. However, despite its popularity, further research into its use presents several challenges are commonly associated with its implementation.
Below are four of the most impactful sources to my research that helped shape this project.
“On Design Thinking” by Maggie Gram
Gram argues that while design thinking aims to solve complex problems, it often overlooks deeper, systemic issues like poverty and inequality, which require more than just design solutions.
Gram is skeptical of the overly optimistic promises of design thinking, suggesting that while it offers a new approach to problem-solving, it cannot address the root causes of complex societal issues.
“Design Thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong?” by Rebecca Ackermann
“Design Thinking is Fundamentally Conservative and Preserves the Status Quo” by Natasha Iskander
Iskander critically examines the application of design thinking in corporate environments. She argues that design thinking often serves to justify risk-averse decisions by corporations, effectively maintaining the status quo under the guise of understanding customer needs. Iskander suggests that this occurs not necessarily because of the methodology itself but due to how it's implemented by those in power within organizations.
Ackermann points out that while design thinking was celebrated for its potential to democratize innovation and solve complex global problems, it often fell short in practice. The methodology has been criticized for its focus on quick, novel ideas rather than sustainable, deep solutions.
“Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All” by Tom & David Kelly
This book challenged the notion that creativity is only for the creative types. "Creative Confidence" outlines strategies and principles to unlock creative potential in everyone, advocating for a more innovative approach in both personal and professional realms.
Interviews
Over the course of the project, I conducted 10+ interviews with different subject matter experts who all had experience working with the conventional Design Thinking methodology. The insight provided further guided my understanding of the shortcomings of the methodology and highlighted areas I could focus on to improve it.
Defining Project Goals
Through my interviews and research, as well as experiences in the workplace and classroom, the goal of my project shifted from just creating an updated methodology to additionally uncovering how to best make this way of thinking accessible and approachable for designers and non designers alike.
How might we reimagine the design thinking process to address its faults and be more digestible to users regardless of design expertise?
This how might we statement was used to guide the ideation and test phases of the project, focusing on the two main project goals of addressing the struggles of the current design thinking methodology while keeping it user-friendly.
Target Audiences: Small and medium sized businesses, Customer Experience Teams, UX Professionals
Ideation
Initially, I had two ideas for how my project would be best executed. I was not sure if I wanted a digital or physical product to present the methodology.
Initial Sketches
In the earliest stage of my ideation, I sketched out what my project might look like being either digital or physical.
Low Fidelity Wireframe
Once I decided on creating a physical product, I was able to make a low-fi version of what my product may look like to gather user feedback.
Prototype
For my prototype, I made digital mockups of my toolbox and created multiple draft versions of my user manual to be used for testing.
These prototypes allowed me to fully envision what my product would look like in real life, with the two main components being the physical box as well as the user manual.
Testing
With my prototypes, I was able to run a series of tests before creating a final version of my product.
To ensure comprehensive feedback on the design thinking toolbox, I conducted user testing with a diverse group, including both designers and non-designers. Participants were asked to review the toolbox and the accompanying manual to provide insights on the clarity and usability of the methodology. This approach helped identify any discrepancies between the intended use of the tools and the actual user experience.
Additionally, I tested the accessibility of the toolbox by having non-designers read the manual descriptions and then use the components independently, without verbal instructions. This exercise was crucial for assessing the intuitiveness of the design and the effectiveness of the written guidance.
Lastly, the toolbox incorporated a specific focus on accessibility and sustainability in the problem-solving processes. This was intentionally embedded within the methodology to ensure that these critical aspects were not overlooked. Both designers and non-designers reported that the structure of the toolbox and its methodology naturally emphasized these considerations, making it hard to ignore them during their creative processes.
iCan
Designing with Purpose, Creating with Heart.
In today's rapidly evolving business environment, small to medium-sized businesses often struggle to innovate user experiences due to a lack of access to specialized user experience (UX) resources and advanced methodologies. This challenge is compounded by the limitations of traditional design thinking processes, which fails to fully address universal concerns such as sustainability, accessibility, and the pursuit of long-lasting solutions. iCan introduces a reimagined design thinking toolbox, specifically crafted for smaller companies that cannot afford to outsource UX expertise. This toolbox updates the conventional design thinking framework to better tackle the issues commonly encountered with existing methodologies. By emphasizing principles of sustainability, accessibility, and durability, it makes the refined design thinking approach more accessible and actionable. Accompanied by a user-friendly manual, the toolbox provides a variety of tools, including eco-map templates, to facilitate the comprehensive application of UX principles. iCan's goal is to democratize UX innovation across various business sectors, enabling organizations of all financial standings to equip themselves with the tools and knowledge necessary to deliver outstanding user experiences, thus addressing a critical gap in the current design thinking landscape.
Methodology
The final updated methodology includes five stages.
Deep Listening
This initial stage goes beyond surface-level engagement, tuning into the unsaid—the emotions, environmental factors, and
non-verbal cues that offer a richer understanding of user needs.
Define
Here, we refine our insights, crafting dual problem statements that reflect both user needs and creators' visions.
Ideate
As we move into ideation, the emphasis is on fostering creativity across the board, encouraging contributions from all, irrespective of their design background.
Prototype
This stage encourages the rapid iteration and materialization of ideas into tangible prototypes,
fostering a hands-on approach to problem-solving that doesn’t leave sustainability and accessibility considerations as an afterthought.
Test
Finally, testing extends beyond usability to encompass sustainability and accessibility. It challenges designers to foresee and mitigate the negative outcomes of their solutions, ensuring that the innovations we celebrate today don't become the dilemmas of tomorrow.
User Manual
