VISUALIZATION

1. Challenge: Describe your challenge, including all relevant information.

Throughout our education experience through schools and colleges, we are taught to think  “convergently”; to take the best out of an available list of choices, to converge on that choice,  and then to execute that choice, or put it into practice. This type of thinking only looks for  solutions in one direction—not allowing, therefore, for any sort of lateral thinking in the real  sense of the word. Design thinking involves divergent thinking; to create or to even make aware  of choices that never existed before, and then apply those to the problem.

2. Selection: In your own words, briefly describe the tool you selected (e.g., what it is and why you

selected it for your challenge -- including any appropriate video lecture references).

Design thinking is not analytical, but holistic or integrated. The main intent is to be able to hold  multiple tensions at the same time and resolve them all through an idea or set of ideas that  seem to work through all the tensions at the same time. The classic tension—inherent in the  solution to any problem—is between desirability—what meets the needs of the people you  might be designing for; feasibility—in other words, what we can do with technology to make it  possible; and finally, viability—what makes the solution a sustainable one. Through design  thinking method, one can find solutions that seem to cater to all three tensions with astounding  clarity. So a diagram or a visual representation is always a best option in terms of listing,  grouping and understanding the issues and coming up with solutions by drawing parallel with a  similar situation.

3. Application: Describe how you applied the tool you selected to your challenge (e.g., what you

did and how the tool was applied effectively or ineffectively).

Faculty from different schools were deliberately mixed to form 5 groups (of 4-5 members) and  undertook this first full-day workshop on Teaching Methodologies. Each team listed out some  of the challenges faced by faculty in relation to existing teaching methodologies.  Through the 5 steps involved in Design Thinking (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype  and Test), the 5 teams came up with five different solutions and represented it through  Diagrams.   Faculty from different schools were deliberately mixed to form 5 groups (of 4-5 members) and  undertook this first full-day workshop on Employability (of students) After listing out some of  the challenges faced by students with respect to finding employable options (internship,  part- or full-time job) after graduation, the team members interviewed students and  came up with solutions that could be adopted by faculty and students themselves, to  enhance the employability of students and represented it through Diagrams.

4. Insight: Describe the insight you gained from applying the tool you selected to your challenge

(e.g., how an insight affected your thinking about the challenge and about design thinking more  broadly).

1. It’s Human-Centered. Design Thinking begins from deep empathy and understanding of needs

and motivations of people.

2. It’s Collaborative. Several great minds are always stronger when solving a challenge than just

one. Design Thinking benefits greatly from the views of multiple perspectives, and others’  creativity bolstering your own.

3. It’s Optimistic. Design Thinking is the fundamental belief that we all can create.  4. It’s Experimental. Design Thinking gives you permission to fail and to learn from your mistakes,

because you come up with new ideas, get feedback on them, then iterate.

5. Approach: Describe what you might do differently next time -- applying the same tool you

selected or a different one -- and the reason(s) why.

I would select storytelling the next time since visualization as a tool had its limitations in the later  stages where it just become a step by step thing like a flowchart but storytelling will add on  interest in the participant and they will engage with the process more personally.

