Rural India has more than a million cases of breast cancer, complications during pregnancy, and fibrocystic breast disease. Research showed that these cases were connected to an iron deficiency. Though the supplements were available in the form of pills, these women were not getting or taking them. It was a challenge to help those women without getting the proper dosage of iodine.
The Life Saving Dot was the answer to the question “How might we help these women?”
Every woman in India wears a bindi, which is a traditional symbol of enhancing the grace of a married woman. These tiny little dots were transformed into patches of iodine. As a woman requires 150-220 micrograms of iodine daily, these Life Saving Dots dispensed that amount to the wearer. These dots were distributed to the women across the rural regions of India with the support of clinics and health camps. The Life Saving Dots and their awareness reached many villages across India.
Design Thinkers face challenging situations day-in and day-out, problems that require them to find design solutions to help the users in the best possible way. The ultimate goal of a Design Thinker is to move from “the voice of the customer to the mind of the customer.”
A Design Thinker makes sure that the investigative phase is not bypassed, as it is a crucial component in the Design Thinking process. It is where well-constructed questions prove to be a fruitful way to tackle a design problem even before designers begin “creating.” Questions convey our genuine curiosity and interest in something. They are the means through which people look for relevance in their surroundings and frequently pique their curiosity.
The Underlying Power Of Questions
Mckinsey emphasizes that design-driven growth has increased revenue returns for organizations that are product- and service-based. It’s interesting to note that just 50% of the businesses they surveyed undertake user research before developing their initial design concepts or wireframes. Therefore, it should not be surprising that the growth rates of the other half of the study’s enterprises were substantially slower.
According to the report, businesses that encourage some degree of outside-the-box thinking and design questions for value outperform their competitors. By developing empathy, businesses may embrace user-centricity and leverage design-driven processes to make better decisions. ‘Question-and-answer’ sessions between the user and the design thinker shouldn’t be regarded as a filler activity, but rather as a vital part of any company’s strategy.
Asking questions can help a Design Thinker to maximize the information output from the users.
Asking questions fosters more constructive conversation. Not only will you refrain from asking obvious questions, but you’ll also encourage users to diverge from the usual small talk and provide them a platform to contribute insightful opinions that are pertinent to an issue. The Design Thinker will begin to identify touchpoints and patterns during these sessions that correspond with the set of assumptions that will make the product valuable.
To fill in any gaps regarding a user’s demand, the Design Thinker must first identify situational pain points. The more chances there are to improve a product through design, the more widely a customer experience is defined.
Question The Question – What Would Have To Be True?
At P&G, the phrase was simply changed to, “I have a point that is worth hearing, but I may be missing something.”
When everyone in the room adopts this approach, it has a significant impact on group behavior. Two significant things occur when everyone maintains an open mind about the chance that they might be overlooking something.
- They promote their point of view as a potential solution, not as the only viable option.
- They pay close attention while listening and inquire about opposing viewpoints.
The greatest method to determine whether they might be missing something is to comprehend what they do not see, not what others perceive.
On the other hand, the managers who enter a room to persuade others that they are correct will end up doing the same process continuously. They will go to any extent to vigorously defend their perspective and persuade others to win the debate. They will be less likely to pay attention, or they will pay attention while looking for loopholes in other people’s arguments. Such an attitude is a surefire formula for conflict and deadlock.
One thing that can be done is to have an open discussion to deepen understanding by balancing advocacy and research.
Three crucial tools are used in this strategy:
- Stating your case before encouraging disussion (“This is how you perceive the problem and why; to what extent do you see it differently?”);
- Reaffirming your understanding of the other person’s perspective and seeking confirmation of its accuracy (“It sounds like your argument is this; to what extent does that convey your argument accurately?”);
- Stating that you don’t fully grasp the other person’s perspective and requesting more details (“It sounds like you think this acquisition is a horrible idea. I’m not sure I comprehend how you got there. Could you please elaborate?
How Do Design Thinkers Ask Effective Questions?
Finding the unique selling point of your idea won’t suffice asking questions to disclose user behavior. Finding out the customer’s motivations, emotions, and expectations of the product you’re selling will open the conceptual door to user touchpoints, or more simply put, the places where your customers are most likely to connect with the product. Before starting the user research, one must first conduct pre-research on the questions to ask in order to identify those touchpoints.
Here are a few basic yet influential types:
People are prompt to contemplate and express what is significant to them via open-ended questions. They don’t try to defend people’s opinions; they let them freely express what they find comfortable. We created a deck of four series of Powerful Questions that one can use in any conversation, and they can be proficient in understanding the art of asking powerful questions.
- Affective questions help in revealing the feelings of people about something. How do you feel about…?
- Probing questions deep dive into the further investigation. Could you describe how…?
- Clarifying questions avoids misunderstanding and brings alignment. Tell me more about…?
- Analytical questions look for the root cause of the problem. What are the causes of…?
- Reflective questions incline on elaboration. What would have caused…?
- Explorative questions bring new points and uncovered trails in the picture. Have you ever thought of…?
Design thinkers open up white space for questions, the way they frame questions makes the users think, there is a significant impact on their state of mind, and they do not intend to use closed questions that go down the trail of specific answers. They allow their users to speak more and let them take a deep dive into the ocean of possibilities.
Conclusion
Acquiring the art of asking questions and letting the information flow plays a vital role in individual as well as organizational growth. However, a culture of questioning also needs an atmosphere of trust and accountability, where everyone’s knowledge and skills are valued and elevated. As a designer, you should make sure that everyone knows that your questions are real attempts to learn more about product design and to find the greatest design solution.
https://uxdesign.cc/uncovering-design-problems-by-asking-the-right-questions-4469f2ba4772
https://hbr.org/2014/05/a-simple-nuance-that-produces-great-strategy-discussions
https://strategicfactors.com/2019/08/21/the-one-question-that-will-get-you-to-strategy/
https://resultslab.com/wp-content/uploads/ask-better-questions.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EEIyHhHWsAINChJ.jpg
https://www.pexels.com/photo/wood-man-people-woman-10981241/
https://plsadaptive.s3.amazonaws.com/eco/images/channel_content/images/shutterstock_1059993818.jpg
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/07/03/business/03PRE/03PRE-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.jpg
https://www.toptal.com/designers/product-design/design-thinking-great-questions
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/design-thinking-re-imagined-billions-life-india-skanda-shastry
Written By: Jimmy Jain
Edited By: Afreen Fatima
Society of Design Thinking Professionals
