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HCD Workshop
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3
IDEATE
Workshop
Guide
discover ideate prototype
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HCD Workshop
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Table of contents
Weekly Leader's Guide
Before the Workshop
Agenda & Materials
Activities & Discussions
01 Questions, Comments & Takeaways
02 Share Inspiring Stories & Learnings
03 Cluster Into Themes
04 Create Insight Statements
05 Create How Might We Questions
06 Brainstorm
07 Select Promising Ideas
homework
08 Prepare for Week 4
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Weekly Leader's Guide
Before the Workshop
CONFIRM
that you have a meeting space for your design team with ample
wall or table space where you can post ideas.
PRINT
this Week 3 Workshop Guide. To save paper, it is not required to
print the Week 3 Readings. Check with your team members and
encourage them to print the Week 3 Workshop Guide as well.
COORDINATE
with your team to bring supplies for brainstorming and Week 3
activities. Lots of Post-it notes (or scrap paper and tape), felt pens,
blank paper, and the printed Week 3 Workshop Guide. Don't forget
to bring your notes from your Week 2 Discover research as well.
Consider bringing a snack as fuel for the brainstorming session.
LEAD
the workshop. This Guide will walk you through facilitating the activities,
discussions and assignments for Week 3. You will also want to keep
track of time so that your group makes it through the full workshop
in approximately 2.5 hours. Make sure to read the Week 3 Readings
thoroughly so that you can effectively lead your team this week.
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Weekly Leader's Guide
Agenda
01 Questions, Comments & Takeaways 10 minutes
02 Share Inspiring Stories & Learnings 30 minutes
03 Cluster Into Themes 20 minutes
04 Create Insight Statements 15 minutes
05 Create "How Might We" Questions 15 minutes
Break 5 minutes
06 Brainstorm 40 minutes
07 Select Promising Ideas 10 minutes
08 Prepare for Week 4 5 minutes
Materials Needed
Lots of Post-it Notes (or their equivalent), felt pens,
blank paper, Week 3 Workshop guide, your Discover
research notes from Week 2
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Activity
01
Questions, comments & Takeaways
10 minutes
Congratulations! You've completed your Week 2 Discover research! You've also learned about the
second phase of the design process as part of the Week 3 Ideate Readings. This Activity 01 is a
way for you to reflect on what you learned in the field, ask questions, and discuss some of your "aha
moments" from the last week.
Take a few minutes to reflect on the questions below. Then discuss what you are most excited
about or interested in with your group.
- What would you most like to discuss with the group about your experiences during your Week 2 Discover research?
What was most surprising? What was the hardest part for you? What were your "aha moments"?
- Did anyone check out what other teams were doing on the Google+ Community? Would you like to share something inspiring you saw?
Did you learn anything interesting from other teams around the world tackling your same design challenge?
- What were your big takeaways from the Week 3 Ideate Readings? Do you have questions?
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Activity
02
Share inspiring stories & Learnings
30 minutes
Your design team spent the last week "getting out there" and learning from people in your
community. As part of this activity, you'll begin the Ideate process by sharing stories about what you
learned with your design team.
Document your research
1 Make a list Here is a rough outline about what you 4 Capture what everyone is saying
Start by making a list of everyone your team should try to share about each person you While you are listening to your teammates
spoke with and the places you each visited spoke with: tell their stories, write down notes and
as part of your Week 2 Discover research. observations about what they are saying.
- Personal details: who did you meet? Use concise and complete sentences
2 Identify any holes (name, profession, age, location, etc.) that everyone on your team can easily
Identify the types of research that your - Interesting stories: what was the most understand. Try capturing quotesthey
group was and wasn't able to conduct over memorable and surprising story they told? are a powerful way of representing the
the last week. Do you still have obvious voice of a participant. Jot one observation
- Motivations: what did this person care
holes in your research? Do you have a plan per Post-it Note for flexibility in sorting
about the most? What motivates him or
for trying to fill those holes? and clustering later. Make sure you write
her?
large enough (and neat enough!) so that
3 Share stories - Barriers: what frustrated them? everyone can read your notes. Also, be as
Now it's time to share stories about the - Interactions: what was interesting visual as possible!
people that you spoke with and the places about the way they interacted with their
that your team visited. Start at the top of environment? 5 Hang your notes on the wall
the list you made in step # 1. Spend about When you're done talking about a particular
- Remaining Questions: what questions
five minutes on each person or place. If you person you interviewed, hang the Post-it
would you like to explore if you had
took pictures and have access to a printer, Notes with the notes you've just taken on
another conversation with this person?
print a few of the best photos from each the wall underneath their photo (if you have
interview or location and hang them on the one) or a Post-it containing their name (if
wall as you go through your list. This will you don't have a photo). There should be a
help your team more easily organize your separate section on the wall for each person
thoughts and remember details as you that your team interviewed. When possible,
begin making your thoughts visual. keep quotes and images together in order
to paint a rich story.
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Activity
03
Cluster into themes
20 minutes
As part of this activity, your team will start to make sense of the stories you heard and begin looking
for themes to design around. The Weekly Leader should lead the team through this activity.
Look for themes
1 Find the "gems"
From the Post-it Notes that your team just
hung on the walls, each person should
choose the five that you find most interesting
or most insightful. Remove these Post-Its
from the group and put them in a new blank
area with lots of emtpy space around them.
Let's call these Post-its your "gems".
2 As a group, cluster
information into themes
Review the "gems" that your team has
selected and try to organize them into similar
groups or categories. These are called
"clusters". Did many people mention the
same thing? Are there behaviors you saw
repeatedly? Which issues were obvious? Did
you hear conflicting statements? Is there an
explanation for this conflict?
3 Find supporting evidence
Quickly review the rest of your Post-its on
the wall (the "non-gems"). Find additional
notes that support the clusters you've
created. Can you include some photographs
or visual observations that substantiate the
categories your group has created?
4 Refine your clusters
Create a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5
clusters. Is there a new cluster that you might
need to create? Could two existing clusters
be combined?
5 Write headlines
For each of the clusters that you've created,
create headlines, such as "proximity" or
"hygiene" or "payment".
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Activity
04
Create insight statements
15 minutes
Page 1 of 3
Now that you've created clusters and given them headlines, it's time to identify the distinct
challenges that your team has uncovered related to each theme. This activity will help you
understand why certain themes have emerged and what makes them potentially important areas
for design. This part of the Ideate phase can be a bit complicated to explain, so we've outlined
step-by-step instructions below and completed our own worksheet on the following page. Review
our examples, then use page three of the worksheet to complete this activity as a team.
Create insight statements
A tip about creating insight statements
1
Write your design challenge at the top of It may be helpful to place pages 2 and 3 of this worksheet side-by-
the page in the space provided. Being able side so that you can more easily follow our examples.
to quickly reference your challenge will
make this exercise easier because it will
help you connect your insights back to the
question you are ultimately trying to answer.
2
Write your cluster headlines from Activity
03 on the lines provided in the worksheet.
For each cluster headline, try to draft
three concise sentences that explain why
the theme you've identified describes a
challenge for the people in the community
that you spoke with. Feel free to work
individually or as a group.
3
Once you have a few sentences for each
theme, work with your full design team to
revise and rewrite your insight statements
until the group has captured the most
unique and compelling points related to
each theme. Use the template provided,
or extra sheets of paper if you run out
of room.
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Activity
04
Create insight statements
Page 2 of 3
Write your design challenge
Our design challenge is to increase demand for clean, low-cost toilets in the community.
E XA
Create insight statements
MPL
Payments are a challenge faced by the community because... E
Kids often don't use clean toilets (or any toilets at all) because they don't have any money to pay.
People often only have money to pay for toilets at the start of the month after they have been paid.
Many residents find themselves without money to make a payment at the exact time they need to use the toilet.
Hygiene is a challenge faced by the community because...
Children will not use the toilet if it is too clean.
People aren't aware of the diseases they can catch from dirty toilets.
People learn best from their friends or family members, but this isn't how clean hygiene information is diseminated now.
Proximity is a challenge faced by the community because...
When toilets are too far away, young children or older people can't make the walk to the toilet in time.
Many people don't realize that there are closer, cleaner toilets to their home than the ones they are actually using.
People have shifted their behavior to use cleaner toilets closer to their workplace, which often involves getting to work very early or staying very late.
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Activity
04
Create insight statements
Page 3 of 3
Write your design challenge
Create insight statements
is/are a challenge faced by the community because...
is/are a challenge faced by the community because...
is/are a challenge faced by the community because...
is/are a challenge faced by the community because...
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Activity
05
create "how might we" Questions
15 minutes
Page 1 of 3
Human-centered design is most powerful when we turn existing challenges into opportunities for
design. As part of this activity, your team will turn the insight statements that you created in the last
activity into "How Might We" (HMW) questions which will be the launchpad for your brainstorm.
Think of HMW questions as an invitation for input, suggestions, and exploration. We've included
a few examples to review on the following page, and then your team will craft your own HMW
questions on page 3. Similar to the last activity, it might be helpful to lay pages two and three of this
worksheet side-by-side.
Create HMW Questions
properly scoping how might we questions
1
As a team, select your three favorite insight
statements that you crafted collaboratively Too Narrow
during Activity 04. Try to choose three insight
statement relating to three different cluster
headlines. This will lend more variety to HMW create a cone to eat ice cream without dripping?
the HMW questions you ultimately create. This question implies that redesigning the cone is the solution.
Additionally, make an effort to select However, the team should be thinking more broadly about
statements that convey a new perspective or a range of possible solutions.
sense of possibility. Write the three insight
statements your team selects in the space
provided on the worksheet. Too Broad
2
Work individually for a few minutes to HMW redesign dessert?
try turning the selected insight statements This question doesn't give enough direction because it doesn't
into HMW questions. Be sure to read the imply a starting point or immediately help people generate
scoping tips to the right and pay close ideas around one category of desserts.
attention to our examples on p.2 of this
worksheet. You can also refer back to p.10 of
the Week 3 Readings for more guidance. Just right
3
Share your HMW questions with the group.
HMW redesign ice cream to be more portable?
Then work as a group to refine your HMW
This question is scoped properly because it frames the challenge
questions until they feel like strong questions
but does not imply a solution. Rather it allows people to
that you are excited to answer as part of
brainstorm multiple solutions.
your brainstorm. Remember, they should be
neither too broad, nor too narrow.
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Activity
05
create "how might we" Questions
Page 2 of 3
Generate "How Might We" questions
E XA
MPL
Insight:
People often only have money to pay for toilets at the start of the month after they have been paid.
How might we... E
create more flexible payment options for toilet use?
Insight:
People learn best from their friends or family members, but this isn't how clean hygiene information is disseminated now.
How might we...
involve the community in creating and disseminating information campaigns about clean hygiene?
Insight:
Many people don't realize that there are closer, cleaner toilets to their home than the ones they are actually using.
How might we...
create new ways to inform people about clean toilet options close to their homes?
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Activity
05
create "how might we" Questions
Page 3 of 3
Generate "How Might We" questions
Insight:
How might we...
Insight:
How might we...
Insight:
How might we...
Insight:
How might we...
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Activity
06
Brainstorm
40 minutes
Now that your team has created How Might We questions for your design challenge, youre ready to
start brainstorming! The intention of brainstorming is to leverage the creative power of the group by
engaging with the full design team, listening carefully, and building on each others ideas. You will
choose three HMW questions from Activity 5 to brainstorm around.
Select How Might We Brainstorming Procedures
Questions 1 Make sure you have enough room 7 Hang the first HMW question on the
Finding sufficient wall space to hang and wall so everyone can see it
Choose your design team's three best display your ideas is key. The Weekly Leader should read the
HMW questions from Activity 05. question out loud.
Trust your gut feeling: choose the 2 Gather materials
questions that feel exciting and help Everyone should have a stack of Post-it 8 Start the clock!
you think of ideas right away. Also, Notes (or their equivalent) and a marker to Remember, ten minutes per HMW question,
select the questions that are most write with. Bonus supplies = snacks! Never one idea per Post-it and be visual! Hang the
important to address, even if they underestimate the power of sugar! ideas on the wall underneath the first HMW
feel difficult to solve for. Remember, question as your team creates them.
only choose three total HMW 3 Write the questions big and clearly
Write out the three selected HMW ques- 9 Start HMW # 2
questions for your entire group.
tions in large lettering on three separate After ten minutes, move onto HMW # 2.
sheets of paper. Have the team move to the right or the left
where there is free space. Leave HMW # 1
4 Get the Weekly Leader excited and your brainstorming ideas on the wall.
The Weekly Leader will lead the brainstorm. You'll need them soon.
This requires lots of energy and a strong
knowledge of the brainstorming rules. 10 Start HMW # 3
After ten minutes, move onto HMW # 3.
5 Review brainstorming rules quickly Provide encouragement. Pass out more
Take turns reading the brainstorming rules candy if necessary! Have everyone do ten
out loud. Are there any questions? push-ups if really necessary!
6 Gather your team around a wall
Note: you can also stand around a table if
there isn't sufficient wall space.
the brainstorming rules
1. DEFER JUDGEMENT
2. ENCOURAGE WILD IDEAS
3. BUILD ON THE IDEAS OF OTHERS
4. STAY FOCUSED ON TOPIC
5. ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME
6. BE VISUAL
7. GO FOR QUANTITY
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Activity
07
Select Promising Ideas
10 minutes
Congratulations! You finished brainstorming. Now its time to select the brainstorming ideas that
generate the most excitement from your team. Everyone on the team will vote for two ideas that
youll prototype next week.
Vote
1 Survey the ideas
Read over all the brainstorming ideas. Let
people decide in silence first, so you aren't
swayed by others on your design team.
2a Vote for the most innovative idea
Everyone will make 2 selections. Draw an O
in the upper right corner of the idea that you
think is most innovative.
2b Vote for the most successful idea
Draw a in the upper left corner of the idea
that you think is most likely to succeed.
3 Count the votes
As a team, select the most promising ideas
and set them aside. Is there consensus around
a handful of ideas? At the start of Week 4, your
team will select two ideas to take forward into Remember to mark the Ideas like this:
prototyping. Make sure to save these Post-it's
for next week
4 Capture the ideas
Take photos of the Post-it Notes containing
your most promising ideas. Share these
photos with the Google+ community along
The idea you think The idea you think
with the HMW question related to that idea
is most innovative will most likely succeed
and a brief description of any challenges or
"ahas moments" your team had along the way.
Consider posting as well any questions your
team would like help from the community
in answering. Post your photos, comments,
and questions under the "Design Challenge"
discussion category that your team is tackling.
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homework
08
prepare for week 4
5 minutes
CHOOSE
the Weekly Leader for next week.
Coordinate
with your team to bring supplies for the Week 4 workshop.
This list is a starting point. If you dont have all of these
supplies, be creative and bring to class whatever you think
might work: paper (white & colored), tape, scissors, a stapler,
foam core boards, X-acto knives, pipe cleaners, fabric, clay,
colored markers, etc.
CONFIRM
location & time for Week 4 workshop.
READ
Week 4 Readings in advance of the Week 4 workshop.
SHARE
with the Google+ community your favorite ideas from the
brainstorming session along with related HMW questions,
descriptions of any challenges or "ahas moments" your
team had along the way, and questions that came up as you
completed Step 4 of Activity 07. Be sure to post under the
proper "Design Challenge" discussion category. By sharing
your learnings and insights on this platform, people all over
the world can better understand how each design challenge
varies depending on context. You can also get inspiration
from each other's projects.
