Desired Goal:
Facilitate the creation of questions that inspire ideas in the ideate phase.
The Tool’s Purpose:
- Turn identified user needs into a clear design challenge.
- Define a sentence stating the goal of the upcoming brainstorming and the team’s objective.
- Define the boundaries and focus of the ideation process.
Unleash Your Team’s Crazy Good Ideas and Leave Your Competitors Behind
Overview: Turn open ended questions into inspiration for creative solutions:
The How Might We (HMW) framework is a pivotal tool in the design thinking process, designed to transform identified needs and challenges into actionable, open-ended questions that inspire creative solutions. By formulating questions that begin with “How might we…”, teams can frame problems in a way that encourages innovative thinking and collaborative ideation.
This approach ensures that the focus remains on addressing user needs without being constrained by preconceived solutions. The HMW questions serve as a bridge between the understanding phase and the ideation phase, guiding teams to explore a wide range of possibilities and fostering a mindset geared towards problem-solving and opportunity identification. Effective use of the HMW framework leads to targeted and impactful solutions that are closely aligned with user needs and business objectives.
Benefits of How Might We:
Encourages Open-Ended Thinking: By framing challenges as open-ended questions, HMW prompts teams to explore a wide array of solutions without limiting their creativity.
Focuses on User Needs: Keeps the user at the center of the problem-solving process, ensuring that solutions are relevant and meaningful.
Facilitates Collaborative Ideation: Provides a common starting point for team members to brainstorm together, enhancing collaboration and idea generation.
Promotes Optimism and Possibility: The phrasing of HMW questions fosters an optimistic outlook, encouraging teams to believe that solutions are achievable.
Enhances Problem Definition: Helps in clearly defining the problem by breaking it down into manageable and specific questions.
Guides Targeted Solutions: Directs the ideation phase towards generating ideas that are directly aligned with the defined challenges and opportunities.
Increases Engagement: Engages team members by involving them in the formulation of questions, making them active participants in the problem-solving process.
Adaptable to Various Contexts: Can be applied to a wide range of problems and industries, making it a versatile tool in the design thinking toolkit.
Supports Iterative Refinement: Allows for the continuous refinement of questions based on new insights and feedback, ensuring that the focus remains relevant and effective.
Reduces Bias: By focusing on “how” rather than “why,” it minimizes judgment and encourages exploration of multiple avenues for solutions.
How Might We Exercise Worksheet Link, courtesy of Jana
How Might We emphasizes the power of asking the right questions to unlock new ideas and drive collaborative innovation.
Application:
- Understanding the Problem:
- External Findings: Through surveys and observations, the team discovers that residents perceive buses as unreliable, uncomfortable, and inconvenient compared to personal vehicles.
- Internal Discussion: Through a worksheet, the team aligns on a definition of the need, identifying the problem and exploring HMW (How Might We) problem statements that align with our capabilities in a way that does not oversimplify or overcomplicate the problem.
- Formulating HMW Questions: Reflection: Based on insights from the “Understand” phase, the team synthesizes the core issues affecting bus usage.
- HMW Questions:
- How might we make bus travel more reliable and punctual for commuters?
- How might we enhance the comfort and convenience of bus rides to attract more users?
- How might we integrate technology to provide real-time updates and seamless payment options for bus riders?
- Evaluating HMW Questions:
- Team Discussion: The team reads the HMW questions aloud to ensure they inspire a wide range of solutions without being too narrow or too broad.
- Refinement: If a question seems too restrictive, such as “How might we make Wi-Fi available on all buses?” the team broadens it to “How might we enhance the in-bus experience for commuters?” to allow for a variety of solutions.
- Ideation Phase:
- Brainstorming Session: With the refined HMW questions, the team conducts an open brainstorming session, generating ideas like:
- Implementing a mobile app for real-time bus tracking and scheduling.
- Redesigning bus interiors for added comfort, including ergonomic seating and climate control.
- Introducing loyalty programs and incentives for frequent bus users.
- Partnering with local businesses to provide onboard amenities like free Wi-Fi and charging stations.
- Brainstorming Session: With the refined HMW questions, the team conducts an open brainstorming session, generating ideas like:
- Outcome:
- Innovative Solutions: The HMW framework leads to a comprehensive set of ideas that address reliability, comfort, and technological integration, making bus travel a more attractive option.
- Increased Engagement: Engaging HMW questions ensure that all team members contribute creatively, fostering a collaborative environment.
- Strategic Implementation: The authority prioritizes implementing the most impactful solutions, such as the mobile app and interior redesign, resulting in increased bus ridership and reduced traffic congestion.
