RITx: THINK501x Design Thinking Fundamentals

Benchmarking: Analysis of competitors, similar products or existing solutions, trends, etc. as part of research.

Business: The 'viability' aspect of design thinking. Whether a potential solution fits the goals of the organization, such as mission or strategic direction. Also financial and human resource requirements.

Context: The environment, circumstances, people, objects, processes, etc. that exist in or surround a user and/or a problem.

Convergent thinking: Evaluative and analytical thinking that allows you to narrow down the many idea possibilities to the best ones. The goal is to determine quality ideas. Done during synthesis.

Critique: People provide both positive and negative feedback on an idea in order to improve that idea.

Cross-functional team: A group of people with different expertise, job functions, and/or job levels who work together toward the same goal.

Culture (organizational): "The particular condition in which people perceive, think, act, interact and work in a particular organization... it is like a company's personality" (from Rosenberg, et al).

Customer: See 'User'.

Design: A plan or drawing that reveals how something works, or the series of choices one makes when deciding on the look or function of an object or a space.

Design brief: A document summarizing the user research and providing a thorough description of the problem to be solved. Part of the reframed problem definition.

Design thinking: A user-centered, creative, and collaborative problem-solving methodology, and a set of attitudes and a way of thinking about one's own participation in the problem-solving process.

Design thinking team: The team that is assembled to do design thinking together. Includes specific expertise relating to the problem. May also be called 'solution team' or 'ideating team' in this course.

Desirability: Relates to the user aspect of design thinking. Does it align to the user and context?

Diverge/converge cycles: Repeated iteration of creating choices (diverge) and making choices (converge).

Divergent thinking: Creative and generative thinking that allows you to come up with many ideas or think broadly. The goal is to generate a quantity of ideas. Done during ideation.

Empathy: Understanding the feelings, thoughts, or experiences of another person from their point of view. You try to imagine yourself in their situation.

Environment: The physical location of the user/problem and anything in that location that would affect your problem space. This is part of the context.

Ethnography: The systematic study of people and cultures. The type of user research done in design thinking.

Evaluative research: Research meant to test a hypothesis or confirm an understanding. Conducted in the later stages of the design thinking process to determine how well proposed solutions fit users' needs and expectations.

Explicit need: Needs that are understood and defined by the user (they can articulate them to you).

Feasibility: Relates to the technology aspect of design thinking. Can it be done?

Fidelity: The amount of detail in the prototype and how much it resembles a finished solution.

Generative research: Research meant to help you explore and understand more about a situation. Conducted in the beginning of the design thinking process to learn more about the user, problem, and context.

Ideating team: See 'Design thinking team'.

Ideation stage: The second grouping of substages of the design thinking process. Includes Substage 4: Ideation and Synthesis and Substage 5: Visualization and Storytelling. In this stage you come up with ideas to solve your problem and narrow the possibilities to the best ones to move forward with.

Initial problem description: A loose explanation of the problem based on initial understandings. Substage 1.

Iteration: The repetition of a process, stage, or action.

Latent need: Needs that the user may not realize, perceive, or know how to define (may be observed by the researcher).

Persona: A 'fictional character' document created from research information to describe a typical user. May include demographic attributes, how they feel, things they want, and the types of things they do. Referenced throughout the process as something to design towards.

Problem: Something to be solved or improved upon. Opportunities can also be 'problems'. This starts the design thinking process.

Product: Often we use 'product' in this course to mean any type of solution, including services and processes. May also be used for true products such as physical products (e.g. kitchen appliance, passenger vehicle) or digital products (e.g. smartphone app, website).

Prototype (noun): An early model, representation, or sample of something. Used to test and/or get feedback on an idea.

Prototype (verb): The act of testing your model/sample to get feedback.

Prototyping stage: The third and final grouping of substages of the design thinking process. Includes Substage 6: Iterative Prototyping and Substage 7: Testing and Refinement. In this stage you test your ideas with users to refine them to the most appropriate solution.

Qualitative data/research: Uses words and images as data with a focus on exploration and interpretation (e.g. interview, observation). Analyzed by themes. The type of research done most often in design thinking.

Quantitative data/research: Uses numbers as data with a focus on finding relationships and making predictions (e.g. surveys, polls). Uses statistical analysis.

Reframed problem definition: A more refined and detailed explanation of the problem after learning more about the problem, the user, and the context through research. Substage 3. May include a design brief.

Research stage: The first grouping of substages of the design thinking process. Includes Substage 1: Initial Problem Description, Substage 2: Research, and Substage 3: Reframed Problem Definition. In this stage you seek to understand more about your problem, the users, and the users' context.

Return on investment (ROI): A measure of the amount of resources invested (time, people, money) to do something versus the gain in the end. A good ROI has more gain in the end than the resources invested to do it.

Solution: The end result or the thing that solves your problem at the end of the design thinking process.

Solution team: See 'Design thinking team'.

Stakeholder: People or groups who will provide resources to the design thinking process, participate in the process, use or benefit from the solution, or are otherwise interested in the development of the solution.

Synthesis: The process of organizing and evaluating ideas to select the ones that best address the problem and will proceed to prototyping. Part of Substage 4.

Technology: The 'feasibility' aspect of design thinking. The system, mechanism, or science that makes something work. Also materials and tools available.

Triangulation: Obtain multiple perspectives using multiple methods on the same topic. Allows for a better understanding on a topic and more confidence in the results.

UI: Abbreviation for 'User Interface'.

User: The 'desirability' aspect of design thinking. The people who will purchase, use, or otherwise interact with your solution. Also includes the context or environment of these people. The focus of your design thinking efforts. Sometimes referred to as the 'customer'.

UX: Abbreviation for 'User Experience'.

Viability: Relates to the business aspect of design thinking. Does it fit the goals of the organization?

Visualization: Anything that communicates an idea as a visual instead of with words. Most often sketches and storyboards. Part of Substage 5.

3-circle diagram: A Venn diagram of three areas: user, business, and technology. Represents the focus areas, experts needed, and common criteria in design thinking.