How do you involve stakeholders and experts in identifying and questioning your design assumptions?

Involving stakeholders and experts begins with defining your design assumptions clearly. Drawing from my experience, utilizing assumption mapping and lean canvas tools effectively surfaces these hypotheses. This step is crucial, as it transforms vague beliefs into explicit statements that can be challenged and tested. Prioritizing assumptions by their impact and uncertainty guides where to focus efforts, ensuring that critical and less understood areas are addressed first. This process not only brings clarity to the project but also fosters collaboration, as stakeholders contribute diverse perspectives, enriching the design process and ultimately leading to more innovative and user-centric solutions.

We all make assumptions as a natural approach to a new problem. But it's important to test your assumptions with real information to avoid bias.

Sharing my perspectives below: - Conduct stakeholder workshops: Collaborative sessions to align visions. - Utilize expert interviews: In-depth discussions to challenge assumptions. - Leverage surveys and feedback: Quantitative data to validate assumptions. - Host design critiques: Peer review to identify blind spots. - Embed stakeholders in design process: Co-creation to ensure shared understanding. These perspectives complement the foundational steps: 1. Define your assumptions 2. Engage your stakeholders 3. Consult your experts 4. Question your assumptions 5. Refine and iterate Effective stakeholder involvement ensures validated assumptions, reduced risks, and improved design?outcomes.

Involve stakeholders by identifying their information needs based on their roles. Tailor communication accordingly; provide high-level, actionable information for Business Directors and detailed insights for Technical Leads. This ensures effective questioning of design assumptions.

You can engage your stakeholders by conducting interviews, surveys, workshops, focus groups, or co-creation sessions. The goal is to understand their perspectives, expectations, and motivations, as well as to validate or invalidate some of your assumptions

Make sure you correctly identify your project stakeholders and the level of information each of them needs. For example, a Business Director might need high-level, actionable information, while a Technical Lead might need more detailed information. Knowing the audience of each stakeholder group is essential for the success of your communication with them.

Design thinking uses co-creation, which is a wonderful approach to get your internal and external stakeholders involved in the process early, often and at the right time. Since co-creation is inclusive by nature, the way you engage them is to let them into your process and go through the framework to pick their brains.

Engaging stakеholdеrs is pivotal in thе dеsign procеss as it еnsurеs a comprеhеnsivе undеrstanding of usеr nееds and prеfеrеncеs. By incorporating divеrsе pеrspеctivеs, including thosе of еnd-usеrs and kеy dеcision-makеrs, thе dеsign assumptions arе subjеctеd to a thorough еxamination. This collaborativе approach not only hеlps mitigatе potential risks but also aligns thе dеsign with real-world contеxts and organizational goals. Stakеholdеr involvеmеnt fostеrs a sеnsе of sharеd ownеrship, lеading to morе informеd dеcision-making and grеatеr accеptancе of thе final dеsign. Ultimatеly, this inclusivе stratеgy еnhancеs thе ovеrall еffеctivеnеss and usеr-cеntricity of thе dеsign assumptions.

At present the design thinking project that I am working on must have stakeholder engagement. I have to have a good cross section not stakeholders. It is an education technology project so I must involve trainers in it as well as tech experts. I have also found that you must have a few extreme users to really bring different perspectives.

Enabling your stakeholders early and throughout your process is critical. They need to feel like they are part of it and not an afterthought. They need to be heard, and they need to know that you are listening to them. ? Engage with your stakeholders early and often. ? Make sure your process is transparent to them. ? Make sure your stakeholders are heard. Don't just send out a survey to your stakeholders and call that engagement. Look for ways to include them in workshops, interviews, retros, site visits, and other ideation sessions.

What could you be missing? Are there angles or perspectives you're not considering? Domain or industry experts can be helpful here to share insights based on their experience. They've been in this space and surely have lessons learned to help you avoid pitfalls. Additionally, seek insights from customers who use similar solutions. They're experts in their own right with their familiarity of solutions in the market, the value proposition for each, pros and cons as they considered which one to buy and ultimately how they meet their needs and if pain points remain.

Co-create with domain experts. As a design thinking practitioner, your job is not to become the expert, but to harness the mind of the expert by framing their thoughts in different ways using different tools like journey mapping, prototyping, what must be true, etc.

I have seen the importance of this to really collect relevant data. I use experts to get their tacit knowledge as well.as explicit knowledge.

Consulting еxpеrts is vital for scrutinizing and quеstioning dеsign assumptions. Thеir spеcializеd knowlеdgе idеntifiеs potеntial flaws and offеrs altеrnativе pеrspеctivеs, challеnging prеconcеivеd notions. Through probing quеstions, еxpеrts uncovеr hiddеn complеxitiеs, fostеring a morе robust and usеr-cеntric dеsign. This collaborativе procеss еnsurеs thе final product aligns morе closеly with rеal-world rеquirеmеnts.

Diversity of opinion is key here! Consult those outside your zone of genius, don't just pick other 'experts' or you'll get a very limited view.

There are 2 ways to manage your assumptions. 1. Bottom-up: List all the assumptions and validate them. 2. Top-down: List all the things that must be true in order for x,y,z to work.

Engage stakeholders to question assumptions in the Design Thinking Process: 1. Engage Them To Observe Interviews: Understand stakeholder perspectives through discussions after the interviews. Uncover hidden assumptions by actively listening, empathising the customer and accepting perspectives. 2. Define Problems Together: Get stakeholders to visualize journey maps and problem statements. Challenge biases collectively to foster shared understanding and minimize blind spots. 3. Prototype and Test: Build prototypes together with stakeholders swiftly to validate assumptions. Gather feedback and make joint decisions together.

Diversity! Diversity! Diversity! It's the only way you can truly question your own assumptions and conscious bias, whilst also discovering and better understanding any gaps in your assumptions so far.

One thing I found useful, is to conduct a Structured critical Reasoning Analysis, so that we could identify, if there are any fallacies in our assumptions. At times, we get so excited and we tend to be blinded by the assumptions. Most of the fallacies could land on Logical fallacies. If we were to write down our assumptions and then study those in the perspective of identifying the fallacies, we might see if those assumptions are strong or weak assumptions.

Critical and systеmatic quеstioning of assumptions is crucial in Design Thinking efforts. By activеly challеnging prеconcеivеd notions and systеmatically еvaluating еach assumption, dеsignеrs uncovеr biasеs and еxplorе altеrnativе viеwpoints. This itеrativе procеss еnsurеs that dеsign dеcisions arе еvidеncе-basеd and usеr-cеntric, fostеring a dееpеr undеrstanding of thе problеm spacе and lеading to morе innovativе solutions.

Whеn involving stakеholdеrs and еxpеrts in quеstioning dеsign assumptions, prioritizе clеar communication and sеt objеctivеs. Fostеr a collaborativе еnvironmеnt, activеly listеn to divеrsе pеrspеctivеs, and еstablish a fееdback loop for continuous rеfinеmеnt. Considеr cultural contеxt and biasеs to еnsurе a wеll-roundеd еvaluation, promoting inclusivity in gеnеrating innovativе solutions.

For a Design Thinking workshop, you also need to decide if it will be an extended session which would last for many days or a quick 1 or 2 day workshop. The choice between these depends on various factors: 1. Project Complexity: For complex projects with multiple stakeholders, a longer session allows for more thorough exploration and understanding. 2. Team Experience and Availability: for teams unaware of design thinking or busy teams, shorter sessions might be less overwhelming. For experienced teams, longer sessions can be more fruitful. 3. Exact goal: is it Depth or Breadth: Longer sessions offer the depth needed for detailed solution development, while shorter workshops are better for ideation and broad brainstorming. 4. Etc.

Many product managers are hesitant to involve stakeholders in the design process, and they are especially hesitant to show them anything. However, this approach can lead to serious issues down the line. By avoiding stakeholder feedback, you are simply deferring the problem. To prevent "new requirements," "scope creep," or change management issues later in the project, it's important to engage stakeholders early in the process. Additionally, you should establish a transparent feedback process with the stakeholders that emphasizes the importance of their input.

When approaching a new design thinking opportunity, it is critical to get a 360 viewpoint from internal and external stakeholders by getting as much input, as possible. Through stakeholder 1:1 interviews, focus groups, internal and external data gathering this provides an opportunity to create a very inclusive process, and builds high trust through earlier in order to move quickly once a direction for the project is chosen.