Example Reflection – Mind Mapping

Challenge & Selection

The first tool I will use is Mind Mapping to help organizing information collected and generate ideas for  the next stages in an ongoing personal project. The idea may lead to a startup company and, specially at  an early stage, brainstorming is necessary to consolidate the various subsidiary ideas that may come up.  This is my first time using design thinking tools and from what I read, I find the Mind Mapping tool very  useful as it allows to present the information in a visually brain-friendly method [1].

Application

Following the guidelines provided by Joanna Chavez in her video lecture of Module 3 [2], I will  start by gathering stakeholders (about ten people) in an open space. I will then explain the main idea  and what fits and what does not. Sticky notes will be given in order for them to write their ideas and  then group them in related boards, forming clusters. I expect several boards, each representing a  theme, will be created. As stated by Joanna Chavez, this will probably be the most challenging  part as it will be necessary to break down the several, complex, ideas into simpler ones. Nevertheless,  this is the most gratifying process. The previously mentioned processes represent the what is step.

Following comes the what if step, where possible solutions must be found in order to overcome the  design challenges provided by the previous step (what is).

Insight & Approach

I expect that by applying the Mind Mapping tool, a lot of insights will be clarified for future stages of the  project. As mentioned previously, this is the first design thinking tool that I will use. During the real  experience, there is a big possibility that new challenges will appear, which I must overcame. Experience  provides better knowledge so in the future I will use other design thinking tools in order to strive for  better results.

References

[1] http://www.designorate.com/how-to-use-mind-mapping/

[2] https://www.coursera.org/learn/uva-darden-design-thinking-innovation/lecture/lsFRa/mind- mapping-tool

