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Aisha comes from Nigeria. She is 50 years old, speaks English and works in a garment factory. Her main weaknesses are a poor academic background, as well as cultural barriers and lack of resources to resolve bureaucratic issues (requesting documents, knowledge of her rights…). All this results in a great feeling of helplessness and dependence on other people in order to solve the many formalities required by an increasingly bureaucratized society. In her favor, her life itinerary has endowed her with a high capacity for adaptation and resilience to face adversity.
This phase is oriented towards sharing and understanding Aisha’s feelings and needs in order to help her in her growth and problem solving process. In addition, it is intended to evaluate the initial level of the competencies to be developed during the Design Thinking (DT) process.
In order to get to know Aisha better and help her through this process, the educator uses an
Empathic interview
, sharing questions such as: What responsibilities require most of your time during the workday; What is your opinion about the role of migrant women in the labor market in this country; Have you experienced situations of injustice at work?
The information obtained is organized by the educator on the basis of a
Qualitative analysis
obtaining valuable data:
In order to evaluate if the openness shown by Aisha has been ample, if the time spent has been sufficient, as well as, if the degree of satisfaction with the information obtained is adequate, the educator evaluates this phase using the
Evaluation thermometers
.
The evaluation carried out shows satisfactory levels (scores above 3 out of 5 points in all the thermometers) in terms of the degree of empathy and knowledge achieved between Aisha and the educator, which advises promotion to the next phase of the DT process.
Once Aisha and the educator have achieved an adequate level of empathy, it is time to proceed with the initial competency assessment. The evaluation instruments used are: the Test of Creative Imagination for Adults (
PIC-A
), the
CREA
test and an adaptation of the Development of Basic Employability Competencies situational test (
DCBE
). The information gathered will be useful to evaluate at the end of the process if the DT methodology has promoted improvements that favor greater autonomy and empowerment in Aisha. The results of the initial assessment indicate a considerable number of multiple responses that refer to the same category in a given situation. In addition, Aisha presents difficulties in questioning different problems. Low scores are obtained for perseverance and self-organization, while their teamwork skills stand out.
This phase is aimed at improving Aisha’s ability to identify her problems and needs, define them concretely and decide where to start.
To help Aisha explore her needs in relation to different personal dimensions, she uses the
Needs Roulette is used
.
In this way, with the guidance of the educator, Aisha is able to systematically explore and identify different needs, defining them in a concrete and operative way by using the Definition formula (Description of the person + NEEDS + need + WHY + personal situation):
Aisha NEEDS to meet people at work BECAUSE she wants to create an association of immigrant women.
Aisha NEEDS to get a salary increase BECAUSE she wants to increase her standard of living.
Aisha NEEDS to complete the bureaucratic procedures required in her job efficiently BECAUSE she wants to achieve her goals as an employee.
Aisha must now prioritize her needs and identify the first challenge she wants to address. To this end, the educator presents and explains different criteria: the time frame for its achievement (short, medium or long term), its level of difficulty (easy, medium or difficult), the degree to which he/she believes he/she can meet the challenge (expectations of success) and the locus of control (if the resolution of the problem depends solely on him/herself, depends on other people or is mixed). Two tools are used for the application of these criteria: the Axis of evaluations, to classify the ideas according to their difficulty and temporality and the
Analogical scales
which assess expectations of success and locus of control.
Aisha decides to solve in the first instance the
Challenge 3
Although he considers it to be of medium difficulty, he believes that with a manageable level of effort he could solve it in the short term. She therefore finds it particularly motivating and recognizes that she is fundamentally dependent on herself.
At the end of this phase, the Evaluation thermometersThe assessments, evaluated by both Aisha and the educator, facilitate reflection on improving Aisha’s abilities to explore her needs, define them concretely, and prioritize them in order to decide where to start. The educator explains to Aisha the self-assessment process and the indicators used.
The results obtained are satisfactory (scores in all thermometers equal to or higher than 3 out of 5 points), obtaining the highest scores in decision making and identification of needs, making possible the promotion to the next phase of ideation.
Based on the previously selected challenge (Aisha NEEDED perform the bureaucratic formalities required in their work in an efficient manner WHY wants to achieve her goals as an employee), Aisha’s coworkers are asked to help her in carrying out a Cooperative brainstorming in order to explore possible ideas to solve it.
To facilitate
Cooperative Brainstorming
and stimulate the emergence of ideas, the following cooperative structure is used
Pencils to the center,
obtaining the following proposals:
The next step is to use analysis and evaluation criteria for each proposed idea to help Aisha in the decision-making process. To do so, after an explanation by the educator, Aisha analyzes and evaluates each of the ideas using a Evaluation rubric which includes different criteria. In this case, it is not necessary to use
Analog scales
Aisha understands the evaluation of each idea on a scale of 1 to 5 points.
Idea 1 | Criteria | Score |
|---|---|---|
Final score | 2+2+3+3+3= 13 | |
Receive digital training, since most of the bureaucratic procedures must be carried out online | Do I have the necessary resources to carry it out? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Do I have the time required for this solution? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
To what extent will this solution solve the challenge? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
Is it very difficult or complex? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
In general, this idea is appropriate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Idea 2 | Criteria | Score |
|---|---|---|
Final score | 3+3+4+2+3= 15 | |
Contact women in other companies who are in the same situation. | Do I have the necessary resources to carry it out? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Do I have the time required for this solution? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
To what extent will this solution solve the challenge? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
Is it very difficult or complex? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
In general, this idea is appropriate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Idea 3 | Criteria | Score |
|---|---|---|
Final score | 2+2+4+2+4 =14 | |
Create an association of women in the same company who are in the same situation. | Do I have the necessary resources to carry it out? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Do I have the time required for this solution? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
To what extent will this solution solve the challenge? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
Is it very difficult or complex? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
In general, this idea is appropriate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Idea 4 | Criteria | Score |
|---|---|---|
Final score | 4+3+4+3+3= 17 | |
Ask for help from a veteran worker in the same company who has gone through the same situation in the past. | Do I have the necessary resources to carry it out? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Do I have the time required for this solution? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
To what extent will this solution solve the challenge? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
Is it very difficult or complex? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
In general, this idea is appropriate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
The procedure of analyzing each of the ideas and evaluating them on the basis of defined criteria has allowed Aisha to understand and train a systematized procedure for making informed decisions, while favoring greater autonomy and efficiency. In addition, it helps Aisha gain a greater awareness of why she made the decision she did, which will have an impact on her motivation and expectations of success.
To conclude this phase and reflect on the appropriateness of promoting to the subsequent phase, the educator, as well as Aisha, use the Evaluation thermometersIn this case, they evaluate the quantity of ideas proposed (fluency of ideas), their variety or diversity (flexibility of categories) and finally their degree of personalization (originality).
In order to evaluate the fluency and flexibility indicators, the criteria established by the educator are applied to the thermometers: the number of ideas and the different response categories proposed (both valued from 1 to 5, so that if more than 5 alternatives are offered, the maximum score of 5 is maintained). As for originality, Aisha and the educator comment on and take into account as a criterion the level of personalization of the proposal and the extent to which it reflects the personal idiosyncrasies of the protagonist in the process.
In view of the above criteria, the
Evaluation thermometers
reflect a negative evaluation (score below 3 out of 5) in terms of the flexibility of the ideas and their degree of originality and customization. Aisha passed the fluency thermometer (having proposed 4 ideas) but the categories proposed were 2 (digital training and helping working women). This suggests the reinforcement of these competencies before moving on to the next phase of the DT process.
In order to improve these aspects, it was decided to apply another cooperative technique to stimulate the generation of ideas,
Rotating foil,
It proved to be very effective in elaborating a joint response between Aisha and her coworkers.
The idea that finally emerged to overcome her challenge is “To create a time bank in which more experienced people in the company can support Aisha in the management of documentation, while receiving help in other tasks”. The possibility of offering participation in this “Time Bank” to migrant women from other institutions is also being considered. Before continuing with the process, the new solution must be evaluated.
Idea 5 | Criteria | Score |
|---|---|---|
Final score | 5+3+4+4+4 = 20 | |
Time Bank | Do I have the necessary resources to carry it out? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Do I have the time required for this solution? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
To what extent will this solution solve the challenge? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
Is it very difficult or complex? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
In general, this idea is appropriate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
The final score obtained based on the application of the evaluation criteria is 20 out of 25, making it a viable solution to apply. Aisha decides that will be the idea she will implement!
Aisha should develop a prototype that represents the plan of action to be followed, trying to define each step along a
Timeline
. With the help of their partners, they specify the actions to be carried out:
Aisha’s coworkers, who have actively collaborated in the process, provide feedback on the designed timeline and offer improvements, which are discussed and incorporated into the action lines. This reflective process has allowed Aisha to clearly identify how to put her idea into practice.
As always, at the end of each phase, it should be evaluated whether the following competencies that were intended to be developed have reached a satisfactory level: the ability to identify all the significant elements that allow solving the problem, the ability to propose an adequate time sequence and the ability to define precisely the steps to be followed.
The evaluation obtained with the help of the
Evaluation Thermometers
encourages us to continue with the process, given that all of them exceed the score of 3 out of 5 points.
In this final phase, the plan is implemented and the programmed actions are executed. The facts are as follows:
Through instant messaging groups, the company’s female colleagues are called for an informal meeting during the half-hour break. Aisha and her group of collaborators motivate the rest of the colleagues to help each other through a time bank. Attendees are asked to communicate their interest in participating and what kind of skills/assistance/resources they could offer.
A total of 18 workers responded, offering the following resources:
To set up the time bank, an online organization tool is used.
,
so that participants access from their mobile devices and are also provided with a laptop computer at the institution. In this way, they can organize the work they offer and their available schedules.
The evaluation of this last phase is carried out in a final Final meeting with Aisha, reflecting on the implementation of the prototype following the planned plan, taking into account criteria such as: persistence and resolution of difficulties during the process, autonomy and empowerment to carry out the plan and resolution of the challenge posed. Despite the difficulties encountered during the implementation of the prototype, its application has proved successful, as Aisha has managed to learn how to carry out bureaucratic procedures efficiently. In addition, the company where Aisha works has decided to continue promoting the time banks so that they can be of use to other female workers.
The final moments of the process are aimed at making Aisha’s improvement in the different competencies related to the problem-solving process visible through objective data. For this purpose, the evaluation instruments used in session 3 (CREA, PIC and the adaptation of the
DCBE
). The data obtained provides Aisha with objective evidence to help her become aware of her improvement in exploring her needs, making decisions, seeking alternative solutions, planning and organizing. In addition, the results of these assessment instruments show higher scores compared to the initial assessment, especially in the questioning of different problems and their perseverance on tasks.
The information obtained through objective tests is completed by means of an interview.
Interview
focused on the following questions: does Aisha feel more empowered, did she have fun, does she think the methodology can be useful in the long term, which aspect of the DT process did she like the most/least, what would she change, which phase and which activity caused her the most/least difficulties, is she aware that a problem can be solved in different ways, will she face problems differently from now on, will she face problems differently from now on? The results show that Aisha recognizes that she feels more empowered and that the most difficult phase in the process was that of devising and evaluating solutions to the challenge posed.
Finally, in order to evaluate a correct acquisition, internalization and understanding of the DT methodology, the different games are used on Design Thinking. Turn your problems into solutions.
