Reflection Report on Design Thinking Workshop

This reflection report discusses the importance of design thinking in problem-solving and innovation. It covers the five stages of design thinking, personal development, strengths and weaknesses, and an action plan for improvement.

Running head: REFLECTION REPORT
Title
Institution
Name

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Critical Self- analysis.......................................................................................................................3
Knowledge development.................................................................................................................4
Personal development......................................................................................................................5
Strengths and weaknesses................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10
Action plan………………………………………………………………………………………11

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Introduction
Education is an important aspect in the life of every individual. In this case, it is
responsible for inspiring people to achieve their visions in life. Furthermore, education enables
us to think beyond common ideas. My presence during the first, second and third week in the
workshop did expose me to diverse knowledge on design thinking. Being skeptical and trying to
rationalize ideas before putting it into practice. For any person to picture abstract thoughts and
try to convert them into rational ideas that can be used to solve problems within the societal
level, he/she should be in control of his mindset. We as students, the amount of knowledge and
information that we tend to get in school through learning and interacting widens our minds.
Interacting with other students through discussion and exposition is what is responsible for
enabling us to broaden our way of thinking and the way we perceive over things surround us.
Critical Self- analysis
From the learning in the classroom, I came to realize that design thinking is a technique
that can be used to solve the problems faced by clients or customers through trying to understand
their needs which have not been met in the course of living. In this case, design thinking can be
used in the invention and innovation level where it is responsible of simplifying complex
successful process through a number of mechanisms such as creativity, carrying out experiments
and developing concepts which intern improve substantially.
Through this exposition, I have developed the ability to convert my thoughts from
abstract ones to concrete and tangible ideas which can be rationalized and be used to solve

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problems at hand. In this case, have learnt that for quality product to be brought into the market
which can meet the individual’s needs, several public trails and demonstrations should be carried
out.
Knowledge development
It is quite important to note that the stages of design thinking which are five in number
are responsible for ensuring success in the problem solving situation. From my attendance in the
workshop, during the fourth week of exposition, I have gained a lot of knowledge with respect to
design thinking. This process has five steps namely; empathizing. This involves being in
possession of an empathic understanding of the adversity that you are supposed to find viable
solution for.it majorly involves carrying out consultations from experienced persons. It is
important since it enables us to set aside our own biasness and assumptions.
The other steps are definition (problem statement), ideate (generation of ideas),
prototyping entails an experimental phase with the aim of identifying the best possible solution.
Testing is the fifth stage of design thinking and it does involve rigorous evaluation of the
prototype. That is coming up with the solution to the problems that may occur. Have also learnt
that it is psychological for every human being to perceive thins or situations in a different
manner and thus for this case, as an entrepreneur, it is necessary to try and find solution to the
existing problem despite the level of its difficult (Chen et al, 2013).
From the presentation of the picture in the workshop, we were able to tune ourselves to
develop the ability to evaluate and come up with appropriate decision for the situation at hand.
This series of learning have helped build my ego in the sense that I am capable of developing

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relevant ideas on the basis of design thinking. With regard to this, we should not perceive that
design thinking is rigid or flexible. In this case, the five steps should be used by the organization
to come up with the best solution for their business. This steps are not automatically sequential
but rather they are interchangeable thus they have got no specific order of formation.
Furthermore, design thinking is used to help reduce the amount of ambiguity and problem
present in the project (Mintrom et al, 2017).
Even though design thinking involves collection of relevant data that can be used to
assess the degree of the problem to be solved, through learning and exhibitions in the workshop I
realized that to be a design thinker, you need to major and dwell on the mindsets that have been
learnt from actual world (Mesquitar et al, 2018). Having an open mind is the key to solving the
existing problems. The ability to combine ideas from various sources or individuals help create a
viable solution that can solve the existing problem. I do acknowledge the fact that after exposure
the discussions and assignments, I realized that trying all the ideas that come in our mind
irrespective of their nature may help as to create a viable solution mix.
The exposition to lots of information about business was also another milestone that I did
manage to achieve in this workshop (Shiverly, 2018). Realizing the important aspects that should
be considered when one wants to commence a business for instance the primary and secondary
factors. Having the ability to be strategic thinker who can use both observation technics, empathy
mapping is of imperative help in this sector.

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Personal development
What surprised me most in design thinking is the realization that in order to be a critical
thinker, an individual needs to have the following mindset; foresight which entails to disconnect
yourself from your past ideas that never worked but rather create a pictorial idea in your mind
about the future and how you desire it to be in future i.e. giving room for vision about the future.
Uncertainty works throw understanding that it is important to let your thoughts flow in a
systematic manner (Shiverly et al, 2018).
The ability to see other people’s situations in their point of view was the major point of
discussion during the exposition on week eight. Putting on the shoes of another person and trying
to feel the pain or the struggle he/she is undergoing so that we can generate the most viable
solution to the problem. After watching the video which was about rain and how messy it can be
after it rained, we were to combine our ideas and try to come up with the best solution mix for
the problem (Zheng, 2018).
It also came to my understanding that given fact that we are living in an evolving world,
we need to change our mindset and start welcoming ideas from other people. In this case, we
should not just record data merely but ensure that we narrow down our ideas from broad ones to
objective oriented which are capable of producing the best solution mix (Chiele, 2018). Being a
critical thinker involves having an open mind which can adapt to the evolving world. During the
exposition, I realized that even though one might be an expert in design thinking and coming up
with solutions for the business, if he/ she does not transform or adapt to the current world, they
may end up losing relevance in the organization and society in general (Blakemore, 2018).

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Warnecke et al, (2016) the same spirit, a person needs to adapt to the contemporary
issues and allow his mind to redirect his ideas to those that may benefit the society. For instance,
just because it used to be popular for individuals to use Eveready cells in the past, one should not
concentrate in producing them but should focus on the most current technology like solar panels
and electricity (Zheng, 2008).
It being the last week of workshop and presentation, it became necessary for us to attend
the presentation of a group with the aim of benchmarking and composing ourselves in readiness
to present our work before the class. I did realize that it is vital for exposure in order to acquaint
ourselves in the areas that we had not fully prepared for (Chiele, 2018). The entire workshop
indeed was of great benefit since before the exposure to this kind of information, I was not able
to make concrete, rational ideas due to lack of the understanding of proper organization of
thoughts.
Currently, the knowledge from design thinking has given me the opportunity to
rationally organize thoughts and be able to attach tangible ideas from abstract thought. After
several presentations before the class, we did take note of the areas that we had messed up and as
a group, tried to make the necessary adjustments to our assignments since the topic of discussion
had deviated to some extend from what the workshop was all about (Shively et al, 2018). It is
with great happiness that I say that the workshop was of utmost importance since it did expose
me to the various thinking mechanisms and designs that are necessary for finding solutions to the
existing problems in the society.

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Strengths and weaknesses
From my exposition in this unit of design thinking, I have come to realize that it does
have the following strengths. It does focus on the end user thus putting them at the center of the
process which involves developing viable solutions and commodities that meet the needs of the
client. This means that the design is highly focused on human needs. In addition to this, it is
responsible for leveraging collective expertise i.e. through coming together and building of a
comprehensive team full of skilled manpower, it breaks out of its respective fields to bring about
collective wisdom (Wernicke, 2016).
Design thinking employs empathy and creates value in the process of solving real
problems. It is not just based on creativity and innovation but rather it aims at increasing or
creating the value through solving the existing problems (Spegman, 2018). Given the fact that
design thinking requires an individual to think logically and create rational idea from abstract
thoughts, it thus become challenging which intern triggers individuals to start thinking in a more
creative manner thus improving thinking capacities (Wernicke, 2016) .
On the other hand, the following are the weaknesses of design thinking. It becomes a
stumbling block to progress when design thinking is applied in a large program of innovation. It
is not until a neutral ground is found for the stocks of competence to work in co-existence then it
won’t be easy to control them and achieve the goals of the organization (Taleyarkhan, 2018). To
some extent, design thinking has been infatuated with ideas and not problems thus it is losing its
relevance when this move is taken. The fact that many people relate only good thoughts and
ideas to geniuses makes it a tall order to improve the situation of the society since individuals
don’t want to exercise their minds in to think (Shively et al, 2018).

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Conclusion
The workshop was of great importance given the fact that I learnt a lot especially in design
thinking which has the ability to transform the way of our reasoning to enable us attach meaning
to abstract ideas and be able to create viable solutions. Despite the fact that design thinking has
so much to offer to the society, it also has its negative sides that should be scrutinized and
worked on to avoid making mistakes.
This unit has a lot to offer to the society especially when it comes to generation of solutions to
current issues. The reason as to why we need to adopt design thinking is because it concentrates
on the needs of the customers thus ensuring their satisfaction. Furthermore, design thinking
transforms the reasoning of individuals thus they can view situations from all angles.
Action plan
Given the fact that there are a number of areas that I did not understand clearly, I have decided
that I will take the action of researching more on the topic and also take a voluntary service in
any organization. This will help improve my competence in the area.

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References
Chen, S., & Venkatesh, A. (2013). An investigation of how design-oriented organisations implement design
thinking. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(15–16), 1680–1700.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.800898
Mintrom, M., & Luetjens, J. (2017). Creating Public Value: Tightening Connections Between Policy Design and
Public Management. Policy Studies Journal, 45(1), 170–190. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12116
Shively, K., Stith, K. M. ., & Rubenstein, L. D. (2018). Measuring What Matters: Assessing
Creativity, Critical Thinking, and the Design Process. Gifted Child Today, 41(3), 149–
158.
chiele, K., & Chen, S. (2018). Design Thinking and Digital Marketing Skills in Marketing
Education: A Module on Building Mobile Applications. Marketing Education
Review, 28(3), 150–154.
Iskander, N. (2018). Design Thinking Is Fundamentally Conservative and Preserves the Status
Quo. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 1–9. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=buh&AN=131613733&site=ehost-live
Spegman, A. (2018). BETTER BY DESIGN: Students blend empathy and experimentation to impact environment
through design thinking. District Administration, 54(8), 22–25. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=130958481&site=ehost-live
Chen, S., & Venkatesh, A. (2013). An investigation of how design-oriented organisations implement design
thinking. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(15–16), 1680–1700.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.800898

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Bartlett, J. A. 1. jen. bartlett@uky. ed. (2018). New and Noteworthy: Design Thinking in
Libraries. Library Leadership & Management, 34(4), 1–6. Retrieved from
Mintrom, M., & Luetjens, J. (2017). Creating Public Value: Tightening Connections Between Policy Design
and Public Management. Policy Studies Journal, 45(1), 170–190.
https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12116
Blakemore, M. (2018). Problem Scoping: Design Thinking & Close Reading Makerspaces in the
School Library. Knowledge Quest, 46(4), 66–69. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=aph&AN=128199635&site=ehost-live
Warnecke, T. (2016). Capabilities, human development, and design thinking: a framework for
gender-sensitive entrepreneurship programs. Review of Social Economy, 74(4), 420–430.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2016.1201136
Mesquita Reche, M., & Janissek-Muniz, R. (2018). Inteligência Estratégica e Design Thinking:
Conceitos Complementares, Sequenciais e Recorrentes para Estratégia Inovativa. Future
Studies Research Journal: Trends & Strategies, 10(1), 82–108. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=buh&AN=129744640&site=ehost-live
Taleyarkhan, M., Dasgupta, C., Garcia, J. M., & Magana, A. J. (2018). Investigating the Impact
of Using a CAD Simulation Tool on Students’ Learning of Design Thinking. Journal of
Science Education & Technology, 27(4), 334–347.
Zheng, D.-L. (2018). Design thinking is ambidextrous. Management Decision, 56(4), 736–756.

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