CHAITANYA GADDAMWAR
Design Thinking Project
This was my first design thinking project, so let me give you a brief introduction to it before we move ahead.
We were divided into groups of 10 people each & were given 10 areas of a house, which we needed to fight over and get our areas sorted by convincing others why we needed to select that particular area.
I purposefully wanted to have the terrace as my topic area because it is an area which many people think is not much used as compared to other areas of the house. Also these days people have very restricted or limited access to the terrace. So to come up with a solution (that too physical product based) for an area like terrace fascinated me.
The purpose of this design thinking project was to understand the core needs and problems of the users, so as to come up with solutions which can have an impact on the users as well as businesses.
So basically, Design Thinking is divided into 5 steps as follows :
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Empathize
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Define
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Ideate
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Prototype
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Usability Test
Before beginning any of the above steps I had to prepare some set of questions which I would be using for 1 on-1 interviews with my users in order to empathize with them.
“ So the first question that came to my mind was how to come up with relevant questions which would enable the users to give descriptive answers so that I can derive insights from them.”
Before framing any question I thought about all the products which generally exists on a terrace like a water tank, bulb/light, switches, wires, plants, vases, chair, pipes, solar systems, climbing stairs etc.
Following questions were prepared by me for the interview :
1. Do you use your terrace? If yes, for what type of purposes do you use it usually?
2. Do you have any kids at home who play on the terrace? If yes, What type of games do they play on the terrace?
3. Do you use the terrace for functions or parties? If yes, can you explain the challenges that you have to face while arranging such functions or events?
4. Does your terrace have flooring or tiles? Any specific reason behind that?
5. Do you have a garden on the terrace? If yes, what type of plants have you planted? What was the reason for having a garden at your terrace?
6. Do you ever go to the terrace at night? If yes, what difficulties do you face at night? Do you have a light on the terrace? Where is the switch of that light? If it is there on the terrace do you ever face any issues in the rainy season?
7. Does your terrace have an accessible water tank? What is the purpose of that water tank? Is it a plastic tank or a cement tank? Do you face any issues regarding the temperature of water specifically during summers or winters?
8. Who fills the water tank everyday? How many times do you need to fill your water tank? How do you get to know whether the tank is filled completely or not? Does the water overflow sometimes? What problems do you face due to the overflow?
9. Do you have a solar system installed at your home? Is it installed on the terrace? Does it cause any problem to you regarding the large area those panels occupy, any other problems related to it?
10. Where does the rain water overflow from your terrace? Do you have any system to store it?
11) Do you have a dish TV? Where is it placed? Where are the wires of the dish TV? Are they arrang
Learning #1 : Instead of preparing close ended questions one should prepare topics for discussion and try to come up with as many keywords as possible for an open discussion.
1. Empathize :
At this stage you can not expect your users to state their problems directly, instead you need to make them feel comfortable so that they can share their various experiences related to the topic & you need to understand the user’s perspective in a very non-biased way & note down whatever problems they are facing or have faced without suggesting any solutions.
2. Define :
This is the second stage of the DTP where you have to find out all the possible problems that your users face or have faced, from the notes you have taken in your interviews.
I came up with 13 problem statements from the insights I had from my interviews :
3. Ideate :
At this stage we have to come up with solutions for the above stated problems in a rapid manner. I used a technique called as CRAZY 8 which means to come up with 8 different solutions for each problem stated above in 8 minutes. To be precise it meant to come up with one solution under one minute.
I had listed a total of 13 problems, but I was not able to come up with 8 solutions for each problem. In total I had come up with 50 solutions, amongst which many were consultancy kind of solutions. So I started eliminating them one by one.
Finally I shortlisted 3 solutions which I thought could really have an impact on users as well as businesses.
Top idea 1
Problem : Water overflow problem. Have to keep a track of time when filling the water tank else water can overflow.
Solution : Get a system which automatically switches off the motor as soon as the water reaches a certain height/litres.
Top idea 2
Problem : Unable to water the plants when no one is present at the home.
Solution : Place an inverted 1 litre bottle with a small plastic stand like structure with a small pipe for watering the plants.
Top idea 3
Problem : Cleaning the water tank is a big problem.
Solution : Have a small (tea strainer like material) filter near the pipe from which water falls into the tank so that minimal impurities enter the water tank.
I remember while getting feedback on 1-on-1 interviews on a group call, Naina had a suggestion that I had asked her questions mostly related to the water tank itself (which was true BTW because I didn’t ask her all the questions that I had prepared, due to nervousness). Also as it was my first interview I forgot to record it.
Charvee also partly agreed to her but the remaining 3 people did not feel the same way. To be honest I had a bias regarding water tank and I badly wanted to design a solution around it at the beginning of this project, that is why it was reflected in my initial interviews with the people.
I felt that I should choose any other idea to work on as a prototype instead of any solution related to the water tank to do justice to this project and to eliminate biases in the future.
So I decided to go ahead with the second idea which was related to plants. Amongst the 5 users I had interviewed, 3 people had a garden on their terrace. I decided to go ahead with this idea as this problem can also be faced by many other people as well.
4. Prototype :
I had prepared a very basic sketch of the product and before moving forward I decided to do a google search to see if such a product already existed.
So I typed, “how to survive your plants when you are away from home?” on google and got some links to videos, blogs etc. Then I went on to the shopping section on google and there on the very first page I found an almost similar product already existing on amazon.
First I thought I should choose some other idea to prototype over this but then I thought I should check the reviews once on amazon and I can come up with a better version of this product. After reading the reviews I came to know about the shortcomings of that product and I used them to make changes to my product.
1. One person said that it can not hold the weight of the 1 litre bottle as the whole bottle along with the plastic stand was at an angle of 90 degrees. The stand that I had developed was a little bit different from this but it was consuming too much space in the vase. So I thought I could use the stand like this product but I’ll have to make some changes to it.
2. One person said that the water from the bottle was falling exactly below the stand due to which the stand used to loosen and the bottle fell sometimes.
3.One person said that the water in the bottle would not last for more than 1–2 days even if the speed was kept at the lowest point possible.
I found these reviews to be genuine and thought of working on them.
For the first problem, what I did was I shifted the plastic stand towards the right side, due to which now the perpendicular pressure was divided between the bottle and the plastic stand.
I had already used a plastic pipe for water outflow, so the pipe can be easily placed away from the plastic stand, so that the water does not fall exactly below it.
Reading the third problem I was immediately reminded of saline water bottles. The small device it has can be used to control the outflow of water like how it is done in hospitals.
5. Usability Testing :
I incorporated the feedback from amazon reviews in my prototype and conducted a usability testing.
The collective feedback that I got was as follows :
1) As this is going to be kept on the terrace which is open, so it should be dust proof.
2) The pipes’ outlet can get closed if wet soil sticks to it.
3) One user was doubtful that even if the water is kept at the lowest speed and it manages to be sufficient up to 7–8 days, will that amount of water be really sufficient for the plant?
Further modifications in prototype as per the feedback :
Here it is very important to note that not all feedback needs to be incorporated as it is, as suggested by the users. One needs to analyze the feedback carefully and apply what’s feasible. Making this product dust proof was not economically viable and also not a primary requirement.
I think the second feedback was really helpful and I thought of implementing it in my prototype. For the third feedback I had replied to the user that this product has been built for the people who keep on travelling and are worried about their plants’ as no one is present at the home. Here the main focus of solving the problem was not about watering the plants but to somehow keep them alive for 7–8 days.
If we water any plant with 1 liter of water on day 1, then there are more chances that the water will get evaporated on the same day itself. Instead if somehow we can manage to water the plant by only 100 ml in 24 hours (including day and night) then there are more chances that the plant will survive under 1 liter for 7–8 days.
My KEY takeaways from the project :
1. The first thing I learned is to overcome biases, or at least to reduce them.
2. I’m not the user. This may seem a very simple thing but trust me it’s not.
3. The most important part of the process is to come up with better questions for the interview for which one can make pointers instead of questions and ask users to share their experience around those topics. Based on the discussion, counter question them on an ad-hoc basis.
4. While defining problems try to identify the unspoken problems of the users. That is where one can get the eureka moment. Your user may not know that something is a problem as they are very habituated to using things in certain ways.
5. Do not assume things. Ask the users about whatever doubt you may have but don’t just assume things.
6. One really needs to be an open minded person in order to come up with unique solutions. You never know which thing will get connected where. Therefore as a designer be a good observer.
7. Your solution may not be perfect, but it should be better than the existing solutions (if any) in the market. Further iterations can be made on a continuous basis.
8. The purpose of design thinking is not to come up with fancy solutions but to empathize with the users and find out the core problems.
9. Embrace your imperfections and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Accept your mistakes, learn from them and move on.