Related to my last post on the need for documents during the design of software, I came across the topic of Design Thinking. Unlike analytical thinking, Design Thinking is aimed at building up ideas. It fits perfectly to agile methods, because it requires iterations and team work. I would say that agile methods include many parts of the theory of Design Thinking.
Here are some statements that I want to make related to Design Thinking:
- A team should know the theory of Design Thinking in order to support best the generation of ideas. Agile coaches should explain to team, how ideas and solutions are created and what hurdles will probably in its way.
- Our education has formed us to pick the first best idea and carry on with it. That may not be the very best idea to solve a problem. We have learnt that creating bad ideas is unacceptable. Children are very creative and can come up with lots of variations. We learn at school and from our parents what is right and get punished for what is wrong. Therefore we try to create right ideas and hesitate to communicate bad ideas. This blocks the idea generation within ourselves and within a team. If a team can overcome this issue, the creative output of the team will be higher. A team should be aware of this issue and create trustful relationships. This relates to „phychological safety“ that is higher developed in a long lived team.
- We also have another problem with intuition. If people bring up ideas, the ideas are discussed in a team to validate and merge them with other ideas. If someone has a intuitive idea, it will be difficult for him to explain it. He or she just knows that it’s right. But without explaining the idea, the collaborative process to build a common understanding will fail. Either the idea will be lost – and maybe it is the very best solution – or someone else can explain it. This also relates to leadership. Leaders can have intuative ideas and others may simply follow without understanding it. They trust the leader.
Well, I think that a team that is aware of the principels of design thinking can use it to create better solutions. It may also help the team to create trustful relationships quicker.