Phase 2: Articulating the needs
To really understand what a challenge is about it is important to refine the challenge, understand the target audience’s needs and determine the desired impact. This means digging in and empathising with the target group to get the answers you need to create a good challenge.
In this phase, we have collected 5 Research Methods to scope the challenges (in yellow) and 4 Co-creation methods for understanding and involve the target group (in blue):
Research Methods to scope the challenges
1. Frame your design challenge
A well framed challenge allows for a variety of solutions. The Frame Your Design Challenge worksheet will help you determine the right framework for the challenge. Through a series of steps, it shows the impact and also takes into account the context and constraints of the challenge.[1]
2. Align on your impact goals
This method helps you to think carefully about the impact you want to achieve with the challenge. It allows you to distinguish between long-term and short-term objectives. Typically, the most immediate impact becomes the focus of the design [1].
3. Define your audience
Mapping the ecosystem around your target audience gives you a better sense of the community they live in, the organisations and networks that are important to them and the political system that influences their lives[1].
4. Design Project Scoping Guide
The Project Scoping Guide provides five elements for framing a challenge. These encourage you to think about stakeholders, context, purpose and core aspects. The templates leave plenty of room to expand the challenge and add new information in collaboration with the target audience [1].
[1] Institute of design at Stanford – Design Project Scoping Guide
5. Articulating the challenge
This method helps to get the challenge clear as participants indicate which issue they think is important to tackle. To get the participants on the same page, their preferences are discussed[1].
Co-creation methods for understanding the target group
1. Body storming
Bodystorming is a method for researchers and designers to understand what it is like to be in the user’s shoes. Bodystorming combines role-playing and simulation and takes place in the target group’s environment. This creates empathy for the users. The designers or researchers can observe the users and participate in the bodystorming session[1].
2. Empathy timeline
In creating an empathy timeline, participants are creatively engaged in unravelling the challenge. In this way, they become aware of their own experiences and viewpoints. These experiences and views can be used to sharpen the challenge and really understand what the issue is about[1].
3. Collage
Making a collage allows participants to stick images and words on a piece of paper that express personal experiences and feelings. This makes it easier to start a conversation about sensitive topics[1].
4. Problem framing
The Problem Framing canvas ensures that everyone can participate equally in defining the challenge and determining the scope. If the canvas is still too difficult to fill in at first, the link to the canvas contains a number of suggestions for first formulating different sub-problems within the challenge and getting an idea of the target groups.[1]