Challenge

I will talk about a community challenge. There are around 15 residents in my friend’s building. The  concierge, along with the gardener, decided to install a compost bin for everyone to use so the  gardener could exploit it for the community’s garden. The compost bin is very classic, we open the  lid and dispose of the food scraps. The concierge did not communicate beforehand on this bin but  prepared an information poster regarding what waste can be thrown inside the bin when he  installed it. Weeks after weeks, he realized the residents rarely used the compost bin. The residents  welcomed the initiative but didn’t follow with action.

Selection

I will use the storytelling tool to help better understand the situation. Storytelling is a tool that helps  identify unknown insights by focusing on people’s emotional side.  I feel that in this case storytelling  will help creating a connection with people, help understand their vision to make the solution work.  As Henry Rodriguez (Mars) said “Storytelling is the difference between solving a problem and creating a  cause”. And this is what I want to achieve here, creating a cause. The steps to using the tool are to  have a clear sequence of events, understand my audience, and reflect on the learnings.

Application

The population is between 18 and 45 years old. First, we will run the scenario by interviewing the  residents on how they behave. Here is the series of actions all the residents go through: after  cooking or eating 1/ they put the compostable waste in a little plastic bag they keep in their kitchen  2/when leaving their apartments, they take their bag of compost to the garbage area 3/they fill the  bin with the waste 4/they throw their plastic bag in the non-recyclable bin.

To the different stages of our scenario, we will add the underlying expectations. They will help clarify  the residents’ mindsets.  Let’s connect to their thoughts and emotions related to each action. 1/  they always need a separate plastic bag which is not convenient and is time consuming 2/ they very  often forget to take the compost bag when leaving their apartment, and after a few days of  forgetting, the smell is bothersome 3/opening their plastic bags to dispose of the food scraps is  considered a hassle and often dirties their hands 4/they don’t want to keep the dirty bag afterwards.

Insight

We soon realized there were unarticulated needs on each step of the way. The residents needed an  incentive to make such efforts, a cause that will give them the extra push. They needed that  connection with how the compost would be used so they could feel that they were doing a good  deed, having a positive impact. They also needed a more efficient way to store their organic waste at  home. A way that is less time and effort consuming. Ideally one that could last as long as the non- organic waste so both could be taken to the garbage area at the same time. And also, one that felt  cleaner to keep home and reuse.

Ultimately, after discovering these hidden opportunities, we had a clearer understanding of the  issue. What at first seemed like a simple miscommunication on the product happened to uncover  unarticulated needs around that same product and its use.

Using storytelling helped create an unseen narrative that will lead to wider value creation. The tool  helped visualize the process the residents went through in order to participate in gathering organic  waste. What I have learned using storytelling is how the actions, mindsets and emotions  experienced during the story all determine the opportunities to see. The insights gained for the  mapping show how we can optimize the residents’ experience. This combination will serve  throughout the next steps of design thinking.

Approach

I think next time I would still use storytelling for this type of challenge. While this time it ended up  being very useful to discover new needs, I feel that I could go even further.  To limit the subjectivity  of the story, I fell that other stakeholders could have been included in my work from the beginning.  This would have made the analysis more complete from what is step, though later on in the process  co-creation with all stakeholders may fill this gap. I will definitely use storytelling as a reference for  future challenges to take on to discover subjects’ insights and mindsets.


Challenge I will talk about a community challenge . There are around 15 residents in my friend ’s building . The concierge , along with the gardener , decided to install a compost bin for everyone to use so the gardener could exploit it for the community ’s garden . The compost bin is very classic , we open the lid and dispose of the food scraps . The concierge did not communicate beforehand on this bin but prepared an information poster regarding what waste can be thrown inside the bin when he installed it . Weeks after weeks , he realized the residents rarely used the compost bin . The residents welcomed the initiative but did n’t follow with action . Selection I will use the storytelling tool to help better understand the situation . Storytelling is a tool that helps identify unknown insights by focusing on people ’s emotional side . I feel that in this case storytelling will help creating a connection with people , help understand their vision to make the solution work . As Henry Rodriguez ( Mars ) said “ Storytelling is the difference between solving a problem and creating a cause ” . And this is what I want to achieve here , creating a cause . The steps to using the tool are to have a clear sequence of events , understand my audience , and reflect on the learnings . Application The population is between 18 and 45 years old . First , we will run the scenario by interviewing the residents on how they behave . Here is the series of actions all the residents go through : after cooking or eating 1/ they put the compostable waste in a little plastic bag they keep in their kitchen 2 / when leaving their apartments , they take their bag of compost to the garbage area 3 / they fill the bin with the waste 4 / they throw their plastic bag in the non - recyclable bin . To the different stages of our scenario , we will add the underlying expectations . They will help clarify the residents ’ mindsets . Let ’s connect to their thoughts and emotions related to each action . 1/ they always need a separate plastic bag which is not convenient and is time consuming 2/ they very often forget to take the compost bag when leaving their apartment , and after a few days of forgetting , the smell is bothersome 3 / opening their plastic bags to dispose of the food scraps is considered a hassle and often dirties their hands 4 / they do n’t want to keep the dirty bag afterwards . Insight We soon realized there were unarticulated needs on each step of the way . The residents needed an incentive to make such efforts , a cause that will give them the extra push . They needed that connection with how the compost would be used so they could feel that they were doing a good deed , having a positive impact . They also needed a more efficient way to store their organic waste at home . A way that is less time and effort consuming . Ideally one that could last as long as the non- organic waste so both could be taken to the garbage area at the same time . And also , one that felt cleaner to keep home and reuse . Ultimately , after discovering these hidden opportunities , we had a clearer understanding of the issue . What at first seemed like a simple miscommunication on the product happened to uncover unarticulated needs around that same product and its use . Using storytelling helped create an unseen narrative that will lead to wider value creation . The tool helped visualize the process the residents went through in order to participate in gathering organic waste . What I have learned using storytelling is how the actions , mindsets and emotions experienced during the story all determine the opportunities to see . The insights gained for the mapping show how we can optimize the residents ’ experience . This combination will serve throughout the next steps of design thinking . Approach I think next time I would still use storytelling for this type of challenge . While this time it ended up being very useful to discover new needs , I feel that I could go even further . To limit the subjectivity of the story , I fell that other stakeholders could have been included in my work from the beginning . This would have made the analysis more complete from what is step , though later on in the process co - creation with all stakeholders may fill this gap . I will definitely use storytelling as a reference for future challenges to take on to discover subjects ’ insights and mindsets .