How To Run a Design Thinking Workshop (2-hour Live Training)

The video begins with an introduction to a design thinking workshop, explaining that viewers will learn how to conduct such a workshop from start to finish. The workshop was a nearly 2-hour live training session in Berlin with nine participants who were unfamiliar with design thinking. The video offers a unique perspective on participant interaction and engagement with workshop exercises. Free access to the slide deck and exercise guide is provided in the comment section for those interested in running the workshop themselves.

The workshop starts with an icebreaker called 'My First Job,' which is designed to reveal new aspects of participants to each other, breaking down barriers and fostering connections. The facilitator demonstrates the exercise, which involves writing one's name, their first job, and what they learned from it on a sticky note and sharing it with the team. The activity is shown to be light-hearted and effective for both teams that know each other and those that do not.

After the icebreaker, the video discusses the concept of creative confidence, aiming to dispel the notion that creativity is solely linked to artistic ability. The facilitator emphasizes that everyone can be creative and that it's about taking risks and trying new things. An exercise is conducted where participants draw a portrait of their neighbor in 45 seconds to illustrate the importance of being comfortable with uncertainty and taking on challenges.

The video then delves into what design thinking is, describing it as a human-centered, collaborative approach to problem-solving that is creative, iterative, and practical. The facilitator simplifies the concept by explaining that it involves constant consideration of the user's needs. The design thinking process is outlined as having five stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test, with an emphasis on the iterative nature of the process.

The paragraph explains the next phase of the design thinking process, which involves creating user personas. These are fictional characters that represent real people who will use or buy a product or service. Personas are given characteristics such as name, age, job, and hobbies to help designers understand their needs and problems. The video describes how to create user personas through interviews, surveys, and observations or by using predefined personas based on common user traits.

The empathy map exercise is introduced as a tool to help teams understand their target users deeply. It involves placing oneself in the user's shoes to explore their thoughts, feelings, needs, and motivations. The facilitator guides participants through creating an empathy map template with quadrants for think, say, do, and feel, and additional fields for jobs, pains, and gains. The exercise is meant to provide a clear understanding of the user's challenges.

In this part, the facilitator guides the participants to discuss their empathy maps, sharing insights into the user's life, pains, and gains. The goal is to get into the user's headspace and understand their challenges thoroughly. The discussion reveals various aspects of the user's life, including their activities, pains related to their arthritis, and their desire for independence and respect.

The video moves into the defined stage of the design thinking process, focusing on refining the problem statement into a concise reframing that is grounded in the user's needs. The facilitator provides a point of view statement for the user's need for an easy-to-use tool to help with delicate tasks. The 'how might we' exercise is introduced to transform the problem into a solvable question, setting the stage for generating solutions.

Participants engage in a sketching exercise to reinforce the idea that they can visualize and communicate their ideas without needing advanced drawing skills. This leads into the Crazy 8s exercise, where they rapidly generate eight different solutions to the challenge by sketching them within a structured time limit. The facilitator emphasizes that this stage is about quantity over quality and encourages participants to keep their ideas flowing freely.

The video concludes with the prototyping phase, where the concept is turned into a tangible form that can be tested. The facilitator explains the importance of prototyping in gaining empathy, exploring ideas, and testing hypotheses early in the design process to avoid wasting resources on ineffective solutions. The session ends with a break, during which participants can discuss their ideas further.

After the break, the participants are encouraged to collaborate and refine their prototypes based on feedback and discussions within their groups. The facilitator emphasizes the importance of not getting too attached to initial ideas and being open to iterations and improvements. The session ends with a reflection on the design thinking process and its non-linear nature, highlighting the importance of continuous iteration and improvement.

The workshop concludes with participants receiving goodie bags as a token of appreciation for their participation. The facilitators express their gratitude, summarize the key learnings, and encourage the use of the design thinking process in future endeavors. The video ends with a prompt for viewers to engage with the content in the comments section, subscribe for more content, and utilize the provided resources.