Page 65 - The Design Thinking Playbook

EXPERT TIP
Ask open questions

in needfinding

Most people are uncomfortable asking open-ended questions. The situation happens every day, and most Now it is important for Priya to listen carefully when the lady begins
of us are familiar with it: to talk about her life. During the conversation, Priya should write
Priya waits for tram 5 in front of the Pension Management Institute in Zurich. The waiting time amounts down important information. At the same time, making notes express-
to 9 minutes. An elderly lady is standing next to Priya, also waiting for tram 5 and looking rather bored. At es a certain appreciation of the elderly lady—an indirect compliment
that moment, Priya can think of a thousand reasons why needfinding doesn’t bring any added value anyway that she enjoys for sure.
and that she will probably find another elderly lady at the tram stop tomorrow. Most of us feel the same as Priya writes down the lady’s statements in her exact words, such as,
Priya during this phase. Nearly everybody feels uncomfortable and even a little embarrassed to approach “I like exercising in the morning because it stimulates me mentally.”
strangers. Priya is definitely not alone in this respect. But what can really happen to her? She is merely If she only writes down keywords, Priya will have to make up the
interested in the lives of others so as to enrich her idea with knowledge and deepen her insights. statements later on or invent context. Priya can then compare the
statements provided by different respondents in the synthesis and
Priya works up the courage to start a conversation, but how should she begin and how would she place her recognize similarities as well as differences. She can also integrate
questions? the sentences perfectly into her persona, lending it an authentic voice
Of course, Priya’s primary goal should be to ask her questions in such a way that the elderly lady tells her this way.
something about herself and her exercise habits in everyday life. We have found it rather useful to create
a question map in advance. Now you might justifiably ask, why not use a questionnaire like the colleagues After each interview and each observation, we should ask ourselves
from strategy consulting do? A questionnaire has a linear structure. We begin with the first question at the some key questions:
top and work our way down. In a conversation, though, we do not think and answer in a linear way but ad
hoc. The map helps us visualize topical islands that provide orientation in the interview. Where did the person reveal the biggest problems?
On Priya’s theme map, one question is what motivates the elderly lady to do sports. In addition: What types What is the need behind the problem?
of exercising inspire the lady? What does it take for her to be happy? What innovation would make everyday life easier for this person?

This is also referred to as situation-inspired ideation. We outline
Nutrition Life in old age the ideas and thoughts that emerge directly during the needfinding.
- Changes - What changes? Priya could also write down supplementary questions she comes up
- Rhythm Seniors - What is difficult? with over the course of time when she is in different situations (e.g.,
whether seniors living in the country exercise more often). This way,
Sports in old age Priya enriches her question map and extends her question horizon.
Being happy - Motivation
- Significance

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