The Deep Dive
A design process in action
Applying a Design Process
1.Define a Problem
2.Generate
Concepts
3.Develop a Solution
4.Construct and Test
Prototype
5.Evaluate Solution
6.Present Solution
Applying a Design Process
1.Define a Problem
2.Generate
Concepts
3.Develop a Solution
4.Construct and Test
Prototype
5.Evaluate Solution
6.Present Solution
1. Define a Problem
• Client with a problem to
solve seeks a designer.
• Personal need or want
inspires the designer to
take action.
• Media exposure of a
current problem inspires
the designer to take
action.
• Designer uses market
research to determine if a
perceived need or want
exists.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
1. Define a Problem
• Client with a problem to
solve seeks a designer.
• ABC News went to IDEO,
an industrial design firm,
to solve their problem:
• “Take something old and
familiar, like the shopping
cart, and completely
redesign it in just five
days.”
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
1. Define a Problem
• Designer interviews client.
• Designer interprets or redefines
the problem to be solved.
• Designer identifies what the
solution should do and the
degree to which the solution will
be carried out (i.e., virtual model,
prototype, or mass production).
• Constraints are listed (i.e.,
budget and time are typical
considerations).
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
1. Define a Problem
Client: ABC News
Target Consumer: Grocery Store Owners and Shoppers
Designer: IDEO
Problem Statement: The old and familiar shopping cart is
inefficient, unsafe, prone to theft, and
unattractive.
Design Statement: Design, prototype, and test an attractive
shopping cart that will deter theft and
make the supermarket experience
easier, safer, and more efficient.
Constraints: 5 days
Design must ‘nest.’
1. Define a Problem
• Interview those affected by the
problem and sometimes roleplay to determine what the user
experiences.
• Research solutions that may
already exist; identify
shortcomings and reasons why
they aren’t appropriate.
• Compile and report findings to
team.
• Adjust the criteria (step #2) to
reflect new knowledge learned if
necessary.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
1. Define a Problem
• There are 22,000 reported cases
per year of children hospitalized
with injuries caused by shopping
carts.
• Plastic carts have greater
surface area and are problematic
during high winds. One cart was
clocked moving at 35 mph
across the parking lot.
• “Professional” shoppers leave
their carts at strategic locations
in the store.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
2. Generate Concepts
• Design team brainstorm ideas in
an open forum.
• Quick sketches are made and
shared as ideas are generated
and built on others.
• No idea is a bad idea; playful
and wild ideas are encouraged.
• Judgment is withheld, and focus
is maintained.
• Results are compiled for later
review.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
2. Generate Concepts
IDEO’s guide to
brainstorming:
• One conversation at a time.
• Stay focused.
• Encourage wild ideas.
• Defer judgment.
• Build on the ideas of
others.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
2. Generate Concepts
• Brainstormed information is
reviewed, and any lingering
questions are answered.
• Ideas are measured against the
criteria that was defined in step
#2.
• Ideas are narrowed down
through voting process or by use
of a decision matrix.
• Final idea decided on, usually
through group consensus.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
2. Generate Concepts
“Vote with your Post-It . Not
for an idea that’s cool, but for
an idea that’s cool and
buildable. If it’s too far out
there and it can’t be built in a
day, then I don’t think we
should vote for it.”
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
3. Develop the Solution
• Idea is explored in greater detail
with annotated sketches.
• Critical decisions such as
material types and
manufacturing methods are
made.
• Computer models are generated
from detailed sketches to further
refine the idea.
• Working drawings are produced
so the idea can be built.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
3. Develop the Solution
• It was decided that four
different ideas would be
explored, each addressing
one of the four areas of
concern:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Shopping
Safety
Checkout
Finding what you’re looking
for
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
3. Develop the Solution
• Scale models may be made to
study, communicate, and
possibly refine the idea.
• Full-scale mock-ups may be
made to study aspects such as
shape, form, fit, and texture.
• A prototype is constructed from
the working drawings so that the
solution can be tested.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
3. Develop the Solution
The shopping cart models and
mock-ups were constructed from
materials such as copper wire, PVC
pipe, modular aluminum extrusion,
foam core board, duct tape,
modeling foam, construction
lumber, electrical conduit tubing,
and even part of an existing metal
shopping cart.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
4. Construct and Test Prototype
• Experiments are designed and
prototype is tested in controlled
and/or working environment.
• Performance data are gathered,
results are analyzed and
checked against established
criteria (step #2).
• Formal critique is conducted to
flesh out areas of concerns,
identify shortcomings, and to
establish any need for redesign
work.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
4. Construct and Test Prototype
• Each concern-area prototype
was demonstrated to the group
in a formal critique.
• It was decided that no one
prototype did an adequate job of
solving all of the problems.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
4. Construct and Test Prototype
• Design changes are made and
prototype is modified or rebuilt.
• Refinements made until
accuracy and repeatability of
prototype’s performance results
are consistent.
• Documentation is updated to
reflect changes.
• User’s critique provides outside
perspective to help determine if
established criteria have been
met.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
4. Construct and Test Prototype
• The best elements from each of
the four different concern-area
prototypes were combined to
form the final solution.
• The cart was redesigned, rebuilt,
tested in an actual grocery store,
and feedback was received from
store employees.
– ABC News Nightline: The Deep Dive (2/99)
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
1. “From the buildings in which we live and
work, to the cars we drive or the knives and
forks with which we eat, everything we use
was designed to create some sort of
marriage between _____form_____ and
_____function_____.”
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
2. The folks at IDEO say that they aren’t
experts at any given area. But they do
claim to be experts on the ___design
process___, which they apply to the
innovation of consumer products.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
3. After the team of designers is brought
together, told what the problem is, and
told that they have five days to pull it
off, what phase of the design process
do they immediately engage in?
Define the Problem - investigation and
research to identify and validate the
problem.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
4. Give two examples of what the team
members did during this phase.
a. Some team members went to the
local grocery store and observed its
patrons.
b. Some team members talked to
shopping cart maintenance personnel.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
5. List the five rules-of-thumb that IDEO
employees follow when they share ideas
during the brainstorming phase.
a. Have one conversation at a time.
b. Stay focused.
c. Encourage wild ideas.
d. Defer judgement.
e. Build on the ideas of others.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
6. Why should wild (and sometimes crazy)
ideas be entertained during the
brainstorming phase?
Wild ideas can be built upon and may
end up being better, more innovative
ideas.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
7. After the brainstorming phase was over,
the team narrowed down the hundreds
of ideas by _voting_ for those ideas that
were not only “cool” but also _buildable_
in a short period of time. In which phase
of the design process is this task
performed?
Generate Concepts
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
8. IDEO believes that the ideas and efforts
of a _team_ will always be more
successful than the planning of the lone
genius.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
9. Once the ideas were narrowed down
and divided into categories, the group
was split into four smaller teams. For
which phase(s) of the design process
was each of these groups responsible?
Develop the Idea
Model and Prototype
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
10. The leaders at IDEO believe that
_playful_ behavior and a _fun_
environment are two important reasons
why their employees are able to think
quickly and creatively to produce
innovative results.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
11. Sometimes, people come up with
great solutions by trying their ideas
first and asking for _forgiveness_
later.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
12. Design is often a process of going too
far and having to take a few steps
back. What phase(s) of the design
process would the critique of the four
mock-ups come under?
Test the Prototype and
Evaluate the Solution
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
13. Upon critique of the four teams’
models, it was obvious that none of
the teams had developed an optimum
solution. However, the people at IDEO
believe that it is important to _fail_
often in order to _succeed_ sooner.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
14. What percentage of the entire week’s
time did it take to fabricate the final
prototype?
It took one day, or 20% of the total
week’s time.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
15. Instead of showering his design team
with a tremendous amount of praise,
what did the boss require his employees
to do with their new design?
Dave Kelly told his design team to take
the new design to the local grocery
store and test it out in its intended
environment.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive
16. Of all the things that we are
surrounded by every day, what has not
been placed through the design
process?
Only things that occur naturally (such
as trees, rocks, etc.) did not go through
the design process.
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive Conclusion
1. What was the most impressive part of the
team’s effort?
2. What advantages are there to having a
design team with members that have
non-engineering backgrounds?
Activity 1.6 The Deep Dive Conclusion
3. There was a point in the process where a
“self-appointed group of adults” stepped
in, stopped the ideas, and redirected the
group to break up into teams. Why was
this done?
4. At the end of the video, Dave Kelly
states, “Look around. The only thing
that’s not designed are the things we find
in nature.” Can you think of anything that
would contradict this statement?