Design Thinking

At the beginning, describe the challenge as openly as possible. Rather than searching immediately for a solution, the focus is on understanding the problem. At the same time, define the target group and clarify the expected outcome of the process.

Examples of guiding questions:

• How can the route to school be made safer?
• How can a public square become more attractive?
• How can young people be better involved in participation processes?
• How can access to public services be simplified?

Design Thinking thrives on diverse perspectives. The team should include people with different backgrounds, experiences, age groups, and areas of expertise. Teams typically consist of five to six participants. For larger events, several teams can work in parallel.

Depending on the topic, participants may include:

• citizens
• public administration
• politicians
• planners
• community organisations
• businesses
• experts
• affected stakeholders

Although Design Thinking encourages creativity, it follows six consecutive phases. Sufficient time should be allocated for discussion, creative work, and multiple iterations.

Example of a one-day workshop

• 09.00–09.30 Welcome and introduction
• 09:30–10:15 Phase 1: Understand
• 10:15–11:00 Phase 2: Observe
• 11:00–11:15 Break
• 11:15–12:00 Phase 3: Define
• 12:00–13:00 Lunch break
• 13:00–14:15 Phase 4: Ideate
• 14:15–15:30 Phase 5: Prototype
• 15:30–16:30 Phase 6: Test and Feedback
• 16:30–17:00 Summary and outlook

Depending on the project, the process may also extend over several workshops or weeks.

Design Thinking requires a flexible working environment that supports teamwork, visualisation, and prototyping.

Typical materials include:

• pinboards or whiteboards
• moderation cards
• flipcharts
• sticky notes
• markers
• dot stickers
• paper
• scissors
• adhesive tape
• craft materials
• LEGO®, modelling clay, or cardboard
• tablets or laptops (for digital prototypes)

In May 2025, a one-day Design Thinking workshop was held together with the Smart City team of the City of Detmold at KreativInstitut.OWL. Fourteen employees from different departments of the city administration worked collaboratively on the following challenge:
"How can city employees be supported through a digital platform to collaboratively develop projects with the local community?"
The aim was to co-design the future Participation and Usability Toolbox together with its future users.

The workshop followed the classic Design Thinking process, including the phases Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test.
The workshop began by exploring participants' existing workflows, challenges, and experiences. Based on these insights, the groups jointly identified requirements for the future platform and developed initial solution ideas. These concepts were then visualised as low-fidelity prototypes using paper, cardboard, and other simple materials before being presented and discussed with the other groups.
Due to limited time, the final testing phase could not be completed during the workshop. Instead, the prototypes and workshop outcomes were documented and scheduled to be reviewed with participants during the subsequent stages of the development process.

Design Thinking is particularly well suited to complex challenges that require the integration of different perspectives. Its human-centred approach ensured that the needs and expectations of future users were considered from the very beginning of the development process. At the same time, the workshop produced initial prototypes that served as a foundation for the further development of the Participation and Usability Toolbox.

The interdisciplinary composition of the groups resulted in a wide variety of solution approaches and highlighted the different requirements that individual departments have for a digital participation platform. In particular, the collaborative prototyping process made abstract ideas easier to discuss and helped participants visualise future platform features.
The workshop also demonstrated that Design Thinking requires sufficient time for each phase. The testing phase, in particular, should not be omitted whenever possible, as feedback from future users is essential for refining and improving the prototypes.

Allow enough time for every phase of the Design Thinking process. Whenever possible, conduct the testing phase with the future users of the solution. Diverse, interdisciplinary groups encourage a broader range of ideas and perspectives. Prototypes should deliberately remain simple so that they can be adapted and improved easily throughout the development process.

The team develops a shared understanding of the challenge. Existing knowledge is collected, and open questions are identified. The goal is to understand the problem thoroughly before generating solutions.

Helpful resources include:

• short expert presentations
• maps or plans
• existing studies
• statistics
• user experiences
• team discussions

At the end of this phase, a clearly defined design challenge should emerge.

The focus shifts to the people for whom the solution is intended. The goal is to understand their needs, expectations, and challenges.

Possible methods include:

• interviews
• active interviews
• observations
• walks
• shadowing
• photo documentation
• diaries
• short surveys

Example:

For redesigning a school route, one group observes traffic, another interviews parents and children, while a third documents dangerous locations through photographs.

The findings are then shared and discussed.

The collected information is analysed and organised. The objective is to identify the underlying challenge behind the observations.

Patterns, similarities, and user needs become visible. Different perspectives are discussed until a shared understanding of the problem is reached.

Helpful methods include:

• Affinity Mapping
• Personas
• Storytelling
• Empathy Maps
• Mind Mapping

The phase concludes with a clearly formulated design challenge, for example:

"How might we redesign the route to school so that children can travel safely and independently?"

This is the creative phase of the process. The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible without evaluating them initially.

Unusual or seemingly unrealistic ideas are encouraged, as they often inspire innovative solutions later on.

Useful creativity techniques include:

• Brainstorming
• Brainwriting
• 6-3-5 Method
• Crazy 8s
• Perspective Shifting
• "What if...?" questions

Once many ideas have been generated, they are organised, combined, and evaluated using predefined criteria. The most promising concepts are selected for the next phase.

The selected ideas are transformed into initial prototypes. The goal is to make ideas tangible quickly rather than creating perfect solutions.

Possible prototype formats include:

• sketches or storyboards
• paper, cardboard, or LEGO® models
• role-playing scenarios
• digital click-through prototypes
• revised plans or maps
• physical spatial models

Simple prototypes make it easier to test multiple alternatives and improve them rapidly.

Example:

For redesigning a school playground, a cardboard model is built with movable elements representing seating areas, play spaces, and pathways. Alternatively, layouts can be explored directly on a large site plan using paper or sticky notes.

The prototypes are tested with the target group or other stakeholders. The objective is to identify what works well, where difficulties arise, and what improvements are needed.

Possible testing methods include:

• presentations with feedback sessions
• short interviews
• user observations
• site visits
• temporary installations
• simulations
• digital usability tests
• small-scale mobility or usage experiments

Helpful questions include:

• What already works well?
• What is still missing?
• What difficulties arise?
• What should be changed?
• Would you use this solution in everyday life?

Feedback is documented and analysed collaboratively. Testing is not the end of the process but the beginning of another iteration. Insights may lead to revised prototypes, new ideas, or even a redefinition of the original challenge.

After the workshop, all outputs are collected and documented, including notes, sketches, photographs of prototypes, maps, models, and feedback from the testing phase.

The results are then systematically evaluated by examining:

• which user needs were mentioned most frequently,
• which ideas received the most positive feedback,
• which challenges remain unresolved,
• which improvements were suggested,
• which prototypes should be developed further.

Depending on the project, methods such as Topic Mapping, Sensemaking, or Content Analysis can be used.

Insights from the testing phase directly inform the next iteration.

The team decides:

• which ideas should be pursued,
• which require adaptation,
• which should be discarded,
• which questions remain unanswered,
• what the next development steps will be.

Design Thinking views innovation as an iterative process. Multiple cycles of development and testing are expected and encouraged.

Summarise the results in an accessible report and share them with all participants.

The documentation should explain:

• how the process was conducted,
• which insights were gained,
• which prototypes were developed,
• what feedback was received,
• how the results will be used moving forward.

Transparent communication demonstrates how participants' contributions influence the ongoing development process.

Source: https://partizipation.at/partizipation-anwenden/methoden/