Structuring the Information

Synthesis involves structuring the unstructured data.

The goal is to share and structure the information collected during the 360° Research phase.

Additionally, it is about setting the information in relation to different stakeholder types, those might be personas.

Different techniques, like storytelling and composite characters, help to share research results among the Design Thinking team. This allows them to come to a convergent state of mind, without jumping to the solution just yet.

As a result of synthesis, the Design Thinking team should have a clear and empathic understanding of the user needs related to the design challenge.

For first-timers, Design Thinking is attached to a certain journey of emotions.

Normally the emotion drops during synthesis.

Synthesis provides tools to play with gathered data. Playing involves trying things out that might not belong together in the first instance.

It can get frustrating and confusing. During a customer workshop, make sure you set the scene that this might happen.

It is also important to ask participants to evaluate the workshop after validation. An intermediate evaluation (because someone needs to leave earlier) will lead to no good results.

Storytelling is a proper way to share research results among the Design Thinking team.

It works as follows:

• Share the stories derived from your interviews with your team mates (share in the first person).

• Each teammate captures the data points of that story.

• Please remember the rules for writing good post-it notes.

To complete the picture — there are many other frameworks to structure and explore research data, besides the ones described and used during this training.

Depending on the design challenge and the collected data, they are helpful in a case-by-case manner.

Synthesis involves a lot of exploring and playing with data. Some coaches even tear all data off the wall and ask the groups to re-categorize, reorder, and restructure the data. Just because it will inspire the team and generate new insights.

Some explanations from left to right:

Process Map Linear

A derivation of the "day in the life…" or "Customer journey map" technique. It shows activities, environment, tools, and involved roles in a time-dependent sequence.

Geographic Map

Focuses on different locations and their interconnection (like a subway map). You can use it as a support for process modeling or architecture modeling where multiple locations play a role.

Floor Plan

Often used, for example, to understand or define a customer experience in a physical location. Ever wondered why most stores force you to go anti-clockwise? Humans tend to look to the right, so by using an anti-clockwise store setup, shoppers will probably look at more stuff as this relates to more shelf space.

Stakeholder Map

Used to understand and capture the interconnection between LoBs and relevant stakeholders for a specific topic.

Venn Diagram

Used to determine the overlapping area between business viability, technological feasibility, and desirability for the people.

Causal Map

Shows interdependency between actions. For example, more hours at the computer, more coffee needed, less hours of sleep.

Concept Map

Shows direct and indirect interdependencies between things (people, concepts, etc….).

2-by-2 Axis Map

There are 1000s of these maps. They help to assign data points to two different variables. For example, talking about different roles in an organization, you can use it for the "amount of travelling" and the "numbers of employees with this role", to determine whether mobile scenarios make sense for these people.

As you know, there is no a+b=c in Design Thinking. The relevance of the frameworks cannot be 100% predicted. As with Design Thinking in general, explore different possibilities, try them even if you think some do not make sense, and then evaluate if you want to go on.

The figure shows a typical example of a simple persona.

Depending on the design challenge, A Day in the Life is another powerful tool to further synthesize research results and put your persona into context.

The description of a typical day in the life of a persona can also be a perfect starting point for creation of ideas in the later ideation phase. For example, which steps of the day could be improved by using certain technologies?

Do not forget to reserve enough time for the cross-team sharing of results.