Subject 501 | Design Thinking

What is the central principle of Design Thinking?

A. Develop solutions based on established procedures

B. Understand before you solve

C. Prioritize technological efficiency before user research

D. Standardize the process before identifying user needs

B. Understand before you solve

Which sequence correctly represents the five major stages of the Design Thinking framework?

A. Understand → Imagine → Focus → Learn → Make

B. Focus → Understand → Make → Imagine → Learn

C. Understand → Focus → Imagine → Make → Learn

D. Understand → Focus → Make → Learn → Imagine

C. Understand → Focus → Imagine → Make → Learn

What is the primary objective of the UNDERSTAND stage?

A. Determine which solution can be implemented most quickly

B. Establish performance indicators for the proposed solution

C. Identify the organizational department responsible for the problem

D. Learn about people and the problem to determine what is happening

D. Learn about people and the problem to determine what is happening

What is the main purpose of the FOCUS stage?

A. Determine which problem matters most and select what to work on

B. Exploring possibilities and generating potential ideas

C. Build a prototype based on initial observations

D. Evaluate the effectiveness of an implemented solution

A. Determine which problem matters most and select what to work on

Which activity is most appropriate during the IMAGINE stage?

A. Determine which problem matters most and select what to work on

B. Documenting the existing process in detail

C. Exploring possibilities and generating potential ideas

D. Measuring the performance of a completed prototype

C. Exploring possibilities and generating potential ideas

Why does the MAKE stage involve making an idea visible? A. To ensure the team can finalize the solution without user involvement; B. To create something people can react to and provide feedback on; C. To prove that the proposed idea is technically feasible before testing; D. To replace further investigation with a completed design

B. To create something people can react to and provide feedback on

What is the primary purpose of the LEARN stage? A. Determine which department should own the final solution; B. Confirm that the original idea should remain unchanged; C. Establish the requirements before any ideas are generated; D. Understand what happens when people try the idea and use the findings to improve it

D. Understand what happens when people try the idea and use the findings to improve it

Which set correctly identifies the three habits emphasized in Design Thinking? A. People before solutions; Don't assume, find out; Make, learn, improve; B. Solutions before people; Assume, then validate; Build, launch, standardize; C. Procedures before people; Minimize investigation; Make, approve, implement; D. People before procedures; Assume user needs; Build, measure, finalize

A. People before solutions; Don't assume, find out; Make, learn, improve

Why should teams improve a process before adding technology? A. Technology should only be introduced after every process has been standardized; B. Manual processes are inherently more reliable than digital processes; C. Technology does not automatically improve a poorly designed process; D. Technology prevents teams from gathering user feedback

C. Technology does not automatically improve a poorly designed process

Who may be considered a user in a DBP process? A. Only the external borrower who submits the application; B. Only employees who approve or evaluate the application; C. Only clients and employees who directly communicate with them; D. Borrowers, client-facing staff, processing or evaluation staff, and reviewers or decision-makers

D. Borrowers, client-facing staff, processing or evaluation staff, and reviewers or decision-makers

What best distinguishes a user's goal from the process they follow? A. The goal describes the organization's rules, while the process describes the user's satisfaction; B. The process describes how the user gets there, while the goal describes the intended outcome; C. The goal identifies the steps taken, while the process identifies the reason for taking them; D. The goal and process are interchangeable descriptions of the same activity

B. The process describes how the user gets there, while the goal describes the intended outcome

Which statement best represents a true user need for a borrower? A. The borrower needs an automated platform because digital transactions are faster; B. The borrower needs fewer documents regardless of financing requirements; C. The borrower needs to understand the suitable financing option and prepare a complete application; D. The borrower needs the Account Officer to complete every application requirement

C. The borrower needs to understand the suitable financing option and prepare a complete application

Which three approaches help teams look beyond what people say? A. Ask, Observe, and Understand; B. Survey, Standardize, and Implement; C. Interview, Assume, and Recommend; D. Observe, Prescribe, and Evaluate

A. Ask, Observe, and Understand

When using ASK in user research, what is the primary focus? A. Identifying the researcher's interpretation of the user's behavior; B. Measuring how frequently a user performs a task; C. Identifying contextual factors that may influence the user; D. Understanding what happened according to the person's account

D. Understanding what happened according to the person's account

What is the primary focus of OBSERVE in user research? A. What users believe should happen in an ideal process; B. What people actually do in practice; C. What users remember about previous experiences; D. What researchers predict users would do under different conditions

B. What people actually do in practice

What does UNDERSTAND emphasize when investigating a user's experience? A. Verifying whether the user follows the official procedure; B. Determining whether the user agrees with the proposed solution; C. Examining the surrounding context and circumstances affecting the person; D. Comparing the user's account against management expectations

C. Examining the surrounding context and circumstances affecting the person

Which set contains the four questions used to understand a user? A. Who? Goal? Today? Friction?; B. Who? Why? Budget? Solution?; C. What? Where? Cost? Outcome?; D. Goal? Process? Technology? Approval?

A. Who? Goal? Today? Friction?

In user research, what does the question "Who?" seek to establish? A. Who has the authority to approve a solution; B. Who should be assigned responsibility for the process; C. Who is most likely to resist the proposed change; D. Who experiences the issue being investigated

D. Who experiences the issue being investigated

What does the "Goal?" question seek to uncover? A. The sequence of actions required by the official procedure; B. What the person is trying to accomplish; C. The organization's desired performance indicator; D. The solution the user prefers to implement

B. What the person is trying to accomplish

What does the "Today?" question examine? A. How the process is expected to operate after improvements; B. How the organization measures the process's success; C. How the process actually works at present; D. How the process should be redesigned

C. How the process actually works at present

In user research, what does "Friction?" investigate? A. What makes the experience unnecessarily difficult, delayed, confusing, or repetitive; B. Which employees are responsible for enforcing process controls; C. Which solution would eliminate the greatest number of process steps; D. What prevents the organization from adopting new technology

A. What makes the experience unnecessarily difficult, delayed, confusing, or repetitive

Which option correctly distinguishes evidence, interpretation, assumption, and solution? A. Evidence is a proposed fix; interpretation is a verified fact; assumption is a user request; solution is an observed behavior; B. Evidence is what is believed; interpretation is what is measured; assumption is the final conclusion; solution is the research question; C. Evidence and interpretation are interchangeable, while assumptions and solutions are both proposed improvements; D. Evidence is what is observed or supported; interpretation is what it may mean; assumption is an unconfirmed belief; solution is a proposed response

D. Evidence is what is observed or supported; interpretation is what it may mean; assumption is an unconfirmed belief; solution is a proposed response

Which principle best preserves the distinction between different levels of knowledge in Design Thinking? A. Evidence = Interpretation = Assumption = Solution; B. Evidence → Solution → Assumption → Interpretation; C. Evidence ≠ Interpretation ≠ Assumption ≠ Solution; D. Interpretation = Evidence, but Assumption ≠ Solution

C. Evidence ≠ Interpretation ≠ Assumption ≠ Solution

What information belongs under "WE KNOW"? A. Findings supported by evidence; B. Explanations that appear reasonable but remain unverified; C. Questions that the team has not yet investigated; D. Ideas that the team intends to test

A. Findings supported by evidence

What belongs under "WE THINK"? A. Facts confirmed through direct observation; B. Mandatory controls documented in official procedures; C. Questions that require additional investigation; D. Interpretations or assumptions that may not yet be confirmed

D. Interpretations or assumptions that may not yet be confirmed

What should be recorded under "WE NEED TO LEARN"? A. Findings that have already been verified; B. Questions that still require answers or verification; C. Proposed solutions that management has approved; D. Assumptions that the team has decided to treat as facts

B. Questions that still require answers or verification

What is the main purpose of an Evidence Hunt? A. Determine the most appropriate solution before conducting interviews; B. Identify the employee or department responsible for poor performance; C. Find signals of client or staff difficulties without prematurely deciding on a problem or solution; D. Confirm that the existing procedure should be followed without modification

C. Find signals of client or staff difficulties without prematurely deciding on a problem or solution

Which statement best explains the difference between a client's journey and an organization's functions? A. A client experiences one journey that may cross multiple internal organizational functions; B. Each organizational function represents a separate and independent client journey; C. A client's journey starts only when the application reaches the processing department; D. Organizational functions are the most accurate way to determine how clients experience a process

A. A client experiences one journey that may cross multiple internal organizational functions

What should a process map primarily represent? A. The approved procedure, even when actual practice differs; B. The ideal future process after all improvements have been implemented; C. The process as management expects employees to perform it; D. What actually happens in practice, including deviations from the official procedure

D. What actually happens in practice, including deviations from the official procedure

Which statement accurately distinguishes procedure from practice? A. Procedure describes user expectations, while practice describes management targets; B. Procedure describes what should happen, while practice describes what actually happens; C. Procedure describes actual behavior, while practice describes official requirements; D. Procedure and practice differ only when a process contains a documented error

B. Procedure describes what should happen, while practice describes what actually happens

What should a process map use as its starting point and endpoint? A. The first department involved and the final approving department; B. The first document submitted and the last document archived; C. The client's goal, tracing the process in relation to achieving that goal; D. The first control activity and the final compliance verification

C. The client's goal, tracing the process in relation to achieving that goal

Which description best defines friction in a process? A. Any activity that requires time, documentation, or approval; B. Any control that prevents an application from progressing immediately; C. Any step that differs from the written procedure; D. A point that creates unnecessary effort, delay, confusion, or rework

D. A point that creates unnecessary effort, delay, confusion, or rework

Which group contains common signs of process friction? A. Waiting, confusion, repetition, rework, difficult handoffs, and unclear next steps; B. Verification, documentation, authorization, monitoring, and audit trails; C. Standardization, accountability, traceability, consistency, and transparency; D. Planning, delegation, evaluation, implementation, and monitoring

A. Waiting, confusion, repetition, rework, difficult handoffs, and unclear next steps

Which statement correctly distinguishes friction from a necessary control? A. Every necessary control is friction because it adds a step to the process; B. Friction and necessary controls are identical whenever a delay occurs; C. A necessary control can be well designed, whereas friction involves unnecessary difficulty; D. A necessary control becomes friction whenever a client disagrees with it

C. A necessary control can be well designed, whereas friction involves unnecessary difficulty

Why should friction not automatically be treated as the root cause of a problem? A. Friction is always caused by employees who do not follow procedures; B. Friction identifies where difficulty appears but does not necessarily explain why it occurs; C. Friction can only be identified after a solution has been implemented; D. Friction describes organizational constraints rather than user experiences

B. Friction identifies where difficulty appears but does not necessarily explain why it occurs

After identifying a possible cause of friction, which question should the team ask? A. "Which technology can eliminate this immediately?"; B. "Who should be held accountable for this issue?"; C. "How can we implement the proposed solution?"; D. "How do we know?"

D. "How do we know?"

What is the difference between a cause and a constraint? A. A cause contributes to friction, while a constraint is a genuine condition or limitation the team must work within; B. A cause is always controllable, while a constraint is always irrelevant to the problem; C. A cause is a documented fact, while a constraint is an unverified assumption; D. A cause identifies the user, while a constraint identifies the user's goal

A. A cause contributes to friction, while a constraint is a genuine condition or limitation the team must work within

Which three categories can be used to classify knowledge about a possible cause? A. Impact, Reach, and Influence; B. Procedure, Practice, and Friction; C. Evidence, Hypothesis, and Unknown; D. Observation, Interpretation, and Solution

C. Evidence, Hypothesis, and Unknown

Which four criteria should guide the selection of a problem to address? A. Cost, Duration, Technology, and Approval; B. Evidence, Impact, Reach, and Influence; C. Evidence, Urgency, Feasibility, and Implementation; D. Impact, Budget, Complexity, and Accountability

B. Evidence, Impact, Reach, and Influence

When prioritizing a problem, what does IMPACT measure? A. The number of departments that participate in the process; B. The frequency with which the problem occurs across all clients; C. The degree to which DBP can control the underlying cause; D. How much the issue affects the client's ability to achieve their goal

D. How much the issue affects the client's ability to achieve their goal

When prioritizing a problem, what does REACH measure? A. How frequently or widely the problem occurs among affected users; B. How severe the consequences are for one affected user; C. How much authority the team has to change the process; D. How expensive the proposed solution would be

A. How frequently or widely the problem occurs among affected users

What does INFLUENCE mean when prioritizing a problem? A. The number of clients who experience the issue; B. The severity of the consequences for the client; C. Whether DBP can realistically take action to address the problem; D. Whether the proposed solution uses available technology

C. Whether DBP can realistically take action to address the problem

What is the most important principle when choosing a problem to address? A. Prioritize the solution that can be implemented most quickly; B. Prioritize the problem based on evidence and relevance before selecting a solution; C. Prioritize problems that can be addressed through technology; D. Prioritize the problem with the simplest implementation requirements

B. Prioritize the problem based on evidence and relevance before selecting a solution

Which characteristic best describes a well-framed problem statement? A. It identifies a preferred technology and explains how it should be deployed; B. It lists every process inefficiency regardless of the affected user; C. It establishes the implementation plan and expected project costs; D. It identifies the person, goal, challenge, and evidence without prescribing a solution

D. It identifies the person, goal, challenge, and evidence without prescribing a solution

Which option follows the basic structure of a problem statement? A. [WHO] needs a better way to [GOAL] because [CHALLENGE]; B. [SOLUTION] should be implemented by [DEPARTMENT] to achieve [METRIC]; C. [CAUSE] must be eliminated using [TECHNOLOGY] to improve [PROCESS]; D. [DEPARTMENT] needs a new system because [SOLUTION] is outdated

A. [WHO] needs a better way to [GOAL] because [CHALLENGE]

Why is "DBP needs an online loan tracking system" considered a solution disguised as a problem? A. It focuses too heavily on the borrower's personal circumstances; B. It describes a user goal without identifying any organizational constraints; C. It prescribes a specific solution before the underlying problem has been established; D. It identifies a possible cause without collecting evidence

C. It prescribes a specific solution before the underlying problem has been established

Which statement is an example of a genuine problem statement rather than a prescribed solution? A. Borrowers need a mobile application that automatically approves eligible loans; B. Borrowers need a clearer way to understand application status because they lack reliable information about the next step; C. DBP needs to automate loan evaluation to reduce employee workload; D. The processing department needs an integrated dashboard to eliminate all delays

B. Borrowers need a clearer way to understand application status because they lack reliable information about the next step

What is the purpose of a How Might We (HMW) question? A. Convert an established solution into a formal implementation requirement; B. Determine which proposed idea should receive funding; C. Define the exact process changes required to eliminate a problem; D. Reframe a problem as an open opportunity to explore multiple possible ideas

D. Reframe a problem as an open opportunity to explore multiple possible ideas

What do HOW, MIGHT, and WE each communicate in an HMW question? A. HOW defines the procedure; MIGHT establishes probability; WE identifies the department responsible; B. HOW identifies the root cause; MIGHT limits possible solutions; WE assigns accountability; C. HOW invites exploration; MIGHT allows experimentation; WE emphasizes collaboration; D. HOW identifies the solution; MIGHT confirms feasibility; WE establishes the implementation team

C. HOW invites exploration; MIGHT allows experimentation; WE emphasizes collaboration

How does a problem statement differ from a How Might We (HMW) question? A. A problem statement establishes focus, while an HMW question opens possibilities for exploration; B. A problem statement proposes solutions, while an HMW question identifies the root cause; C. A problem statement describes implementation, while an HMW question confirms the final design; D. A problem statement identifies constraints, while an HMW question eliminates the need for evidence

A. A problem statement establishes focus, while an HMW question opens possibilities for exploration

Which three levels are used to assess the framing of an HMW question? A. Evidence-based, assumption-based, and solution-based; B. User-focused, process-focused, and technology-focused; C. Problem identification, cause analysis, and solution testing; D. Too broad, too narrow, and just enough

D. Too broad, too narrow, and just enough

What makes an HMW question appropriately framed as "just enough"? A. It identifies the exact solution while leaving the implementation details open; B. It remains focused on the problem while allowing different possible answers; C. It includes every related problem to avoid overlooking any possibility; D. It limits the team to the most feasible solution identified during research

B. It remains focused on the problem while allowing different possible answers