Design Thinking Essay: Reflection On Activities In Class

Question

Task: This is an INDIVIDUAL assessment that consists of three components:

1. Blog detailing your weekly activities and learning (multi-media)
2. Reflective report, which details your learning journey and explicitly cross-references the blog (written)
3. Self- and Peer-Assessment of groups from assessment 2 (online questionnaire)

Answer

Introduction
In highly technology and global competitive world, person needs to develop and use various sets of skills for being successful. One of these types of skills is design thinking. Design is considered as key activity of engineering. Design thinking is crucial to design effective solutions for meeting social needs. Similar as problem solving, design is also a natural human activity. In the business process, design thinking is essential to design the products and services for achieving business competitive (Owen, 2007). This design thinking essay includes reflection and self-analysis which I have experienced overall design thinking activities in the class. By this reflective report, I will demonstrate my knowledge of design thinking in the overall unit. In addition to this, design thinking essay will also include the action plan of key activities which I require to gain knowledge and skills in next six months. This design thinking essay is the demonstration of my learning and understanding in the class lectures. In addition to this, this design thinking essay would be prepared on the basis of blog entries which are recorded previously. In the blog entries, there are total 9 blogs including week 1 to 9 which are recorded as my learning process. This design thinking essay will include time-stamped meaningful blog entries of overall unit. The report will also include critical self-analysis for the personal development which will be directly connected to identify strengths and weaknesses.

Reflections of learning and knowledge
In the blogs, I have recorded all the activities done in the classes related to the concepts of design thinking. The recorded blogs are very helpful for to analyze my performance and understanding during the overall class activities. In the classroom activities, I gained the knowledge about the concept of design thinking in the business management. Along with this, design thinking is also important for daily needs of people. Design thinking is the process to redesign any product or service in business management by using innovative thinking and new ideas (Makhoul, 2018). Because of various activities and blog records, I have been able to gain the skills and knowledge of design thinking and put them in the practice. In the recorded blogs, I will observe key knowledge which I have collected from course activities of design thinking.

Entrepreneurship and Design
In the first class, I learned that entrepreneurship and design is interrelated as entrepreneurship is about visualizing the ideas in the real world. In addition to this, I also learned about the actual meaning of innovation which was completely different from my perception. Basically, innovation is not only a new idea but also this is learning something new from the previous efforts. In this lecture, I enhanced my knowledge of design and innovation along with the practical understanding. This knowledge would be helpful for me while working in managerial industry. The designed skills would be beneficial for me in generating new ideas while working in business organizations (Conway, Masters & Thorold, 2017).

Design tools
In second class lecture, I learned about various design tools and their processes. The design tools are helpful in generating new ideas and finding the solutions of the problem. I learned that there are some differences between business and design in terms of value, process and method etc. Design tools are different because of various types of design processes. In addition to this, I learn about the importance of design thinking in future. Basically, design thinking is important for the development of innovative products and services within an organization which are aligned with the need of people and connect the consumers on the deeper level (Lockwood, 2010). The course of design thinking is also crucial as it allows people with idea generation and critical thinking. This will enhance my problem solving skills and knowledge of creativity and innovation. With this lecture, I improved my knowledge related to different processes of design thinking.

Design theory
In the third lecture, I gained knowledge about design theory. I learned that there are various aspects of design theory. Basically, design theory includes principles and fundamentals of developing visual communication. By the design theory, I will be able to see and perceive visual information, various ideas of style and trends of universal principles of aesthetics. I learned that design theory includes the purpose and approach of problem solving to get effective design solution (Cross, 2004). In the lecture, the most interesting theory was logic of reasoning i.e. what + how = desired value. In addition to this, I learned about various theories of design and without design. There are some of the theories including Geastalt theory, Functionalism, Ecosystem Model, Person-environment theory, and change theory. By the examples given by tutor, I was able to understand about the design theories I was involved in tasks to understand the desired values. The topic was related to parking issue in Melbourne. I need to think about outcomes of to solve this type of issues (Lundgren, 2018).

Knowledge about design problems
Next lecture was about design problems which are the most important part of design thinking process. There are two crucial aspects of design problem i.e. problem solving and problem finding. In addition to this, I learned about the aspects of brainstorming and its importance in the design thinking.

Brainstorming- In the class lecture, I gained knowledge about the process of brainstorming by which I would be helpful in developing new and innovative ideas in design. I learned that brainstorming has informal approach by which the problem of design thinking can be solved. Brainstorming will be helpful for me in develop new ideas for creating solutions for the design problems. By the brainstorming, I was motivated for participating in the design process of various activities. In various activities, I was needed to think in the logical way. By this class lecture, I identified my strengths as problem solver and quick observer (Brown, 2008).

Journey mapping
In the next class, I learned about various design thinking tools i.e. journey mapping and brainstorming in the process. In the class, I gained knowledge about journey mapping as it is the tool which is used to analyze the experiences of the customers for understanding their needs and requirements. So, this tool tracks the journey of the customers so that their goals can be accomplished. Further, I learned about the rule of brainstorming which includes all the aspects i.e. mind set, challenges, people, empathy, facilitation and much more. So, I got many views about brainstorming with the deep focus on empathy and analysis (Glen, Sucio & Baughn, 2014).

Value chain analysis
In the next class, I learned about next design thinking tools i.e. value chain. This diagram is generated for providing a valuable product to the market. The process of value chain includes two parts i.e. primary activities and support activities. I learned that key objective of value chain is to provide competitive advantage of the organization in the market. I gain knowledge about the research that value chain is the first part of research and the research process. In addition to this, I learned about the process of mind mapping i.e. this is the process of representing the hierarchy of branches and sub-branches related to main idea of the map. So, in this class, I achieved significant knowledge about designing tools, quantitative and qualitative factors of research (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2014).

Learning about data sources
In this class, I gained significant knowledge about the research process including primary data sources. I learned that research is all about identifying, locating, analyzing and assessing the information for supporting the research questions. In addition to this, I learned about the concept of primary data source and types of the data sources i.e. interview, questionnaire like semi structured interview and unstructured interview. In addition to this, there are some other methods like panel discussion, group interview and Delphi method about which I learned deeply (May, 2011).

Concept of ethics and ethical considerations- Further, I learned about ethics and ethical consideration in research which are very important. Ethics are basically norms and standards in research which differentiate between right and wrong (Dich, McKee & Porter, 2013). In research, I need to adopt ethical behavior for the collaborative work as it will encourage the environment of accountability, and trust. It is important for adhere ethical standards for supporting the research. I learned from the class lectures that there can be ethical issues in the research related to confidentiality, data security and reaction of participants etc. Ethical consideration is required to deal with the situation of ethical dilemmas (Resnik, 2015). In addition to this, I got proper knowledge to behave and manage the interviews. I also learned about co-creation principle. This principle is the management initiative of the form of economic strategy which brings the parties together for producing mutually valued outcome.

Learning about design tools
In the next class, I deeply learned about various design tools including prototype of new and innovative designs. During the class activity, I got the opportunity to work on prototype and answer the related questions. I learned about rapid prototyping and doubt testing. Further, there are various types of prototyping i.e. 2D and on paper. I also achieved knowledge about various alternatives of prototyping i.e. 3D printer and robot hands (Brown & Wyatt, 2010). I can say that prototyping would be helpful in making new ideas tangible for potential clients. I enhanced my knowledge on various techniques of prototyping like paper prototyping, story boarding, and sketching etc. Prototyping is the essential part of design thinking and I achieved deeply knowledge about this. After this activity, I was able to develop innovative solutions of the problems identified by me (Schneider, 2017).

Launching innovations
In the last session of the class, I learned the process of launching the innovations. By thus class, I was able to know how to implement the knowledge into real life. Along with this, I also learned about the differences between real launch and learning launch. Basically, learning launch is an experiment which is conducted in the market quickly and inexpensively. The learning launch creates the bridge between commercial rollout and customer co-creation. In learning launch, there are some principles i.e. setting tight boundaries, designing with the focus of key assumptions, working in feedback cycles, and having backup plans. I learned that ‘learning launch’ is an experiment which is used to analyze the growth of the business for the further investigation. In addition to this, learning launch needs tight boundaries and basically focuses on the analysis of innovative business idea (Liedtka & Hess, 2016). In the class, I performed an activity in which I learned medicine manufacturer Pfizer. By this activity, I learned about the essentials about the learning launch. Next, I learned about the process of testing a business idea so that worth of investing time and money can be determined. In order to test the business idea, there are two key components which need to be followed. Those components are validating demand and making sense of investment. The validating demand can be tested by focus groups, market research, test product functionality and get feedback. I learned that it is important to figure out how the concept is standing among competitors (Liedtka & Ogilvie, 2010).

Critical self-analysis
During the overall course, I focused on my personal and professional development. In terms of my development, I tried to define what I really need to enhance in myself so that I can develop my professional skills and capabilities for working in the business environment. On analyzing my current development, I observed that I got various positive outcomes in terms of personal and professional development by attending all the classes in design thinking. For instance, I got success in my learning and this academic will always motivate me to carry on my professional development. At the same time, I feel that my skills, knowledge, and abilities which I gained from overall course will be helpful in my personal life also. I learned various skills which would b e helpful for me while working in an organization. Further, in case of development at professional level, I focused on my target development. I like to learn various design concepts and tool which I can use as the organizational skills in real world. In addition to this, I learned to organize and plan the primary source of data while thinking about a new and innovative business idea. I believe that this would be helpful for me in realizing my full potential and achieve the success in my design problems (Brown & Martin, 2015).

I have good communication skills and I got proper knowledge to behave and manage the interviews. By this, I can be able to collect important data so that effective solutions of design problems can be generated. But I believe that I need to change the direction in which I can conduct the interviews and collect various primary data for the business research. In various activities, I was needed to think in the logical way. By this class lecture, I identified my strengths as problem solver and quick observer. I believe that these class learning are helpful for me to identify my personal strengths and weaknesses so that I can work upon them and generate effective design solutions. By various activities conducted in the class, I identified my drawbacks as well as positive points which I can use for generating new and innovative ideas for the business management.

Personal strengths and weaknesses
The objective of my study is to explore my personal strengths and weaknesses and reveal my pathways that will enhance my knowledge and skills during the overall unit. In all over the course, I have experienced various new things in which I had to take part in various activities and research processes. While doing all this, some things were perfect but sometimes, I had to face difficulties. All the activities which were given in the class were helpful for me in exploring my strength and weakness.

Strengths- During the class activities, I observed that I have self confidence and I try hard to achieve my goals and objectives. In addition to this, being ambitious is next strength. I am quit ambitious about the things which I do. I realized how much I have improved my speaking and writing skills. Next, being a good researcher is my other strength. I believe that I have characteristics of interest, curiosity and determination to find the answers of the research questions.

Weaknesses- One of the weaknesses is that I take the things too easy. By avoiding procrastinate; I can make my work more effective in the group. So, I would try to avoid this weakness in future. Further, being quiet in the class is my other weakness. This creates the impression on others of not being confident. I was always aware about this weakness at the initial level.

Action plan
In order achieve the knowledge and skills in next six months, there is the need of proper action plan. I have developed an action plan which would be helpful in identifying the activities and events for gaining knowledge and skills related to design thinking course. For the development of new skills and knowledge, the action plan is as follows:

Conclusion
Based on this design thinking essay, I can say that in the business process, design thinking is essential to design the products and services for achieving business competitive. I learned about various design tools and their processes. Because of various activities and blog records, I have been able to gain the skills and knowledge of design thinking and put them in the practice. In the recorded blogs, I will observe key knowledge which I have collected from course activities of design thinking. On analyzing my current development in this design thinking essay, I observed that I got various positive outcomes in terms of personal and professional development by attending all the classes in design thinking. I feel that my skills, knowledge, and abilities which I gained from overall course will be helpful in my personal life also. I learned various skills which would b e helpful for me while working in an organization. In all over the course, I have experienced various new things in which I had to take part in various activities and research processes. I got success in my learning and this academic will always motivate me to carry on my professional development. Further, in this design thinking essay of development at professional level, I focused on my target development. I like to learn various design concepts and tool which I can use as the organizational skills in real world. Design Thinking Essay assignments are being prepared by our online management homework help experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable essay writing help service.

References
Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard business review, 86(6), p.84

Brown, T., & Martin, R. (2015). Design for action. Harvard Business Review, 57-64

Brown, T., & Wyatt, J. (2010). Design thinking for social innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 31-35.

Conway, R., Masters, J. & Thorold, J. (2017). From Design Thinking to Systems Change. Retrieved From https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/reports/rsa_from-design-thinking-to-system-change-report.pdf

Cross, N. (2004). Expertise in design: An overview. Design Studies, 25, 427–441.

Dich, L., McKee, H. A., & Porter, J. E. (2013). Ethical Issues in Online Course Design: Negotiating Identity, Privacy, and Ownership. Selected Papers of Internet Research, 3.

Glen, R., Sucio, C., & Baughn, C. (2014). The need for design thinking in business schools. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 13(4), 653-667.

Liedtka, J. M. & Hess, E. D. (2016). The learning launch: how to grow your business with the scientific method. Retrieved from https://ideas.darden.virginia.edu/2016/06/the-learning-launch-how-to-grow-your-business-with-the-scientific-method/

Liedtka, J., & Ogilvie, T. (2010). Designing for growth: A design thinking tool for managers. New York: Columbia Business School.

Lockwood, T. (2010). Design thinking: Integrating innovation, customer experience, and brand value. Boston, MA: Design Management Institute.

Lundgren, A. (2018). What is Design Theory. Retrieved from https://alvalyn.com/what-is-design-theory/

Makhoul, R. (2018). Design Thinking - Why Is It Important. Retrieved from http://tip.touch.com.lb/design-thinking-important/

May, T. (2011). Social Research: Issues, Methods and Research. McGraw-Hill International.

Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y., (2014). Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey.

Owen, C. (2007). Design thinking: Notes on its nature and use. Design Research Quarterly, 2, 16–27.

Resnik, D. B. (2015). What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important. Retrieved from https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/index.cfm

Schneider, J. (2017). Understanding Design Thinking, Lean, and Agile. USA: O’Reilly Media.