YOU MADE IT!
You have access to two free additional design thinking resources that we’ve developed specifically as a follow up to the process you began at the UCDA Presence Changes Perception Presentation. Here’s how we recommend you utilize these tools to get the best outcome for solving the problem you’re exploring.
Be sure to complete both the Asset Finder Grid and the Asset Opportunity Map before tackling these additional resources. (The Asset Finder Grid and the Asset Opportunity Map are on your handout)
PERSONAS WORKSHEET
Persona Profile: While this is often a tool we use at the beginning of research to better understand the people we’re solving the problem for, we’re sliding it into the ideation phase for the purpose of evaluating how your ideas might be experienced by stakeholders impacted by the new idea you might implement. It’s a process of forecasting.
As an insider to the problem, you may have a better understanding of how to respond on behalf of the people your personas represent. Complete a persona through the lens of a people group or individual stakeholder impacted by your idea. Give them a name. As you fill in the boxes with the prompts, consider their Situation & Context, Goals & Motivation, Fears & Frustrations, and Tasks & Tactics.
Your discovery during this Persona activity may cause you to shift the ideas on the Asset Opportunity Map to further understand its Capital and Sustainability from the Persona’s point of view. This is invaluable insight, ensuring you’re moving forward on ideas without assumptions that could possibly hinder the success of the solution.
Once the Persona’s are complete look for commonalities across the spectrum of the different categories. Write some notes with insights before you move to the next Design Thinking activity, The Future Wheel.
FUTURE WHEEL
Future Wheel: This tool can be used at varying intervals throughout a design thinking session. Bringing it into the process earlier, rather than waiting until ideation is resolved, helps identify needed resources, timelines, and potential problems, saving time and money. It’s the idea of “Failing faster and cheaper!”
You may also find that this process affords the opportunity to implement several of your ideas over the course of the timeline depending on the scale and resources available.
For instance, a small sized project may require two months to implement which builds a foundation for the medium sized project that will take seven months to complete which finally leads toward the one year deadline for implementing the large scaled project.
Begin by writing the solution in the center of the wheel. Next, write the goals for each of the various time lines according to what you anticipate the needs are. The orange circle will be the overarching goal for that two month period. The teal colored circles indicate what tasks or goals need to be met to ensure the overarching goal is met.
There are two potential great outcomes that will likely emerge from this series of Design Thinking activities we’ve crafted for you:
You have a clear plan for a strong idea that could be implemented in phases, taking advantage of progressive steps toward a sustainable solution. OR
Your process uncovers potential problems with ideas you may have been too attached to, offering valuable insights. Letting go of your favorite ideas frees you to think and create with greater empathy. The process is worth it. Step back and revisit earlier activities to allow new, more meaningful solutions to emerge. Approach each task in a way that serves the process best. Trust your intuition—you now understand the needs better than before!
Please email me at wendy@mariondesign.co about your experience as you apply these methods. We’d love to hear where your creativity takes you!
