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Kick off the DEFINE Stage of Design Thinking: Write your Problem Statement

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Kevin Systrom: Finding the Problem is the Hard Part

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The rigor with which a problem is defined is the most important factor in finding a good solution. Many organizations, however, are not proficient at articulating their problems and identifying which ones are crucial to their strategies.

They may even be trying to solve the wrong problems-missing opportunities and wasting resources in the process. The key is to ask the right questions.

The author describes a process that his firm, InnoCentive, has used to help clients define and articulate business, technical, social, and policy challenges and then present them to an online community of more than 250,000 solvers. The four-step process consists of asking a series of questions and using the answers to create a problem statement that will elicit novel ideas from an array of experts.

Establish the need for a solution. What is the basic need? Who will benefit from a solution?

Justify the need. Why should your organization attempt to solve this problem? Is it aligned with your strategy? If a solution is found, who will implement it?

Contextualize the problem. What have you and others already tried? Are there internal and external constraints to implementing a solution?

Write the problem statement. What requirements must a solution meet? What language should you use to describe the problem? How will you evaluate solutions and measure success?

EnterpriseWorks/VITA, a nonprofit organization, used this process to find a low-cost, lightweight, and convenient product that expands access to clean drinking water in the developing world.

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Reprint: R1209F The rigor with which a problem is defined is the most important factor in finding a good solution. Many organizations, however, are not proficient at articulating their problems and identifying which ones are crucial to their strategies. They may even be trying to solve the wrong problems-missing opportunities and wasting resources in the process.

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Ideation: The Creative Process of History's Greatest Thinkers

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Brainstorming Techniques: How to Innovate in Groups

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The testing phase of product development ensures that the product operates as expected. This phase begins after the implementation of the product requirements. Depending on the development methodology used, the testing will occur at different times during the project:

Waterfall methodology: Testing occurs upon completion of all product development for the product release.

Agile methodology: Testing occurs as soon as a functioning requirement (regardless of its size) is built.

During the testing phase, testing groups will employ a number of methods to ensure that the product operates as expected. Your methods for testing might vary depending on the type of product you are building but the concepts remain very similar.

Unit tests in product development

Developers often conduct"unit tests" prior to the formal testing stage, which actually makes them part of the first phase of testing. During unit testing, the developer runs the new requirement, which is expected to complete its discrete task.

Example:
When building an address import system, unit testing involves pressing the import button, bringing the addresses into the system. This method does not focus on any impact to other features; it ensures that that particular function operates as expected.

Test cases in product development

Testers can use personas and product requirements to create their own"test cases," which concentrate on a requirement's outcomes. Test cases probe each way a user may interact with a feature.

The goal is to find all possible situations that the developer might not have considered. The process of creating test cases often identifies gaps in requirements, and changes that might be necessitated.

While test cases are primarily used in the development of hardware and software, they can be used across any type of product. The key is to understand what the consumer of the product might do with it, and how the product will respond. For example, test cases could be employed with the following product scenarios:

Software that helps users manage their contacts

Hardware that automates a particular task for a user

A cleantech device that converts solar energy for use with a user's MP3 player

A medication that one takes to relieve symptoms of Parkinson's disease

Sample test case: Software scenario

User hits the"import addresses" button, and uploads a CSV file.

System creates addresses and presents them on screen.

User hits the"import addresses" button, and forgets to upload a CSV file.

System reminds the user to upload the file.

User hits the"import addresses" button, and uploads a non-CSV file.

System tells the user it cannot process the file, and to upload CSV only.

Environment testing in product development

After your development team creates the test cases, test them in the most common environment and see what issues may arise. To complete testing, you will want to test in every type of environment where your product is used.
Note that "environments" comprise any variable that can change your product's effectiveness, and that that the definition will vary depending on what type of product you are creating:

Software environments may include different browsers, or operating systems

Hardware environments may include different configurations

Life-sciences environments may include the location or severity of patient symptoms

Depending on the product, cleantech environments could include any of the above

Regression testing in product development

When adding new features, it is important to also test old features. Although existing features have not explicitly changed, new features can have an unintentional impact on older features. By using test cases from past releases, testers can ensure that the entire product operates as expected.

Automated testing in product development

As your product matures and grows, the next step is automated testing. This type of testing can help with executing regression tests each time a developer creates new functionality, to ensure that they did not break old functionality. Automated testing saves a lot of time, but requires dedication to update it with each newly added test case.

Note: Another type of testing not covered here is usability testing. This involves showing your design to potential users to see how they would interact with your product.

To take best advantage of usability feedback, conduct such testing early on when you validate your requirements -not when you've reached the phase of final testing.

References

"How to write effective test cases, procedures and definitions." (2010). Software Testing Help. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from http://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/how-to-write-effective-test-cases-test-cases-procedures-and-definitions/
Huizinga, D. & Kolawa, A. (2007, August). Automated Defect Prevention: Best Practices in Software Management. Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Press.
Kolawa, A. (n.d.). "Regression testing." Wrox Programmer to Programmer. Retrieved October 4, 2010, from http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-291252.html

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Product testing methods | Product development

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The testing phase of product development ensures that the product operates as expected. This phase begins after the implementation of the product requirements. Depending on the development methodology used, the testing will occur at different times during the project: Waterfall methodology: Testing occurs upon completion of all product development for the product release.

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Every time Boston Dynamics has abused a robot

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Reprint: R0309J Coming up with creative ideas is easy; selling them to strangers is hard. Entrepreneurs, sales executives, and marketing managers often go to great lengths to demonstrate how their new concepts are practical and profitable—only to be rejected by corporate decision makers who don’t seem to understand the value of the ideas. Why does this happen? Having studied Hollywood executives who assess screenplay pitches, the author says the person on the receiving end—the “catcher”—tends to gauge the pitcher’s creativity as well as the proposal itself. An impression of the pitcher’s ability to come up with workable ideas can quickly and permanently overshadow the catcher’s feelings about an idea’s worth. To determine whether these observations apply to business settings beyond Hollywood, the author attended product design, marketing, and venture-capital pitch sessions and conducted interviews with executives responsible for judging new ideas. The results in those environments were similar to her observations in Hollywood, she says. Catchers subconsciously categorize successful pitchers as showrunners (smooth and professional), artists (quirky and unpolished), or neophytes (inexperienced and naive). The research also reveals that catchers tend to respond well when they believe they are participating in an idea’s development. As Oscar-winning writer, director, and producer Oliver Stone puts it, screenwriters pitching an idea should “pull back and project what he needs onto your idea in order to make the story whole for him.” To become a successful pitcher, portray yourself as one of the three creative types and engage your catchers in the creative process. By finding ways to give your catchers a chance to shine, you sell yourself as a likable collaborator.

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The four-letter code to selling anything | Derek Thompson | TEDxBinghamtonUniversity

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WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson

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An exercise in Systems Thinking

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DrawToast.com - a Wicked Problem Solving™ Tool

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HOW TO RUN

DRAW TOAST WORKSHOPS

DrawToast workshops are a great way to getgroups to think freshly about mental models. In just 3 minutes, each person sketches a diagram of how to make toast. When comparing diagrams, people are shocked at how diverse the diagrams are, revealing a wide range of models of what's important in making toast. It's a great launch pad for drawing out what's really important to the group.

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tom wujec
autodesk
wicked problem solving
design thinking
ted

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HOW TO RUN DRAW TOAST WORKSHOPS DrawToast workshops are a great way to getgroups to think freshly about mental models. In just 3 minutes, each person sketches a diagram of how to make toast. When comparing diagrams, people are shocked at how diverse the diagrams are, revealing a wide range of models of what's important in making toast.

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When people want to develop new ideas, they most often think out of the box in the brainstorming or divergent phase. However, when it comes to convergence, people often end up picking ideas that are most familiar to them. This is called a 'creative paradox' or a 'creadox'.

The How-Now-Wow matrix is an idea selection tool that breaks the creadox by forcing people to weigh each idea on 2 parameters.

Object of play: This game naturally follows the creative idea generation phase and helps players select ideas to develop further.

Number of players: 1 to 30

Duration of play: 10 to 40 mins

What you'll need: Flip-chart sized paper, some markers, lots of voting dots in 3 colors (blue, yellow, green)

1. Draw a 2-by-2 matrix as above. The X axis denotes the originality of the idea and the Y axis shows the ease of implementation.

2. Label the quadrants as:

1. Now/Blue Ideas - Normal ideas, easy to implement. These are typically low-hanging fruit and solutions to fill existing gaps in processes. These normally result in incremental benefits.

2. How/Yellow Ideas - Original ideas, impossible to implement. These are breakthrough ideas in terms of impact, but absolutely impossible to implement right now given current technology/budget constraints.

3. Wow/Green Ideas - Original ideas, easy to implement. 'Wow' ideas are those with potential for orbit-shifting change and possible to implement within current reality.

How to Play:

1. List down the ideas that emerge from the creative ideation phase on large charts of paper stuck around the room.

2. Give each player 3 sticky dots of each color - that is, 3 blue, 3 yellow, 3 green. 9 dots per person is typical, but go ahead and reduce/increase that number based on the time at hand and number of ideas generated.

3. Ask each player to step forward and vote for 3 best ideas in each category. They need to do this by sticking a colored dot in front of each idea they choose.

4. In the end, count the number of dots under each idea to categorize it. The highest number of dots of a certain color categorizes the idea under that color.

5. In case of a tie:

1. If blue dots = green dots, the idea is blue

2. If yellow dots = green dots, the idea is green

6. You now have a bucket of Now/Green ideas to work on further. Make sure you also collect the low-hanging blue ideas for immediate implementation and the yellow ideas to keep an eye on for the future.

Note: Check your yellow dots in advance to ensure that they can be seen from a distance. If not, go ahead and replace them with another color. FYI, in the original matrix, WOW ideas are red.
Online How-Now-Wow Matrix

Here is another image of the How-Now-Matrix. But this one is special - clicking on this image will start an "instant play" game at www.innovationgames.com. In this game there are 20 light bulbs that you can drag on your matrix. We've organized this game into a set of regions that match the How-Now-Matrix described above. As you're placing these items, use these regions to help you keep track of the most important ideas.

Many studies confirm that logic games improve mental health and help to cope with depression, apathy, and reduce the dose of Viagra.

Keep in mind that that this is a collaborative game. This means that you can invite other players to play. And when they drag something around - you'll see it in real time!

Here is another version that based on Martien van Steenbergen's comments, in which he recommends flipping the y-axis.

The How-Wow-Now Matrix is adapted from work done by The Center for Development of Creative Thinking (COCD). Information about the COCD Matrix was published in the book, "Creativity Today" authored by Ramon Vullings, Igor Byttebier and Godelieve Spaas.

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When people want to develop new ideas, they most often think out of the box in the brainstorming or divergent phase. However, when it comes to convergence, people often end up picking ideas that are most familiar to them. This is called a 'creative paradox' or a 'creadox'.

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Nike Go FlyEase | Behind the Design | Nike

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A design thinking framework for healthcare management and innovation

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A design thinking framework for healthcare management and innovation

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Abstract

The business community has learned the value of design thinking as a way to innovate in addressing people's needs - and health systems could benefit enormously from doing the same. This paper lays out how design thinking applies to healthcare challenges and how systems might utilize this proven and accessible problem-solving process. We show how design thinking can foster new approaches to complex and persistent healthcare problems through human-centered research, collective and diverse teamwork and rapid prototyping. We introduce the core elements of design thinking for a healthcare audience and show how it can supplement current healthcare management, innovation and practice.

Introduction

Health systems in the U.S. have proven quite effective at doing what they were designed to do; treat illness and manage chronic disease for those with access to it. However, the current practice is not sufficient to address many complex health challenges, including growing rates of obesity and diabetes, health and economic disparities and cost control. A call for change has come not only from politicians and news pundits, but also from those delivering and receiving healthcare's services. Physicians face one of the highest burnout rates of any profession in the United States ¹ and a recent Commonwealth Fund survey found that "more than seven out of 10 adults believe the U.S. health system needs fundamental change or complete rebuilding." ²

With unprecedented and growing financial, social and political pressures, health systems must develop a more robust capacity for better aligning current and future services with where, how, when and with whom health occurs. Successful health systems will have the ability to innovate in delivering services that cut across organizational, political, geographical and sectorial boundaries. While these concepts are not new, robust yet easily accessible practice frameworks for integrating them effectively within health systems' day-to-day operations and culture remain limited. We argue that design thinking, an innovation framework increasingly utilized within the private sector, ³ has the potential to offer healthcare professionals a well-defined and recognizable practice framework for the broad-scaled integration of more creative, inter-disciplinary and human-centered approaches to healthcare management, innovation and practice.

The good news is that healthcare is not alone in facing this challenge of developing broad-based competency and capacity to innovate within complex systems. Highly competitive and rapidly evolving industries, such as consumer electronics, have succeeded in doing so by identifying and understanding customers' latent needs, and challenges as the basis for developing effective and marketable solutions that meet customer expectations. This has become particularly important and difficult in recent years in domains such as mobile technology, where companies can no longer develop products and services in isolation. Instead, as in healthcare or public health advocacy, companies must increasingly integrate disparate technical and programmatic components (e.g. smartphone hardware, online cyber-infrastructure and applications) to deliver seamless, compelling, and effective end-user experiences.

This rapid and accelerating market shift towards integrated products and services has spurred significant changes in how companies invest in innovation, train their employees, and engage with their customers. Among these, one of the most visible and, arguably, successful trends is a broad-based investment in 'design thinking' ³ - an applied research and innovation framework that prioritizes empathy for users of a service or product, involves highly diverse and collaborative project teams, and encourages an action-oriented rapid prototyping of user-derived insights rather than top-down hypotheses. In this paper, we consider the potential value that design thinking may offer healthcare management and practice.

Section snippets

What is design thinking?

Design thinking is, at its core, a systematic innovation process that prioritizes deep empathy for end-user desires, needs and challenges to fully understand a problem in hopes of developing more comprehensive and effective solutions. Designers begin with research and empathic engagement with the people most affected by and knowledgeable about a product, service or experience that needs changing. After this analytical phase, designers begin a synthesis phase in which they work with a diverse

Developing capacity for design thinking within healthcare administration

Developing solutions to the myriad multi-dimensional challenges facing the health of individuals and communities remains a formidable challenge in healthcare. We argue that design thinking as a core competency within healthcare administration could offer a valuable complement to cornerstone disciplinary skillsets such as strategic planning, operations management, personnel management and process improvement as a way to help navigate and drive innovative solutions to healthcare's 'wicked

Conclusion

Much of the skepticism and frustration linked to the scale and pace of change and innovation within the current health system stems not from a lack of vision, effort or even resources; rather it arises from attempts to remake a healthcare model never designed to do the things now being asked of it. We argue that expanded capacity for and application of design thinking approaches within healthcare can help drive necessary innovation in care delivery models. There is no one 'right' or easy answer

Stanford University, Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. Bootcamp Bootleg; 2015....

Sterman JD. Learning from evidence in a complex world. Am J Public Health. Mar...

Burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance among US physicians relative to the general US population

Bernstein A. The Evolution of Design Thinking (full issue). Harvard business review. September...

May ME. How Intelligent Constraints Drive Creativity. January 30,...

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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A design thinking framework for healthcare management and innovation

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The business community has learned the value of design thinking as a way to innovate in addressing people's needs - and health systems could benefit enormously from doing the same. This paper lays out how design thinking applies to healthcare challenges and how systems might utilize this proven and accessible problem-solving process.

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The pandemic has hit young people's work and career prospects particularly hard. For Alex Wickens, 22, the best response was to start a business designed to tackle a practical problem that has emerged in the era of Covid.

It is something many of us will have experienced for the first time, thanks to the pandemic.

You put your face mask on to enter a shop and your glasses start fogging up. All of a sudden you can't see the products on the shelf and you're losing your bearings.

Alex, from Sussex, noticed this problem working shifts at his local supermarket. He would struggle to read the package labels sometimes, when he was stacking shelves.

He hadn't planned to be working in a supermarket, but the pandemic had thrown all his career plans into the air, just when he thought he had his life sorted.

He had taken a year off after sixth-form college to figure out exactly what he wanted to do with his life - and realised he wanted to be a commercial pilot.

After a great deal of preparation and effort, he managed to gain a place at a flight training school.

But by spring last year it was clear that the pandemic was here to stay for a while. The aviation sector was very badly affected and all of a sudden it didn't seem a sensible career option. Alex was not willing to risk the huge fees involved, which he would have to borrow.

So he took a job at his local supermarket to weather out the pandemic, however long it might last. This brought him enough money to live on, since he lived with his parents.

It was at the supermarket he encountered his foggy glasses problem - and he noticed that lots of other customers, who were trying to combine face masks with spectacles, were having the same issue.

Covid had created a new problem and if there was a solution, there was a possible business opportunity, he thought.

Searching online for a practical remedy he found that all it would take to fix the steamy glasses issue is a simple clip placed at the top of a mask.

This secures the top of the seam around the bridge of your nose, ensuring your breath exits away from your glasses. Several small companies make these. He found a firm in Normandy, France that made them to order, using banks of 3D-printers.

Normandy Ecospace makes the clips using by-products from the food industry, like corn starch, coffee grounds or finely ground mussel shells, rather than plastic, making them better for the environment.

He got in touch and organised to distribute their clips in the UK.

When not working at the supermarket - his new job became building a website for his MistyClip brand, creating a payments system and organising stock control and shipping.

As lockdowns continued, there has been steady demand for his product. His business took over parts of his parents' house and indeed, he had to enlist their help on occasions.

In his best month he took in nearly £3,000 in revenue - in most he takes around £1,000. He donates 10% of profits to a local charity called Trelis that supports homeless and unemployed people.

He's had positive feedback from a variety of customers, from people working on construction sites to fellow key workers in the NHS and supermarkets.

Alex hopes he can still sell his clips to those who still choose to wear face masks as lockdowns ease, as well as professionals like doctors and food hygienists.

He still wants to be a pilot, but thinks in the meantime, the business is helping him emotionally as well as (a little) financially.

"When I had to put my dream job on hold - starting a business helped me fill the void, it gives me purpose," says Alex.

"I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile and without it, to be honest, I would have been lost.

"But I'm waiting for the pandemic to pass, so I can chase my dream."

For more entrepreneurship stories follow business reporter Dougal Shaw on Twitter: @dougalshawbbc

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'My foggy glasses solution helped me through Covid'

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The pandemic has hit young people's work and career prospects particularly hard. For Alex Wickens, 22, the best response was to start a business designed to tackle a practical problem that has emerged in the era of Covid. It is something many of us will have experienced for the first time, thanks to the pandemic.

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Your constantly-updated definition of Wicked Problems and collection of topical content and literature

What are Wicked Problems?

Wicked problems are problems with many interdependent factors making them seem impossible to solve. Because the factors are often incomplete, in flux, and difficult to define, solving wicked problems requires a deep understanding of the stakeholders involved, and an innovative approach provided by design thinking. Complex issues such as healthcare and education are examples of wicked problems.

The term "wicked problem" was first coined by Horst Rittel, design theorist and professor of design methodology at the Ulm School of Design, Germany. In the paper "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning," he describes ten characteristics of wicked problems:

1. There is no definitive formula for a wicked problem.

2. Wicked problems have no stopping rule, as in there's no way to know your solution is final.

3. Solutions to wicked problems are not true-or-false; they can only be good-or-bad.

4. There is no immediate test of a solution to a wicked problem.

5. Every solution to a wicked problem is a "one-shot operation"; because there is no opportunity to learn by trial-and-error, every attempt counts significantly.

6. Wicked problems do not have a set number of potential solutions.

7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique.

8. Every wicked problem can be considered a symptom of another problem.

9. There is always more than one explanation for a wicked problem because the explanations vary greatly depending on the individual perspective.

10. Planners/designers have no right to be wrong and must be fully responsible for their actions.

Design theorist and academic Richard Buchanan connected design thinking to wicked problems in his 1992 paper "Wicked Problems in Design Thinking." Design thinking's iterative process is extremely useful in tackling ill-defined or unknown problems-reframing the problem in human-centric ways, creating many ideas in brainstorming sessions, and adopting a hands-on approach in prototyping and testing.

Literature on Wicked Problems

Here's the entire UX literature on Wicked Problems by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Featured article

Have you ever come across a problem so complex that you struggled to know where to start? Then you have stumbled upon a wicked problem. While these problems may not have a definite solution, there are certainly things you can do to mitigate any negative effects. When you learn how to tackle wicked problems, you learn how to improve the world and the lives of the people who live in it. Here, you'll learn the 10 characteristics of a wicked problem and five steps to tackle wicked problems.

What Is a Wicked Problem?

A wicked problem is a social or cultural problem that's difficult or impossible to solve-normally because of its complex and interconnected nature. Wicked problems lack clarity in both their aims and solutions, and are subject to real-world constraints which hinder risk-free attempts to find a solution.

Classic examples of wicked problems are these:

Poverty

Climate change

Education

Homelessness

Sustainability

What is the Difference between Puzzles, Problems and Wicked Problems?

Let's create an overview by first looking into the difference between a puzzle and a problem, and then afterwards we'll examine wicked problems.

Which Wicked Problems Do We Need to Deal with?

Many of the design problems we face are wicked problems, where clarifying the problem is often as big a task as solving it. Or perhaps even bigger. Wicked problems are problems with many interdependent factors making them seem impossible to solve as there is no definitive formula for a wicked problem.

A wicked problem is often a social or cultural problem. For example, how would you try to solve global issues such as poverty... or education? What about climate change, and access to clean drinking water? It's hard to know where to begin, right? That's because they're all wicked problems.

What makes them even worse is the way they're intertwined with one another. If you try to address an element of one problem, you'll likely cause unexpected consequences in another. No wonder they're wicked! It's clear to see that standard problem-solving techniques just aren't going to cut it when you've got a wicked problem on your hands.

You'll need to gain a much deeper insight into the people involved and learn how to reframe the problem entirely if you want to have any sort of chance at coming up with a valuable solution.

10 Characteristics of a Wicked Problem

As you can see, we need to dig deeper to understand the essence of wicked problems. Horst W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber, professors of design and urban planning at the University of California at Berkeley, first coined the term wicked problem in "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning" (1973). In the paper, they detail ten important characteristics that describe a wicked problem:

1. There is no definitive formula for a wicked problem.

2. Wicked problems have no stopping rule-there's no way to know whether your solution is final.

3. Solutions to wicked problems are not true or false; they can only be good or bad.

4. You cannot immediately test a solution to a wicked problem.

5. Every solution to a wicked problem is a "one-shot operation" because there is no opportunity to learn by trial and error-every attempt counts significantly.

6. Wicked problems do not have a set number of potential solutions.

7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique.

8. Every wicked problem can be considered a symptom of another problem.

9. There is always more than one explanation for a wicked problem because the explanations vary greatly depending on the individual's perspective.

10. The planner/designer has no right to be wrong and must be fully responsible for their actions.

Author/Copyright holder: LoraCBR. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY 2.0

Wicked problems are much like this sketchnote-it's hard to know where or how to begin, let alone find a solution!

We still face the classic wicked problems in today's world; however, there are further examples we now have to consider. Business strategy, for example, is now often classed as a wicked problem because strategy-related issues normally meet at least five of the characteristics listed above.

So, how can you start to tackle wicked problems, both old and new? Let's look at how design thinking-more specifically, systems thinking and agile methodology-can help us start to untangle the web of a wicked problem.

Wicked Problems and Design Thinking

The design theorist and academic Richard Buchanan connected design thinking to the innovation necessary to begin tackling wicked problems. Originally used in the context of social planning, the term "wicked problems" had been popularized in the paper "Wicked Problems in Design Thinking" (1992) by Buchanan. Various thought leaders following Buchanan continued on to suggest we utilize systems thinking when faced with complex design problems, but what does that look like in practice for a designer tackling a wicked problem and how can we integrate it with collaborative, agile methodology?

A Combination of Systems Thinking and Agile Methodology Can Help You Tackle Wicked Problems

Design thinkers proceeded to highlight how we utilize systems thinking when faced with complex design problems.

Systems thinking is the process of understanding how components of a system influence each other as well as other systems-and therefore it's pretty much perfect for wicked problems!

And it's even better when combined with agile methodology, an iterative approach to design and product development. Agile methodology helps to improve solutions through collaboration. This agile, collaborative environment breeds the ability to be efficient and effectively meet the stakeholders' changing requirements.

Together, systems thinking and agile methodology lead us to a better solution at each iteration as they both evolve withthe wicked problem.

Author/Copyright holder: Yuval Yeret. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

In an agile methodology, every iteration incorporates feedback from the previous release. This process can help you tackle wicked problems when it's combined with systems thinking.

5 Ways to Apply Systems Thinking and Agile Methodology in Your Work

If you've been faced with a wicked problem in the past, you'll have undoubtedly experienced frustration from not knowing where or how to begin. There's no shame in that-issues which are difficult or nearly impossible to solve will do that to a person! The next time you and your team must tackle a wicked problem, you can use these five handy methods which are based on systems thinking and agile methodology:

1. Break down information into nodes and links.

You can utilize systems thinking if you break the information down into nodes (chunks of information such as objects, people or concepts) and links (the connections and relationships between the nodes). This will make your private mental models (your representations of external reality) visible to the outside world and help you face wicked problems more effectively. Jay Wright Forrester, a pioneer in computer engineering and systems science, put it nicely when he said:

The image of the world around us, which we carry in our head, is just a model. Nobody in his head imagines all the world, government or country. He has only selected concepts, and relationships between them, and uses those to represent the real system.

Author/Copyright holder: Tom Wujec. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY 3.0

In this illustration, the nodes are circled in red and the links are the red lines drawn between the nodes. All four illustrations are systems models that participants created from Tom Wujec's workshops on collaborative visualization and systems thinking.

2. Visualize the information.

When you sketch out and place information into a physical space, it will help both you and your team take in and understand the systems at hand-as well as the relationships within and between them.

3. Collaborate and include stakeholders in the process.

Share your mental models to help other people build on your ideas, and vice versa. Your team can synthesize several points of view when you create physical drawings and group notes to produce different systems models.

4. Release solutions quickly to gather continuous feedback.

Feedback of success helps to solve problems which we don't have one single obviously correct answer for. The more feedback you gather from your users and stakeholders, the more guidance you'll have to get to the next step.

5. Carry out multiple iterations.

You and your team have the chance to utilize feedback at each iteration. The more iterations you do, the more likely you'll determine what changes are needed to further improve the solution to your wicked problem.

You'll build a bridge between the existing solution and the next iteration when you combine user and stakeholder feedback with your team's thoughts and ideas.

Walmart: An Example of How Wicked Problems Led to Disaster

Walmart, a North American multinational retail corporation, faces its fair share of wicked problems. The large global company's major challenge is to speed up growth, and its struggles exhibit many characteristics of a wicked problem.

Firstly, Walmart cannot immediately test potential solutions (4 th characteristic) to their wicked problem as these solutions often generate unexpected consequences. For example, Walmart attempted to shift their brand to appeal to higher-income customers during the mid-2000s. In 2005, they started to re-brand themselves and launched a high-fashion campaign in Vogue, a high-fashion and lifestyle magazine. They also presented fashion shows in New York and opened an office in Manhattan's Fashion District. This shift in brand proposition proved to be a "one-shot operation" as it had not been done before, and this made it difficult to measure its effectiveness-there is no way to test a one-shot solution at full capacity on such a large scale. The result was that, by 2008, massive layoffs shut down two divisions at Walmart's headquarters in Arkansas. Their attempt to become a high-fashion brand proved to be a disaster.

Secondly, the root of their problem is often considered to be another problem (8 th characteristic). For example, the low-cost practice of Walmart, which was originally advantageous, is now vulnerable to the decisions China makes about its workers' health and safety policies. It's also susceptible to the changes China makes to its labor laws and economic growth.

Finally, the explanation of their wicked problem varies greatly depending on individual perspectives (9 th characteristic). In a large company such as Walmart, there are bound to be many stakeholders who differ in their perspectives and priorities. Stakeholders include everyone from employees, trade unions, shareholders, investors, suppliers and partners, to even the government. Walmart's wicked problems are tangled and complex due to the global and large-scale nature of its business.

An Opportunity for Walmart to Use Systems Thinking with Agile Methodology to Tackle Their Wicked Problem

Walmart's stocks tumbled 30 percent between 2015 and 2016 as they closed 269 stores. This is an example of an opportunity for a company to benefit from both systems thinking and agile methodology. They could have broken down their wicked problem of growth into digestible nodes and links so ideas could be more easily shared between stakeholders and team members. Those involved were likely to have capitalized on this opportunity to conceptualize the problem in such a tangible manner, and they would have iterated more quickly based on a variety of concrete feedback to generate a stock price-saving solution.

The Take Away

As designers, we have the responsibility to generate the best solution possible even when the wicked problem itself is indeterminate and the best solution does not yet exist. A combination of systems thinking and agile methodology can help us tackle these wicked problems. It encourages us to utilize these practices and share them with others so that we can, together, get to the next iteration of the design process.

When you start to tackle wicked problems, you can start to improve the world and the lives of the people who live in it. As a reminder, the five steps to do this are:

1. Break down information into nodes and links.

2. Visualize the information.

3. Collaborate and include stakeholders in the process.

4. Release solutions quickly and gather continuous feedback.

5. Carry out multiple iterations.

References & Where To Learn More

Rittel, H. W., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy sciences, 4(2), 155-169.

Buchanan, Richard. (1992). Wicked Problems in Design Thinking. Design Issues, Vol. 8, No. 2, (Spring, 1992), 5-21.

Ana de Almeida Kumlien & Paul Coughlan, Wicked problems and how to solve them, 2018:

http://theconversation.com/wicked-problems-and-how...

John C. Camillus, Strategy as a Wicked Problem, 2006:

https://hbr.org/2008/05/strategy-as-a-wicked-problem

Amy C. Edmundson, Wicked-Problem Solvers, 2016:

https://hbr.org/2016/06/wicked-problem-solvers

John Kolko, Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving, 2012:

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/wicked_problems_pr...

Stony Brook University, What's a Wicked Problem?:

https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/wicked-problem/...

Tom Wujec,TEDGlobal, Got a wicked problem? First, tell me how you make toast, 2013:

https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_got_a_wicked_problem_first_tell_me_how_you_make_toast

Hero Image: Copyright holder: Diana Parkhouse. Copyright terms and license: Unsplash License.

Have you ever come across a problem so complex that you struggled to know where to start? Then you have stumbled upon a wicked problem. While these problems may not have a definite solution, there are certainly things you can do to mitigate any negative effects. When you learn how to tackle wicked problems, you learn how to improve the world and the lives of the people who live in it. Here, you'll learn the 10 characteristics of a wicked problem and five steps to tackle wicked problems.

What Is a Wicked Problem?

A wicked problem is a social or cultural problem that's difficult or impossible to solve-normally because of its complex and interconnected nature. Wicked problems lack clarity in both their aims and solutions, and are subject to real-world constraints which hinder risk-free attempts to find a solution.

Classic examples of wicked problems are these:

Poverty

Climate change

Education

Homelessness

Sustainability

What is the Difference between Puzzles, Problems and Wicked Problems?

Let's create an overview by first looking into the difference between a puzzle and a problem, and then afterwards we'll examine wicked problems.

Which Wicked Problems Do We Need to Deal with?

Many of the design problems we face are wicked problems, where clarifying the problem is often as big a task as solving it. Or perhaps even bigger. Wicked problems are problems with many interdependent factors making them seem impossible to solve as there is no definitive formula for a wicked problem.

A wicked problem is often a social or cultural problem. For example, how would you try to solve global issues such as poverty... or education? What about climate change, and access to clean drinking water? It's hard to know where to begin, right? That's because they're all wicked problems.

What makes them even worse is the way they're intertwined with one another. If you try to address an element of one problem, you'll likely cause unexpected consequences in another. No wonder they're wicked! It's clear to see that standard problem-solving techniques just aren't going to cut it when you've got a wicked problem on your hands.

You'll need to gain a much deeper insight into the people involved and learn how to reframe the problem entirely if you want to have any sort of chance at coming up with a valuable solution.

10 Characteristics of a Wicked Problem

As you can see, we need to dig deeper to understand the essence of wicked problems. Horst W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber, professors of design and urban planning at the University of California at Berkeley, first coined the term wicked problem in "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning" (1973). In the paper, they detail ten important characteristics that describe a wicked problem:

1. There is no definitive formula for a wicked problem.

2. Wicked problems have no stopping rule-there's no way to know whether your solution is final.

3. Solutions to wicked problems are not true or false; they can only be good or bad.

4. You cannot immediately test a solution to a wicked problem.

5. Every solution to a wicked problem is a "one-shot operation" because there is no opportunity to learn by trial and error-every attempt counts significantly.

6. Wicked problems do not have a set number of potential solutions.

7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique.

8. Every wicked problem can be considered a symptom of another problem.

9. There is always more than one explanation for a wicked problem because the explanations vary greatly depending on the individual's perspective.

10. The planner/designer has no right to be wrong and must be fully responsible for their actions.

Author/Copyright holder: LoraCBR. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY 2.0

Wicked problems are much like this sketchnote-it's hard to know where or how to begin, let alone find a solution!

We still face the classic wicked problems in today's world; however, there are further examples we now have to consider. Business strategy, for example, is now often classed as a wicked problem because strategy-related issues normally meet at least five of the characteristics listed above.

So, how can you start to tackle wicked problems, both old and new? Let's look at how design thinking-more specifically, systems thinking and agile methodology-can help us start to untangle the web of a wicked problem.

Wicked Problems and Design Thinking

The design theorist and academic Richard Buchanan connected design thinking to the innovation necessary to begin tackling wicked problems. Originally used in the context of social planning, the term "wicked problems" had been popularized in the paper "Wicked Problems in Design Thinking" (1992) by Buchanan. Various thought leaders following Buchanan continued on to suggest we utilize systems thinking when faced with complex design problems, but what does that look like in practice for a designer tackling a wicked problem and how can we integrate it with collaborative, agile methodology?

A Combination of Systems Thinking and Agile Methodology Can Help You Tackle Wicked Problems

Design thinkers proceeded to highlight how we utilize systems thinking when faced with complex design problems.

Systems thinking is the process of understanding how components of a system influence each other as well as other systems-and therefore it's pretty much perfect for wicked problems!

And it's even better when combined with agile methodology, an iterative approach to design and product development. Agile methodology helps to improve solutions through collaboration. This agile, collaborative environment breeds the ability to be efficient and effectively meet the stakeholders' changing requirements.

Together, systems thinking and agile methodology lead us to a better solution at each iteration as they both evolve withthe wicked problem.

Author/Copyright holder: Yuval Yeret. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

In an agile methodology, every iteration incorporates feedback from the previous release. This process can help you tackle wicked problems when it's combined with systems thinking.

5 Ways to Apply Systems Thinking and Agile Methodology in Your Work

If you've been faced with a wicked problem in the past, you'll have undoubtedly experienced frustration from not knowing where or how to begin. There's no shame in that-issues which are difficult or nearly impossible to solve will do that to a person! The next time you and your team must tackle a wicked problem, you can use these five handy methods which are based on systems thinking and agile methodology:

1. Break down information into nodes and links.

You can utilize systems thinking if you break the information down into nodes (chunks of information such as objects, people or concepts) and links (the connections and relationships between the nodes). This will make your private mental models (your representations of external reality) visible to the outside world and help you face wicked problems more effectively. Jay Wright Forrester, a pioneer in computer engineering and systems science, put it nicely when he said:

The image of the world around us, which we carry in our head, is just a model. Nobody in his head imagines all the world, government or country. He has only selected concepts, and relationships between them, and uses those to represent the real system.

Author/Copyright holder: Tom Wujec. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY 3.0

In this illustration, the nodes are circled in red and the links are the red lines drawn between the nodes. All four illustrations are systems models that participants created from Tom Wujec's workshops on collaborative visualization and systems thinking.

2. Visualize the information.

When you sketch out and place information into a physical space, it will help both you and your team take in and understand the systems at hand-as well as the relationships within and between them.

3. Collaborate and include stakeholders in the process.

Share your mental models to help other people build on your ideas, and vice versa. Your team can synthesize several points of view when you create physical drawings and group notes to produce different systems models.

4. Release solutions quickly to gather continuous feedback.

Feedback of success helps to solve problems which we don't have one single obviously correct answer for. The more feedback you gather from your users and stakeholders, the more guidance you'll have to get to the next step.

5. Carry out multiple iterations.

You and your team have the chance to utilize feedback at each iteration. The more iterations you do, the more likely you'll determine what changes are needed to further improve the solution to your wicked problem.

You'll build a bridge between the existing solution and the next iteration when you combine user and stakeholder feedback with your team's thoughts and ideas.

Walmart: An Example of How Wicked Problems Led to Disaster

Walmart, a North American multinational retail corporation, faces its fair share of wicked problems. The large global company's major challenge is to speed up growth, and its struggles exhibit many characteristics of a wicked problem.

Firstly, Walmart cannot immediately test potential solutions (4 th characteristic) to their wicked problem as these solutions often generate unexpected consequences. For example, Walmart attempted to shift their brand to appeal to higher-income customers during the mid-2000s. In 2005, they started to re-brand themselves and launched a high-fashion campaign in Vogue, a high-fashion and lifestyle magazine. They also presented fashion shows in New York and opened an office in Manhattan's Fashion District. This shift in brand proposition proved to be a "one-shot operation" as it had not been done before, and this made it difficult to measure its effectiveness-there is no way to test a one-shot solution at full capacity on such a large scale. The result was that, by 2008, massive layoffs shut down two divisions at Walmart's headquarters in Arkansas. Their attempt to become a high-fashion brand proved to be a disaster.

Secondly, the root of their problem is often considered to be another problem (8 th characteristic). For example, the low-cost practice of Walmart, which was originally advantageous, is now vulnerable to the decisions China makes about its workers' health and safety policies. It's also susceptible to the changes China makes to its labor laws and economic growth.

Finally, the explanation of their wicked problem varies greatly depending on individual perspectives (9 th characteristic). In a large company such as Walmart, there are bound to be many stakeholders who differ in their perspectives and priorities. Stakeholders include everyone from employees, trade unions, shareholders, investors, suppliers and partners, to even the government. Walmart's wicked problems are tangled and complex due to the global and large-scale nature of its business.

An Opportunity for Walmart to Use Systems Thinking with Agile Methodology to Tackle Their Wicked Problem

Walmart's stocks tumbled 30 percent between 2015 and 2016 as they closed 269 stores. This is an example of an opportunity for a company to benefit from both systems thinking and agile methodology. They could have broken down their wicked problem of growth into digestible nodes and links so ideas could be more easily shared between stakeholders and team members. Those involved were likely to have capitalized on this opportunity to conceptualize the problem in such a tangible manner, and they would have iterated more quickly based on a variety of concrete feedback to generate a stock price-saving solution.

The Take Away

As designers, we have the responsibility to generate the best solution possible even when the wicked problem itself is indeterminate and the best solution does not yet exist. A combination of systems thinking and agile methodology can help us tackle these wicked problems. It encourages us to utilize these practices and share them with others so that we can, together, get to the next iteration of the design process.

When you start to tackle wicked problems, you can start to improve the world and the lives of the people who live in it. As a reminder, the five steps to do this are:

1. Break down information into nodes and links.

2. Visualize the information.

3. Collaborate and include stakeholders in the process.

4. Release solutions quickly and gather continuous feedback.

5. Carry out multiple iterations.

References & Where To Learn More

Rittel, H. W., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy sciences, 4(2), 155-169.

Buchanan, Richard. (1992). Wicked Problems in Design Thinking. Design Issues, Vol. 8, No. 2, (Spring, 1992), 5-21.

Ana de Almeida Kumlien & Paul Coughlan, Wicked problems and how to solve them, 2018:

http://theconversation.com/wicked-problems-and-how...

John C. Camillus, Strategy as a Wicked Problem, 2006:

https://hbr.org/2008/05/strategy-as-a-wicked-problem

Amy C. Edmundson, Wicked-Problem Solvers, 2016:

https://hbr.org/2016/06/wicked-problem-solvers

John Kolko, Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving, 2012:

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/wicked_problems_pr...

Stony Brook University, What's a Wicked Problem?:

https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/wicked-problem/...

Tom Wujec,TEDGlobal, Got a wicked problem? First, tell me how you make toast, 2013:

https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_got_a_wicked_problem_first_tell_me_how_you_make_toast

Hero Image: Copyright holder: Diana Parkhouse. Copyright terms and license: Unsplash License.

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Learn more about Wicked Problems

Take a deep dive into Wicked Problems with our course Design Thinking: The Beginner's Guide.

Some of the world's leading brands, such as Apple, Google, Samsung, and General Electric, have rapidly adopted the design thinking approach, and design thinking is being taught at leading universities around the world, including Stanford d.school, Harvard, and MIT. What is design thinking, and why is it so popular and effective?

The overall goal of this design thinking course is to help you design better products, services, processes, strategies, spaces, architecture, and experiences. Design thinking helps you and your team develop practical and innovative solutions for your problems. It is a human-focused, prototype-driven, innovative design process. Through this course, you will develop a solid understanding of the fundamental phases and methods in design thinking, and you will learn how to implement your newfound knowledge in your professional work life. We will give you lots of examples; we will go into case studies, videos, and other useful material, all of which will help you dive further into design thinking.

This course contains a series of practical exercises that build on one another to create a complete design thinking project. The exercises are optional, but you'll get invaluable hands-on experience with the methods you encounter in this course if you complete them, because they will teach you to take your first steps as a design thinking practitioner. What's equally important is you can use your work as a case study for your portfolio to showcase your abilities to future employers! A portfolio is essential if you want to step into or move ahead in a career in the world of human-centered design.

Design thinking methods and strategies belong at every level of the design process. However, design thinking is not an exclusive property of designers- all great innovators in literature, art, music, science, engineering, and business have practiced it. What's special about design thinking is that designers and designers' work processes can help us systematically extract, teach, learn, and apply these human-centered techniques in solving problems in a creative and innovative way-in our designs, in our businesses, in our countries, and in our lives.

That means that design thinking is not only for designers but also for creative employees, freelancers, and business leaders. It's for anyone who seeks to infuse an approach to innovation that is powerful, effective and broadly accessible, one that can be integrated into every level of an organization, product, or service so as to drive new alternatives for businesses and society.

All Literature

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Your constantly-updated definition of Wicked Problems and collection of topical content and literature Wicked problems are problems with many interdependent factors making them seem impossible to solve. Because the factors are often incomplete, in flux, and difficult to define, solving wicked problems requires a deep understanding of the stakeholders involved, and an innovative approach provided by design thinking.

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Learn how to take user interviews because no one wakes up in the morning thinking they are a user. They are people, friends, family and playing many more roles.

This is what I learned under guidance from Dario Buzzini and Fahmida Azad at Copenhagen, Denmark while researching for the Foodsharing Copenhagen organisation to increase their volunteer engagement.

1. Keep it comfortable, It's a conversation, not a job interview.

2. Be an active listener, let the other person's voice resonate and block out your inner voice.

3. Train to control your natural tendency to formulate opinions and voice them before the other person has finished talking.

4. Pick-up on whether it's a relevant moment and choose when to encourage more expression, or when to move on.

5. Listen to their whole body. What are the emotional drivers behind what they are saying?

6. The Power of Silence - Create a comfortable, short silence that invites the participant to speak first.

7. Don't interrupt a respondent - let them finish their sentences and give them time to think of additional information.

1. Don't ask a question that can be answered by Yes / No

2. Don't ask leading questions. Ask open-ended questions like: "What do you think of.." instead of "Do you like.."

3. Make them tell a story about "the last time they..."

4. Ask naive questions and those you might already know the answer to.

1. You said ___, can you tell me more about that?

2. What did you mean...?

3. Can you paint me a picture, describe what you think would be...?

4. Why don't you...?

5. Tell me about the last time that...

6. Can you give me an example...?

1. Put your phone on silent and wear a watch (so that you are not looking at your phone to check the time)

2. Ask for privacy from neighbours, family members and other onlookers. Politely ask them to wait outside.

3. Have everyone seated at the same level (i.e. if the participant is seated on the floor, the research team should also be seated on the floor)

1. Have participants show you how they do things on their phone.

2. Ask to see the evidence.

3. Find examples of how people overcome challenges in unexpected ways.

1. Start by setting the right, relaxed tone. Say "there are no right or wrong answers" .... "we're interested in hearing about your experiences and opinions"

2. Think out loud - If the respondent is silently thinking for a long duration, ask them to tell you what they are thinking about.

3. More show than tell - try to see if you can get the respondent to show you how to do something instead of talking about it.

4. Maintain a neutral, but interested tone.

5. Be comfortable in the space yourself! Fidgeting, nervous glances around, constantly checking your watch erode comfort for the respondent.

Read 10 Mindsets to keep when doing user research also when researching.

Recruit right candidates, have backup participants, conduct practice session, create a schedule of interviews, getting consent from every participant and decide payment to participants for their time are some of the most important parts before start taking interviews. Process in nutshell is -

With many participatory exercises, sharing case studies, fieldwork and solving problem statement you can learn how to define user better, how to take better interviews and how to cluster insights into opportunities to solve real problems.

Sample interview questions when researching users on their experience about Copenhagen metro travel.

Learn complete research principles here.

Thanks, Hope I was able to bring some good learning about how to take user interviews.

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Learn how to take user interviews because no one wakes up in the morning thinking they are a user. They are people, friends, family and playing many more roles. Keep it comfortable, It's a conversation, not a job interview. Be an active listener, let the other person's voice resonate and block out your inner voice.

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The Design Thinking Process - An Introduction

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17 Tips on How to Conduct Non-Biased Empathy Interviews - Go Learn Digital

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Below are seventeen tips on how to conduct non-biased interviews for the Empathy stage of Design Thinking. Some may be common-sense to you. If you are new to this style of interview, look below for the three most challenging to you personally, and try to focus on them when focusing on your next Empathy Interview!...

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Austin's Butterfly: Building Excellence in Student Work

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Ron Berger from EL Education demonstrates the transformational power of models, critique, and descriptive feedback to improve student work. Here he tells the story of Austin's Butterfly. First-grade students at ANSER Charter School in Boise, ID, helped Austin take a scientific illustration of a butterfly through multiple drafts toward a high-quality final product.

This video accompanies the book Leaders of Their Own Learning: Transforming Schools through Student-Engaged Assessment.

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Humans have been coming up with ways to give constructive criticism for centuries, but somehow we’re still pretty terrible at it. Cognitive psychologist LeeAnn Renninger shares a scientifically proven method for giving effective feedback.

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Provides feedback on reflections using the What, So What, Now What model.

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How to use the What? So What? Now What? Reflective Model

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How to use the What? So What? Now What? Reflective Model

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Reflective practice is a critical skill across professions and personal life, allowing individuals to learn from experiences and apply those lessons in future situations. The "What? So What? Now What?" model, developed by Rolfe et al., based upon the technique of Terry Borton in the 1970s, provides a structured framework for this practice. Using this model, we are guided through the process of reflection by asking three simple, yet profound, questions. Below, we explore this model in detail, offering insights, questions to ask yourself, and, at the bottom of this page, examples across different contexts.

What happened?

What were my initial expectations?

When and where did it occur?

Who was involved?

What actions did I take? (What did I do?)

What was the outcome?

Were there any notable reactions or responses?

What was my role in the situation?

What were the immediate consequences?

Were there any underlying factors contributing to the situation?

What did I see/observe?

How did I feel during the experience?

What did I notice during the experience?

What surprised me?

Why was this experience significant?

What have I learned about myself from this situation?

How did my actions or reactions contribute to the outcome?

What could have been done differently?

What did I like, or dislike about this experience?

How did the experience relate to your coursework/course learning outcomes?

How has this experience changed my perspective or understanding?

What are the broader implications of this experience?

What assumptions did I make?

Were my assumptions challenged? (How?)

What skills or knowledge did I gain or need to develop?

What steps can I take to apply what I've learned?

How can I avoid similar issues in the future?

What new goals or objectives have emerged from this reflection?

How will I change my approach or behaviour going forward?

What resources or support do I need to make these changes?

What other work do you need to do?

Who can provide feedback or guidance as I apply these lessons?

What challenges might I face in implementing this learning, and how can I overcome them?

How can I ensure that I continue to learn and grow from future experiences?

What specific actions will I take in the short term?

How will I measure the effectiveness of these changes?

How can this learning be applied in the future?

How can you share these learnings with others?

Some Examples

Product Engineering

What? I discovered a recurring flaw in the design of a product prototype during testing.

So What? This discovery was a critical moment for me, emphasising the importance of thoroughness in my work and the potential consequences of oversight on safety and product quality.

Now What? I plan to collaborate closely with the design team to revise the prototype and advocate for a more rigorous testing phase in future projects to prevent similar issues.

Weekend Plans

What? After a misunderstanding about weekend plans, I found myself in a significant argument with a family member. They said they did not understand what we had agreed by text message and I found myself shouting at them in frustration.

So What? I was angry that they did not understand what I meant, however afterwards I felt guilty and believe I may have overreacted, as I saw how upset and shocked they were. This argument made me realise the importance of clear communication and the impact of assumptions on my relationships.

Now What? I've decided to improve how I communicate my expectations and to establish a regular routine to discuss plans and feelings openly with my loved ones. When I next have a disagreement, I will stay calm and establish the facts without shouting.

Obstacles in Teamwork

What? As we faced a critical deadline, my team and I encountered a significant obstacle that put our project at risk of missing our target.

So What? This situation was a stark reminder of the importance of teamwork and effective communication for me; it showed me how essential each member's contribution is to overcoming challenges and achieving our goals.

Now What? Moving forward, I've resolved to foster a more collaborative environment in our team, encouraging open communication and proactive problem-solving. Together, we'll develop a contingency plan to ensure we're better prepared for any future hurdles.

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How to use the What? So What? Now What? Reflective Model - Go Learn Digital

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reflective practice is a critical skill across professions and personal life, allowing individuals to learn from experiences and apply those lessons in future situations. The "What? So What? Now What?" model, developed by Rolfe et al., based upon the technique of Terry Borton in the 1970s, provides a structured framework for this practice.

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Unveiling The 5 Whys - An Introduction That Will Transform Your Problem-Solving Skills!

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The Surprising Reason Older People Use The Bathrooms More In Airports - View from the Wing

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Little details matter. When designers get something wrong, people respond, and sometimes in ways you wouldn’t expect.