Design Thinking and Inspirational Assertive Communication Study Notes
Design Thinking Fundamentals
Design thinking is a customer-first methodology. If a product does not serve the customer's needs and wants, there is no point in its development.
The process relies heavily on iteration. Instead of completing a product and then asking for feedback, designers use iterative cycles to test concepts early.
Testing earlier reduces sunk costs. If a product is fully produced before the customer rejects it, the financial loss is maximized. Iteration allows for adjustments at lower cost thresholds.
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a core component. For example, when creating a hamburger, one might start by showing the customer just the meat and the bun to gather initial feedback on cooking and flavor before adding extras like lettuce or cucumbers.
Iteration continues even after a product launch. Companies gather feedback to improve the product bit by bit. This is the logic behind the continuous updating of smartphone apps.
In this framework, there is no such thing as a "finished" product; there is always a better product, never a "best" product. Labeling a product as the best implies work has stopped.
Design thinking acts as a social technology that counteracts the biases and egos of innovators. Creative individuals often view their ideas as their "babies," creating a bias that their idea is automatically superior. Focusing on the customer's reaction removes this personal bias.
Inspirational Assertive Communication
Communication is often more critical than intelligence or the quality of an idea. Smart ideas are useless if they remain in the head or if the audience does not buy into them.
Successful communication is about making people understand and remember an idea, often through powerful storytelling.
The most frequent story a person tells is their own introduction. Personal introductions must go beyond basic facts (like being a student at a specific university) to create a "hook."
A hook is the first few seconds of communication intended to capture attention. Examples include unconventional statements like, "Hi, I'm Reil; I tell stories for a living."
The communication formula consists of:
Hook: Capture immediate attention.
Engagement: Hold the audience's interest with the content.
Call to Action: Reward the audience with a takeaway or tell them what to do next (e.g., invest, buy, or remember a specific point).
An audience typically processes communication through three questions:
So what?
Who cares?
What's in it for me?
Effective speakers understand their audience group (e.g., teenagers vs. retirees) to speak their lingo and emphasize relevant facts.
The Double Diamond Technique and Problem Definition
Problem definition is the essential first step in all problem-solving efforts. A solution cannot be derived if the specific problem has not been scoped.
The Double Diamond process involves four stages of thinking:
Divergent Thinking: Discovering and breaking down the problem into many different areas (customers, issues, etc.).
Convergent Thinking: Narrowing down and scoping the specific problem to be solved.
Divergent Thinking: Exploring all possible options and ways to solve the scoped problem.
Convergent Thinking: Selecting and implementing the final solution.
Superior solutions require testing one variable at a time. By holding other factors constant, innovators can attribute success or failure to a specific attribute, such as the color or shape of a product.
Simplicity in design is often the hardest goal to achieve but yields the best results. Solutions like IKEA's wordless instruction sheets work across all languages by reducing complexity.
Design Thinking Rubrics and Project Requirements
Evaluation of design thinking projects is based on four quadrants, each weighted at :
Curiosity and Interest: Creating a hook in the first minute (e.g., social media hooks like "Did you know?").
Inspiration from Diverse Sources: Taking the audience through the "rabbit hole" of research and engagement.
Idea Generation: Developing options and showing the selection of the best approach.
Proposed Solution and Implementation: Leading to a final takeaway or result based on testing.
Project parameters for AI, Robotics, and New Technologies:
Conduct an in-depth study of the complexity of these technologies in the workplace or society.
Identify a specific group of people with a specific problem.
Scope the problem rather than trying to "save the world."
The video output must be in MP4 format, lasting between and minutes.
Every team member must appear in the video, potentially acting as customers, suppliers, or salespeople.
Vending Machine Case Study: Pain Points and Redesign Ideas
Scoping for the Customer: A machine for an old folks' home presents different problems than one for teenagers. Redesigning for the elderly requires addressing mobility or digital literacy hurdles.
Common Complaints and Issues:
The "Lucky Box" problem: Ordering a drink but receiving the wrong size (e.g., a can instead of a bottle).
Collection areas: Flaps that are too heavy or inconvenient for people with full hands or mobility issues.
Hygiene in fresh machines (e.g., iJuice): Unwrapped straws, rotting fruit, or bacteria growth (which can occur within hours).
Technical Failures: Items getting jammed, leading users to shake or tilt the machine.
Safety Risks: Vending machines reaching to can crush people. Recent incidents include users getting hands stuck in dispensing compartments.
Proposed Innovations:
Visuals: Large glass frames to see the actual product rather than a picture.
Mechanics: Elevator systems to transport fragile products (glass bottles) safely to the middle of the machine for easier access.
Payment: Face recognition technology (common in China) to eliminate interfaces entirely; linking IDs (student cards, employee cards) to digital wallets.
Inclusivity: Multilingual screens or wordless visual prompts for international users; voice-activated commands for those with muscle loss/difficulty pressing buttons.
Engagement: Adding a "long interaction time" button for those who need more time to process digital instructions without the system resetting.
Analysis of Computer Vision and Spatial Intelligence (Professor Fei-Fei Li)
The evolution of vision mirrors the evolution of AI. million years ago, the world was in total darkness not due to lack of light, but lack of sight. The emergence of trilobites ushered in the Cambrian explosion.
Spatial intelligence links perception with action. Nature's virtuous cycle consists of seeing, doing, and learning to see and do better.
Milestones in AI vision:
ImageNet: A dataset of images curated by Professor Fei-Fei Li's lab to train neural networks.
Modern AI Transition: Emerged through the convergence of neural network algorithms, GPUs, and big data.
From Labels to Generation: Computers moved from labeling images (e.g., tagging a cat) to describing relationship dynamics, and finally to generative AI (Text-to-Image/Video).
Models: Sora (OpenAI) and Walt (Li's lab) are examples of generative video models.
Spatial intelligence technology allows machines to translate two-dimensional images into three-dimensional information, aiding in robotics (e.g., robotic arms opening doors or making sandwiches with tomatoes and lettuce).
Ambient Intelligence: Applications in healthcare include smart sensors that detect if medical staff have washed their hands ( hours a day monitoring) or preventing patient falls.
Brain-Controlled Robotics: Using non-invasive EEG caps (brain waves) to control robotic arms for tasks like cooking a Japanese sukiyaki meal.
Communication Techniques and Evaluation
The SBI Format for Feedback:
Situation: Define the context.
Behavior: Describe what the person did (e.g., using a strong hook).
Impact: Explain how it affected the audience.
Non-Verbal Mastery: Steve Jobs used powerful props, such as pulling the MacBook Air out of a standard A4 envelope to prove its lightness.
Verbal Cues: Pauses and silence can be painful but effective for letting points "sink in."
Spoken vs. Written Scripts: Writing tends to involve longer, bombastic sentences. Spoken scripts should use shorter sentences and simpler words. One technique is to record a point-form presentation, transcribe the natural voice, and use that as the script.
Assertiveness: Speakers must be audible and confident. Softness or constant validation-seeking from teammates reduces the perceived expertise of the speaker.
Advanced Techniques:
Use a single metaphor to anchor a stance.
Stay calm when stating facts.
Compress complex ideas into quotable quotes (e.g., "If you are not at the table, you are on the menu").