Design Thinking for innovation Assignment - Reﬂection

Nothing in the world is heavier than an   empty heart.

( S p e n d  s o m e  t i m e  w i t h  t h e  e l d e r l y . )

Challenge: How to engage the elderly in a way that ensures they feel productive & not lonely?

Loneliness is a killer. This is even more true for the elderly who are living alone. It  not only leads to frustration but is a root cause of spiralling mental as well as  physical health issues. The elderly, retired from their days jobs often “feel  useless” because society offers very few avenues to engage them thoughtfully /  meaningfully. Naturally they love their kids and grandkids, but their interaction  with the family is often reduced to occasional phone calls or video calls. They see  their grandkid’s growing up from a distance and cannot wait for that once a year  trip that will bring their whole family under one roof. The elderly have a whole lot  of knowledge, wisdom and pure affection to offer. The ideal way to engage them  is productively, so that it doesn’t seem like charity or sympathy but rather a  reinforcement of their dignity and self belief. In a social construct that has already  determined a “retirement age” irrespective of the individual capabilities (mental &  physical) of person, this is a tricky challenge.

Design Thinking for innovation Assignment - Reﬂection

Selection: Learning Launch (with a bit of other tools built in).

I think a learning launch is an extremely powerful tool to test out an idea. Ideas  that are evaluated in the real world with real people will always yield richer  learnings than the ones that are firmed up in boardrooms with strategic  discussions alone. The Module 4 videos were a great example that convinced me  on how to apply this tool to test my concepts. But I took the liberty to go a bit  further and build in elements of storytelling and visualisation into the mix because  people are dynamic entities and I believe a human touch (storytelling) with some  stimulus for imagination (visualisation) would give me an ideal test scenario. I feel  this approach helped me a great deal while testing my concepts and allowed me  to push my learning curve.

Application: Test 3 concepts on a set of subjects with a feedback loop across the board.

Identified some kind elderly couples in my neighbourhood and tested out 3  different concepts with them. Concept 1 was a virtual super network of  grandparents spread across geographies. Concept 2 was a club for the elderly  that doubled up as an affordable day care centre for kids. Concept 3 was a cloud  based platform where the elderly could engage needy children with stories,  academics and life skills. While only one concept was tested on each couple, the  other two were also shared with them to get a comprehensive feedback on what  works best.

Insight: The body ages faster than the mind.

What a great learning experience this was! I doubt any other tool than a learning  launch would have bee as enlightening. The elderly, while being a bundle of  abundant affection, have their own challenges that are biological in nature and  cannot be solved by design thinking. Real limitations like mobility, familiarity /  comfort with technology and a depleting physical stamina are all too real and  cannot always be overcome. While all 3 concepts were loved by each of the test  subjects, there were genuine apprehensions about their own ability to engage  with them owing to the aforementioned reasons. It forced me back to the drawing  board and relook at the challenge itself with a fresh approach that would address  these very pertinent issues.

Approach: Stick to what works best.

I would definitely stick to using the Learning Launch as my preferred tool. While  each tool has its virtues, there is no substitute for a hands on, real world test that  allows the concepts to go through the rigour of a thorough evaluation.   Furthermore, the beauty of this tool is that you can build in storytelling,  visualisation and mind mapping as add ons to the learning launch. Why mess with  a winning formula?


Design Thinking for innovation Assignment - Reﬂection Nothing in the world is heavier than an empty heart . ( S p e n d s o m e t i m e w i t h t h e e l d e r l y . ) Challenge : How to engage the elderly in a way that ensures they feel productive & not lonely ? Loneliness is a killer . This is even more true for the elderly who are living alone . It not only leads to frustration but is a root cause of spiralling mental as well as physical health issues . The elderly , retired from their days jobs often “ feel useless ” because society offers very few avenues to engage them thoughtfully / meaningfully . Naturally they love their kids and grandkids , but their interaction with the family is often reduced to occasional phone calls or video calls . They see their grandkid ’s growing up from a distance and can not wait for that once a year trip that will bring their whole family under one roof . The elderly have a whole lot of knowledge , wisdom and pure affection to offer . The ideal way to engage them is productively , so that it does n’t seem like charity or sympathy but rather a reinforcement of their dignity and self belief . In a social construct that has already determined a “ retirement age ” irrespective of the individual capabilities ( mental & physical ) of person , this is a tricky challenge . Design Thinking for innovation Assignment - Reﬂection Selection : Learning Launch ( with a bit of other tools built in ) . I think a learning launch is an extremely powerful tool to test out an idea . Ideas that are evaluated in the real world with real people will always yield richer learnings than the ones that are firmed up in boardrooms with strategic discussions alone . The Module 4 videos were a great example that convinced me on how to apply this tool to test my concepts . But I took the liberty to go a bit further and build in elements of storytelling and visualisation into the mix because people are dynamic entities and I believe a human touch ( storytelling ) with some stimulus for imagination ( visualisation ) would give me an ideal test scenario . I feel this approach helped me a great deal while testing my concepts and allowed me to push my learning curve . Application : Test 3 concepts on a set of subjects with a feedback loop across the board . Identified some kind elderly couples in my neighbourhood and tested out 3 different concepts with them . Concept 1 was a virtual super network of grandparents spread across geographies . Concept 2 was a club for the elderly that doubled up as an affordable day care centre for kids . Concept 3 was a cloud based platform where the elderly could engage needy children with stories , academics and life skills . While only one concept was tested on each couple , the other two were also shared with them to get a comprehensive feedback on what works best . Insight : The body ages faster than the mind . What a great learning experience this was ! I doubt any other tool than a learning launch would have bee as enlightening . The elderly , while being a bundle of abundant affection , have their own challenges that are biological in nature and can not be solved by design thinking . Real limitations like mobility , familiarity / comfort with technology and a depleting physical stamina are all too real and can not always be overcome . While all 3 concepts were loved by each of the test subjects , there were genuine apprehensions about their own ability to engage with them owing to the aforementioned reasons . It forced me back to the drawing board and relook at the challenge itself with a fresh approach that would address these very pertinent issues . Approach : Stick to what works best . I would definitely stick to using the Learning Launch as my preferred tool . While each tool has its virtues , there is no substitute for a hands on , real world test that allows the concepts to go through the rigour of a thorough evaluation . Furthermore , the beauty of this tool is that you can build in storytelling , visualisation and mind mapping as add ons to the learning launch . Why mess with a winning formula ?