Design Thinking as the scientific method
As a working professional or student within the technology world, you’ve probably read quite a few articles about “design thinking”. I too have read articles, books, and even took classes related to the topic. Each time I always came back to the same theme:
The steps of design thinking are in essence the scientific method.
As a product designer, I use my interpretation of the scientific method to root myself and feel comfortable in the uncertainty that is the design process. By determining where I am in the method, at any given time, I can reorient and focus on a constructive path forward.
Please note, I understand that by doing so, I am bending the scientific method to fit my needs. To some, this might defeat the whole purpose of rigorous scientific methodology. I agree, especially in areas like drug testing, a rigid, tried and true method is necessary. I believe, however, the theme of the scientific method is transferrable to any problem you’re looking to solve.
Remember that process you learned in 8th grade biology lab?
The Scientific Method
- Define the Purpose or Question
- Research
- Hypothesize
- Design & Conduct the Experiment
- Data Analysis
- Draw Conclusions
- Repeat
Anchor the seven steps to design thinking with the following:
Define the Purpose or Question
- A clear directive that aligns the entire team (designers, researchers, developers, managers, tech leads, etc.) on the problem you are trying to solve, why, and how success will be measured.
- Within the consulting industry this may be included within the project proposal. Within an in-house project this may be a goal within a roadmap.
Research
- The who, what, when, where, why, and how information gathering about current and future users, existing products, competitors, etc. at the start of any project to create compassion and empathy
- Setting the standards of what will be used for the project (ie. design standards, accessibility requirements, devices it will be used on, etc.)
Hypothesize
- Your own or team’s insights and ideas about where you think the project will go as a designer (ie. your “north star”). You may have one common hypothesis, or many.
- Like the scientific method, your hypothesis may be proven wrong or right by the end of the project
Design & Conduct the Experiment
- The internal/external design reviews, actual A/B or user testing
- This can be done by using established frameworks like Google Design Sprints or the Agile Methodologies which may have their own, smaller loops of the scientific method within them
Data Analysis
- Compare and contrast the raw data you have collected throughout conducting the experiment and convert it into parsable bits of information.
- For example, if the experiment was an affinity diagramming exercise, this is the step when you organize all of the sticky notes into categories and begin to find patterns.
Draw Conclusions
- What new ideas, patterns, positive or negative reactions came out of your experiment? How can you implement what you learned in your design?
- The last step when everything comes together, ie. right before shipping off for development
Repeat
- The design process is inherently iterative, by continuously innovating through steps 1 through 6, products become better
Much like design thinking, the above-mentioned steps and interpretation are flexible. In a given project you may have one experiment or hundreds of experiments going at the same time, in some sort of web formation. As a manager you may be running an experiment within your own team. The key is to anchor yourself and your team using the scientific method wherever you are in that uncertainty to have a constructive way forward.
