Human-Centered Design Workshops

🧠 “How We Brainstorm And Choose UX Ideas” (+ Miro template) (https://lnkd.in/eN32hH2x), a practical guide by Booking.com on how to run a rapid UX ideation session with silent brainstorming and “How Might We” (HMW) statements — by clustering data points into themes, reframing each theme and then prioritizing impactful ideas. Shared by Evan Karageorgos, Tori Holmes, Alexandre Benitah. 👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾 Booking.com UX Ideation Template (Miro) https://lnkd.in/eipdgPuC (password: bookingcom) 🚫 Ideas shouldn’t come from assumptions but UX research. ✅ Study past research and conduct a new study if needed. ✅ Cluster data in user needs, business goals, competitive insights. ✅ Best ideas emerge at the intersections of these 3 pillars. ✅ Cluster all data points into themes, prioritize with colors. ✅ Reframe each theme as a “How Might We” (HMW) statement. ✅ Start with the problems (or insights) you’ve uncovered. ✅ Focus on the desired outcomes, rather than symptoms. ✅ Collect and group ideas by relevance for every theme. ✅ Prioritize and visualize ideas with visuals and storytelling. Many brainstorming sessions are an avalanche of unstructured ideas, based on hunches and assumptions. Just like in design work we need constraints to be intentional in our decisions, we need at least some structure to mold realistic and viable ideas. I absolutely love the idea of frame the perspective through the lens of ideation clusters: user needs, business problems and insights. Reframing emerging themes as “How-Might-We”-statements is a neat way to help teams focus on a specific problem at hand and a desired outcome. A simple but very helpful approach — without too much rigidity but just enough structure to generate, prioritize and eventually visualize effective ideas with the entire team. Invite non-designers in the sessions as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised how much value a 2h session might deliver. Useful resources: The Rules of Productive Brainstorming, by Slava Shestopalov https://lnkd.in/eyYZjAz3 On “How Might We” Questions, by Maria Rosala, NN/g https://lnkd.in/ejDnmsRr Ideation for Everyday Design Challenges, by Aurora Harley, NN/g https://lnkd.in/emGtnMyy Brainstorming Exercises for Introverts, by Allison Press https://lnkd.in/eta6YsFJ How To Run Successful Product Design Workshops, by Gustavs Cirulis, Cindy Chang https://lnkd.in/eMtX-xwD Useful Miro Templates For UX Designers, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/eQVxM_Nq #ux #design

Do you sometimes feel frustration, as you are building a product to get the management off your back, rather than address the users? Here are 6 ways to become user-centric again: 1) Prioritize in a transparent way This is a great place to start. If your backlog is prioritized based on data and potential opportunity, risk, and cost, it will be easier to put forth user-centric initiatives ahead of those that came from upstairs. At the very least, you will have a good basis for an educated discussion. 2) Utilize users' perspective using user stories and personas If your team understands the users and their problems, it will be easier to craft something great that will later appeal to the same users. Just keep up the empathy of creating something by people for other people, and not get some metric magically go up! 3) Make user feedback public If everyone in the company can see the themes that come from user feedback, it will be way harder to ignore it in favor of some corporate nonsense. Let those voices be heard by everyone! 4) Have the NPS and user ratings at the forefront The same goes for a single metric representing the general product sentiment. If the number is low or, worse, is going down and everyone can see that, the responsible Product Manager has to react. 5) Focus on your product goals Now, upstairs mandates might not be the only distraction you face when trying to improve your product. To survive them all, focus on one thing: your product goals. This will allow you to demonstrate you are doing what you are asked for and you can use user feedback and points 1-4 to pursue those goals. Thus, it's like killing 2 birds with 1 stone. However, you can also simply: 6) Have the confidence to say "No" Not all company/legal/management requests can be ignored. Sometimes changing the law or a wider company initiative will require you to comply and that is OK! However, there will also be times when someone will try to force your compliance. This is where you need to be confident, and exercise your Product Manager's independence, especially when there is no data to support a specific request. There you go! My 6 ways you can become a user-centric Product Manager. How about you? Do you address your users or your management first and foremost when developing your product? Sound off in the comments! #productmanagement #productmanager #usercentricity

“Collaborative Innovation” - new cartoon and post Disney alum Paul Williams once shared the brainstorming method developed by Walt Disney. Disney used to separate the act of coming up with and executing ideas into three distinct steps (and associated mindsets): The Dreamer, The Realist, and The Spoiler. As Paul wrote: “By compartmentalizing the stages, Walt didn’t let reality get in the way of the dream step. The realist was allowed to work without the harsh filter of a spoiler. And, the spoiler spends time examining a well-thought idea… something with a bit more structure. “When we brainstorm alone and in groups – too often – we tend to fill the room with a dreamer or two, a few realists, and a bunch of spoilers. In these conditions, dream ideas don’t stand a chance.” The Dreamer mentality specializes in blue sky thinking without constraints, the Realist mentality puts practical structure to the ideas, and the Spoiler asks the hard questions and kicks the tires. We need all three mindsets. But we need those mindsets at the right time and in the right way. Walt Disney would go so far as to dedicate different physical rooms to each mindset. These rooms helped prompt what mindset was required at each stage. They helped ensure that innovation remained both creative and practical. I’ve been thinking about these stages and mindsets in the context of AI. Several studies (including new research at Wharton) have shown that while Generative AI can help boost the quality of individual ideas, they can also limit the diversity of ideas. There can be a “Great Same-ening,” as Ian Whitworth once put it. As the Wharton study’s authors wrote: “The true value of brainstorming stems from the diversity of ideas rather than multiple voices repeating similar thoughts… “Diversity is often overlooked, but it needs special protection. If you don’t solve for it explicitly, you won’t get it.” Part of the challenge and opportunity of incorporating AI into innovation is deciding what collaborative roles we want humans and AI to play. Assigning roles like The Dreamer, The Realist, or The Spoiler could be a way to start. AI alone won’t create a culture of innovation. >>> To sign up for my weekly marketoon email newsletter, click here: https://lnkd.in/gG4GkZsj For related cartoons and all the links in this post, click here: https://lnkd.in/g9Dumagx #marketing #cartoon #marketoon

If you can't define your problem in one line, you don't understand your problem. Let me share something personal: When our sales weren't growing, I kept saying "We have a sales problem" in every meeting. But when my co-founder Richa Marcia asked me to explain exactly what the problem was, I struggled to articulate it. That's when it hit me. We spent hours breaking down what we thought was a "sales problem" into its core elements. Once we could define it in one clear line, the solution became evident. Big problems don't need complex definitions. They need clarity. Next time you're stuck: Don't explain your problem. Define it in one line. The shorter your problem statement, The clearer your solution path.

"Effective brainstorming requires team members not to criticise each other's ideas, to allow freestyle thinking without fear of judgment." At least that's what's commonly believed. But a study finds that asking team members to brainstorm /and/ be free to "debate and even criticise each other's ideas" leads to more ideas being generated. The result held in both the US and France, despite different cultures. Potential reasons: 1️⃣ It allows people to express new ideas without worrying that they might be seen as a criticism of someone else's idea. 2️⃣ Highlighting that criticism is good for the group helps members understand that any criticism that arises is not personal. 3️⃣ Allowing freedom in discussion is itself liberating and promotes free thinking. By Charlan Jeanne Nemeth et al. https://lnkd.in/emrXDm-W

The ultimate guide to creating transformational workshop experiences (Even if you're not a natural facilitator) Ever had that gut-punch moment after a workshop where you just know it didn’t land? I’ve been there. Back then, I thought great workshops were all about cramming in as much content as possible. You know what I mean: - Slides with inspirational quotes. - The theory behind the frameworks. - More activities than a summer camp schedule… Subconsciously I believed that: The more I shared, the more people would see me as an expert. The more I shared, the more valuable the workshop. And participants would surely walk away transformed. Spoiler: they didn’t. They were hit-and-miss. But then on a leadership retreat in 2016, I stumbled onto something that changed everything. Something so obvious it's almost easy to miss. But when you intentionally use them, it took my workshops from "meh" to "mind-blowing": Three simple principles: 1️⃣ Context-based Learning People don't show up as blank slates. They bring their own experiences, challenges, and goals. When I started anchoring my content in their reality, things clicked. Suddenly, what I was sharing felt relevant and useful — like I was talking with them instead of at them. 2️⃣ Experiential Learning Turns out, people don’t learn by being told. They learn by doing (duh). When I shifted to creating experiences, the room came alive. And participants actually remembered what they’d learned. Experiences like roleplays, discussions, real-world scenarios, the odd game... 3️⃣ Evocative Facilitation This one was a game-changer. The best workshops aren’t just informative — they’re emotional. The experiences we run spark thoughts and reactions. And it's our job to ask powerful questions to invite reflection. Guiding participants to their own "aha!" moments to use in the real world. (yup, workshops aren't the real world) ... When I started being intentional with these three principles, something clicked. Participants started coming up to me after sessions, saying things like: "That’s exactly what I needed." "I feel like you were speaking directly to me." "I’ve never felt so seen in a workshop before." And best of all? Those workshops led to repeat bookings, referrals, and clients who couldn’t wait to work with me again. Is this the missing piece to your expertise? - If so, design experiences around context. •Facilitate experiences that evoke reactions •Unpack reactions to land the learning ♻️ Share if you found this useful ✍️ Do you use any principles to design your workshops?

While focusing on use cases / tasks is the fastest way to pilot AI and create efficiencies in your organization, taking a Problem-Based Model approach accelerates innovation and growth, and creates greater long-term impact on enterprise value. In the Problem-Based Model, you have a known pain point or challenge that may be solved more efficiently, and at scale, with AI. You start with clearly defined problem statements. A strong problem statement includes a value statement that establishes what it’s worth to solve the problem. This helps ensure that the project is worth the investment of resources, and is essential to prioritizing which problems to pursue. * * * * *  Example 1: Audience [Problem] Our new subscriber growth is down 20% over the same quarter last year. [Value] Subscribers are valued at $100 each in our valuation model, so a drop of 10,000 subscribers is $1,000,000 in revenue. Example 2: Innovation [Problem] Our growth in existing verticals has stalled, and we need to identify new markets and product ideas that can unlock massive value for the organization. [Value] Based on historical data and market research, we believe there are two new verticals that could generate $10M+ each over the next 3 - 5 years. Example 3: Churn [Problem] We saw a dramatic spike in customer churn last quarter, resulting in an MRR drop for the first time in two years. [Value] The quarterly loss was $80,000 MRR, or $960,000 ARR. * * * * * This model can be applied to any problem type in your organization, such as: - Audience - Awareness - Churn - Costs - Decisioning - Efficiency - Forecasting - Innovation - Leads - Loyalty - Personalization - Pricing - Productivity - Revenue - Sales ProblemsGPT is built to help you craft and refine your problem statements, and then draft preliminary strategic plans to build a smarter, AI-forward business. I originally released v1.0 in fall 2024. I made a few tweaks this weekend and updated to v2.0. See an example thread in the images below, and then try it out for yourself (link in comments). Happy problem solving (and Happy Father’s Day)!

"Ever heard of the term ‘TAM’? 🤔 . . . . Most people nod along, but how many actually get what it means?🧠 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘗𝘔, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴—𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵. 🎊As part of my ongoing journey to become a user-friendly PM, I’m thrilled to start a 30-𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 to dive deep into some of the most important terms every PM use on a daily basis. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬❓ Because I believe in continuous learning and sharing knowledge and want to bring you along on this journey. Let’s make these 30 days a powerful learning experience together! 💪 Time to kick off with 𝐃𝐚𝐲 1 𝐨𝐟 #30𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐎𝐟𝐏𝐌𝐕𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲 📚 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 A problem statement is a short, clear explanation of an issue or challenge that sums up what you want to change and why that change matters. Remember it is not about solution. 📑 It ideally focus on 5 W’s (Who, What, When, Why, Where) or some of them at least to clearly define the problem which is measurable, achievable, relevant, specific and time-bound. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: Our e-commerce website experiences a high cart abandonment rate, leading to lost sales opportunities. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: 𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐛𝐧𝐛 "𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦." 𝐖𝐡𝐨: Travellers and homeowners 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭: struggling to find affordable accommodation and homeowners with extra space finding difficult to rent it out. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧: mostly during high demand events 𝐖𝐡𝐲: Traditional hotel options are often expensive, fully booked, or lack the local experience traveler desire. Which product you feel has achieved this level of defining the problem statement and succeeded in the market? 🤷♀️ Tell me in the comments 👇 and I will be giving shout out in my next post, to all who have an interesting insights on the same. Follow Bhavini Sapra🖐️ Sapra for more such engaging insights on product management. #PMSeries

Navigating power imbalances and fostering psychological safety in brainstorming sessions can be a challenge for facilitators. I recall a CEO of a law firm who was hesitant to run strategy workshops due to past experiences where the Chairman's voice dominated the room, making it difficult for other partners to share their perspectives freely. I assured them that as a facilitator, my role was to ensure that everyone's voice was respected, heard, and valued. I'm happy to say it worked well. 😊 Creating a psychologically safe space is crucial. This can be achieved by setting clear expectations at the start of the session, encouraging respectful dialogue, and managing the room to bring in all voices in a way that works. Here are some ways I run an idea generation or brainstorming session. ⭐ Start by clarifying what challenge or problem we’re here to address. Do this by reframing it as a 'How Might We…’ statement - a common method used in design thinking. This approach encourages collaborative thinking and ensures everyone in the room can contribute their perspectives. ⭐ Another design thinking tool I use is Crazy 8s, a great way to generate ideas quickly (handy when workshop time is tight). It involves generating eight ideas in eight minutes, which pushes participants to think beyond their initial ideas and stretch their creative boundaries. - Give each person a blank A4 sheet. Fold it in half 3 times so you have 8 equally spaced squares. - Each person silently writes or draws one idea per square per minute. - Go around the room so each person shares their ideas. Each idea has its moment. No judgement. Most senior persons share last. - Pop them up on a wall. - Each person then selects their top 2 to 3 ideas. - Discuss the ideas and collectively build on them (encourage the use of ‘and’ and ban ‘but’). - Collectively select the ideas you want to action. ⭐ But what about those quieter voices in the room? Silent Brainstorming is a way to encourage those who prefer to work independently to have their ideas heard. - It starts with individual ideation, where everyone writes their ideas independently before the session. - These ideas are then shared in an in person or virtual session and built upon collectively in a non-judgmental environment. These are just a few methods to address power imbalances and foster psychological safety in idea generation sessions. I'm curious, what other methods do you use to ensure that all voices, not just the loudest, are heard and valued in your brainstorming sessions? Thanks to Adam Grant for sharing the Work Chronicles cartoon below. ——————————————————————————- 👉 If you're looking for an experienced facilitator for your upcoming sessions or workshops, whether defining a strategy, mapping a plan, or crafting your purpose and values, I can help. #facilitation #psychologicalsafety #creativity #inclusion

Sharing an approach I’ll be using to kick off the facilitation of an HSE Leaders Forum tomorrow that I hope others might find valuable. Instead of starting with the usual introductions (name, job role etc), I want to focus on the reason we are there: discussing innovative ways to solve the challenges participants are facing in their workplaces or industries. Each participant will introduce themselves by sharing a challenge framed as a "How Might We?" (HMW) statement. This simple method encourages participants to: 1️⃣ Clarify the Challenge: Turning a health and safety challenge into an opportunity helps focus the conversation on possibility. 2️⃣ Spark Collaboration: Open-ended, opportunity-focused challenges invite diverse perspectives and ideas. 3️⃣ Create Immediate Value: Sharing key challenges helps everyone see where they can contribute and connect meaningfully - on the things that matter. "How might we better communicate critical risk management expectations with subcontractors?" "How might we reduce working at height activities in our business?" "How might we assure critical risk controls in real-time?" I’ve found this approach aligns discussions with what really matters, and leaves participants with actionable insights. If you’re planning a collaborative session, this could be a great way to shift from introductions to impactful conversations right from the start. Feel free to adapt this for your own forums or workshops; I’d love to hear how it works for you and if you have any other facilitation tips. #SafetyTech #SafetyInnovation #Facilitation #Learning