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• Activities:
• Start at the End: Define the long-term goal and map critical areas of ambiguous understanding.
• Create a Map: Visualize the challenge by creating a map of the process or product.
• Ask the Experts: Gain insights from team members or external experts who have domain knowledge.

• Choose a Target: Decide which part of the problem is most crucial to address.

• Example: Blue Bottle Coffee wanted to improve their online store experience. By mapping out the e-commerce journey from discovering the product to purchasing, they identified that the key problem was making the subscription process more user-friendly.

• Action Step: Assemble a cross-functional team to develop a comprehensive map and identify critical questions that need answering to reach your goal.

• Activities:
• Diverge: Encourage all team members to individually come up with a wide range of solutions.
• Lightning Demos: Review existing solutions from both within and outside the industry.

• Sketch: Create detailed sketches for the most promising ideas.

• Example: Savioke, a robotics company, used sketches to rethink how their delivery robots could navigate hotel environments and interact with guests in more engaging ways.

• Action Step: Conduct a lightning demo and have each team member spend roughly one hour creating a detailed sketch that includes visuals, annotations, and a storytelling element.

• Activities:
• Art Museum: Lay out all sketches as if they were pieces in a gallery.
• Dot Voting: Use dot stickers to vote on the best sketch ideas, focusing on individual rather than group thinking.
• Conflict: Discuss divergent opinions and choose a solution using a structured decision-making approach.

• Storyboard: Develop a storyboard that outlines how the prototype will function and look over different phases.

• Example: Flatiron Health aimed to improve their oncology data platform. Through detailed discussion and dot voting, the team focused on simplifying how doctors input patient data.

• Action Step: Use a structured decision-making process (e.g., supervote by the Decider, who is a key stakeholder) to narrow down sketches and finalize details for the prototype storyboard.

• Activities:
• Assign Tasks: Divide the prototype creation into manageable pieces with clear ownership.
• Prototype: Develop a prototype that is just realistic enough to test with users. Use tools such as paper sketches, click-through wireframes, and interactive mockups.

• Stitching It Together: Integrate individual components into a cohesive whole.

• Example: The team at Slack used rapid prototyping to streamline the onboarding process for new users, focusing on features and design elements critical to user engagement.

• Action Step: Collaborate across team functions to create and stitch together a prototype that includes all essential user interactions, ensuring that each component works seamlessly.

• Activities:
• Prepare: Recruit five real users who resemble the target demographic for testing.
• Conduct Interviews: Observe how users interact with the prototype via a structured interview process.

• Debrief: Analyze findings and identify patterns in user behavior and feedback.

• Example: The team at Medium tested a new feature that allowed users to highlight text and leave notes. Gathered feedback provided direct insights into usability and user satisfaction.

• Action Step: Conduct one-on-one usability tests, noting critical observations and insights using a debrief format, transforming feedback into actionable design iterations.

Entrepreneurship and StartupsInnovation and CreativityBusiness ModelsMarket ValidationTech StartupsIdea GenerationBusiness Model InnovationDesign ThinkingProduct Development