Design Thinking Workshops

💎 60 UX Strategy Methods And Activities (Figma) (https://lnkd.in/eCDU-vhR), a large repository of UX methods, templates and activities for ideation sessions and product sprints, from storyboards and brainwriting to 6 thinking hats, journey mapping and concept testing. Neatly put together in one single place by fine folks at Merck. The team has also put together a very thorough overview of their UX Strategy Kit (https://lnkd.in/ek5dEYn4), broken down by categories for strategy, observation, ideation and warm-up, along with detailed video walkthroughs, examples and step-by-step guides. Frankly, most of these methods are unfamiliar to me. And by no means is the point to actually study and apply all of them. What works for you works for you. To strategize, I rely on How Might We but also think about metrics that should be moved once we implement some features or refine some user flows. For event storming and brainstorming, I tend to rely on Bono’s 6 thinking hats to align brainstorming, and (of course) journey mapping. For ideation, I love using storyboards to jump right into the user’s success story, but would also use card sorting with cut-out paper cards to understand user’s mental model. And for almost every project, I’d run concept testing with tree testing or Kano model, or low-fidelity/paper prototyping to understand if we are on the right track. Once you sprinkle a bit of critical thinking, early user testing and strategic planning across the design work, you gain confidence that you are moving in the right direction. And really that’s all you need. A few of my personal bookmarks with UX methods and activities: UX Tools For Better Thinking, by Adam Amran 👏🏽 https://untools.co/ Playbook For Universal Design (+ PDF/Powerpoint templates) https://lnkd.in/ernris4g UX Methods & Projects, by Vernon Fowler https://lnkd.in/eAHaiaSm 18F Method Cards https://methods.18f.gov/ Hyperisland UX Methods Resource Kit 👍 https://lnkd.in/eDTaci7T How To Design Better UX Workshops, by Slava Shestopalov https://lnkd.in/edxqCC-n How To Run UX Workshops With Users, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/ejm7_TsS Happy designing, everyone — I hope you’ll find these guides and resources helpful to get started. Just don’t feel like you have to try out all of them. It might be much more worthwhile to get early feedback from stakeholders and end users, even if your work isn’t really “good” enough. Good luck! #ux #design

Google just dropped Mind Maps for NotebookLM, and it’s a must-have AI tool for every PM. Here’s how it works and why you’ll love it: As a PM, we’re constantly juggling with: - Research: Customer interviews, competitor analysis, market trends. - Ideation: Brainstorming features, roadmaps, and strategies. - Documentation: PRDs, meeting notes, and stakeholder updates. What if you could turn all of this chaos into clear, actionable visual diagrams in seconds? 𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗟𝗠 - 1. Go to NotebookLM (Google’s AI-powered note-taking tool). 2. Add Your Sources:   - PDFs, text, markdown, audio.   - Paste copied text.   - Website & YouTube links.   - Google Docs & Slides from Drive. 3. Click “Mind Map” when ready. 4. Your Mind Map is ready. Instantly visualize connections, themes, and insights. Here are 5 use cases, you can use it to save hours and work smarter: 👇 1. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵:   - Upload interview transcripts or survey data.   - Instantly map pain points, themes, and opportunities.   - Example: “Visualize recurring customer frustrations from 20 interview transcripts.” 2. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀:   - Add competitor product docs, reviews, or website content.   - Create a mind map of their strengths, weaknesses, and gaps.   - Example: “Map out Competitor X’s feature set vs. ours to identify differentiation opportunities.” 3. 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:   - Brainstorm new features or improvements.   - Turn messy ideas into a structured roadmap.   - Example: “Create a mind map of potential features for our next sprint.” 4. 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀:   - Upload meeting notes or recordings.   - Visualize key decisions, action items, and dependencies.   - Example: “Turn a 1-hour stakeholder meeting into a clear, actionable mind map.” 5. 𝗣𝗥𝗗𝘀 & 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:   - Organize complex requirements into a visual flow.   - Example: “Map out user flows and acceptance criteria for a new feature.” P.S. How would you use Mind Maps for NotebookLM in your PM workflow? Let me know in the comments! ……….. If you found this post helpful: ✅ Follow me for more practical AI tools and PM tips. 🔁 Repost to help other PMs discover this game-changer.

Operational bottlenecks are often mistaken for minor distractions. In textiles, challenges such as machine downtime, dye-house delays, working capital spikes, or capacity mismatches between spinning and weaving are not just inconveniences. They are critical leverage points for value creation and significant professional impact. Many leaders focus on optimising every area. However, sustainable throughput comes from identifying and rigorously managing the single constraint that governs the entire system. We apply the Theory of Constraints (TOC) at RSWM to convert operational friction into performance gains. TOC shows that local efficiency can be misleading. Keeping every department busy often creates excess work-in-progress, disrupting flow, increasing costs, and delaying deliveries. Instead, we follow a disciplined process: -First, identify what sets the pace of the value chain. This may include machinery misaligned with current market needs or process challenges like low Right First Time (RFT) rates in the dye house that reduce effective capacity. -Second, exploit the constraint by precise scheduling, strengthening discipline, and improving efficiency to extract more output without immediate capital deployment. -Third, align the rest of the organisation to the bottleneck’s pace to ensure smooth material flow across departments. Fourth, elevate the constraint through capital investment or process redesign, addressing capacity mismatches or refining product lines. -Finally, repeat the cycle, since the constraint shifts as performance improves. This approach has delivered tangible results at RSWM. Addressing dye-house bottlenecks increased throughput, reduced working capital requirements, and improved EBITDA. However, constraints change over time. Market shifts, such as China’s shift from a major yarn importer to an exporter, or recent U.S. tariffs affecting demand, can pose new challenges. In response, we adapt by exploring alternative markets, leveraging domestic opportunities, or innovating products to sustain growth. Our goal is to eliminate internal friction so operational excellence drives expansion. When the market is the only constraint, the organisation is positioned to thrive. #TheoryOfConstraints #OperationalExcellence #Textiles #Leadership #RSWM

The deeper our understanding of systems, the more wisely and skillfully we can impact sustainable change and improvement. Way back in the 1940's, General Systems Theory showed us that systems could NOT be fully understood by breaking them apart and analyzing the pieces. Instead, systems had to be observed as wholes ,seen in context, with attention to how the parts interacted, evolved, and influenced each other over time. This shift in thinking (from analysis to synthesis) changed everything. It taught us that organizations, supply chains, customer experiences, and even simple production lines are not collections of isolated parts. They are dynamic, interconnected living systems. And THIS perspective is what's needed to guide Lean thinking and Lean practices. Lean is not just about cutting waste or speeding up production. At its core, Lean is about seeing the system- how value flows (or fails to flow) across people, processes, and technology. It’s about understanding that the performance of a system depends far more on the interactions between the parts than on the performance of any single part. When Lean asks us to "go to the Gemba", to the real place where work happens, it is inviting us to observe with curiosity, to understand and not judge or measure. And when Lean guides us to improve processes, it teaches us to create flow and pull systems instead of pushing work downstream blindly...and it teaches us to seek out the communication and collaboration practices that create or prevent flow and pull. When Lean practitioners don't 'get' systems thinking, three major things happen: 1️⃣ They focus too much on local improvements. They optimize one department, one process, or one step but unknowingly hurt the system as a whole. 2️⃣ They treat symptoms, not causes. Without a systems view, people often chase the obvious issues (like bottlenecks or rework) without seeing the underlying system conditions that are creating those issues. 3️⃣ They miss the bigger opportunity. Lean isn't just about making tasks quicker, it's about redesigning how value flows across the organization. Without systems thinking, efforts stay tactical, fragmented, and superficial and real transformation never happens. Systems thinking reminds us: 👉 Optimizing one piece without regard to the whole can cause greater problems elsewhere. 👉 True improvement happens when we see the relationships and dependencies , not just the activities. 👉 To create sustainable change, we must first understand how the system behaves, not just how it is designed. Why is it so hard for many organizations to think in systems, not silos? Is it anything to do with the people/leader traits highlighted below? Leave your thoughts in the comments and lets chat! 🙏

Stuck in a rut? Does coming up with a good idea feel like picking something to watch on Netflix? (every choice is mediocre, you end up arguing/scrolling for 2 hours) I have a few ‘good ideas’ to help. Here are 4 brainstorming techniques for UX problems. 💡 🧠 The HMW Reframing Method Start with a challenge—users aren't completing sign-up. Now, reframe it as a How Might We question—how might we make sign-up irresistibly easy? This simple switch kickstarts solution-oriented thinking.  Pro tip: Generate multiple HMWs for each problem to explore different angles. 🧠 The Intersection matrix Create a grid with user needs on one axis and random objects or concepts on the other. For example, "Quick checkout" meets "Rollercoaster." How could the thrill and speed of a rollercoaster inform your checkout process? It's weird, agreed. But you never know, you might end up with unexpected brilliance. 🧠 Reverse brainstorming Flip the script. Instead of asking "How do we improve user engagement?", ask "How could we completely destroy and annihilate user engagement?" List all the terrible ideas, then reverse them. It's a fun way to identify pain points and generate solutions you might have overlooked. 🧠 The 5 Whys You know this classic. Basically, become a toddler. Start with a problem statement and ask "Why?" five times. Each answer becomes the basis for the next "Why?" This helps you dig deeper and uncover root causes. For example: - Users aren't using the new feature. Why? - They don't know it exists. Why? - We haven't promoted it effectively. Why? - Our notification system is broken. Why? - It wasn't properly tested before launch. Why? - We rushed the development process. Boom. Now you know where to focus your problem-solving efforts. It also helps to begin ideation with the ‘hair on fire’ problem. Here’s how. https://bit.ly/4dHyjWl Let’s do opposites. What’s a brainstorming exercise you hate, and why do you think it doesn’t work? Looking to find some interesting answers in the comments! 🥸

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐𝘥𝘦𝘢 2 days ago, we had the chance to visit Shokz Technologies in Shenzhen. The consumer headphones industry is a competitive one with major players like Apple, Bose, Sennheiser, Xiaomi and many more. In order to stand out, they need a standout product/strategy. In 2007, they became the pioneers for the use of bone conduction technology in consumer headphones. But did you know where they got the idea from? It turns out, bone conduction technology was not new and it's been used in several more specialised domains. They got the idea from firefighters, who wear earpieces to receive instructions, but simultaneously allow them to listen out for cries for help. That made them think... Why shouldn't that idea be used for earpieces for runners? That will allow them to listen to music while keeping them safe by listening out for traffic signals. Since then, they've also become a multi-billion business globally, and have since taken their technology to manufacturing hearing aids. They also currently hold over 5,100 patents. This is a picture of me with Shokz's founder and CEO Kingsun Chen. He shared in his address to our Singaporean delegates that betting on Bone Conduction technology was the key factor in the company's success. The story of Shokz illustrates that our best ideas do not necessary come from obvious sources. This is a classic case of 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. From my personal experiences, we can develop this skill by: • Being curious and keeping an open mind • Apply pattern recognition by asking "How is X like Y?" • Take small bets by experimentation This is key to creativity and innovation to stay ahead in the age of AI. My own example is how I studied storytelling techniques of a National Geographic documentarian and applying the structure to craft my keynotes. Where do you get your best random ideas from? #WholeHearted #Innovation

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

Many of my web tools are designed to help with creative thinking (because that's what I write books about). And this is one of those. It's a tool I built for a training workshop I ran a couple of weeks ago. Research shows that humans are best at generating ideas in short bursts. Our creative muscles are built for sprints, not marathons. It also shows that perfectionism reduces idea generation and blocks flow. So I built this little tool to encourage people to focus on quantity rather than quality of ideas to get things moving at speed. This opens your mind up to opportunities you wouldn't previously have considered. Link to the tool is in the comments 👇 For solo thinkers, I recommend the 90-second and 3-minute settings. If you're working with a small group, try the longer times. But don't waste precious seconds discussing your ideas or trying to flesh them out. And definitely don't critique any ideas as you go (throw the critics out of your group and tell them never to come back). You can do all the judging you want after you've crossed the finish line. The web tool works like this: ❶ You start by picking a time for your idea sprint. ❷ This takes you to a screen with a text input box. You rattle out your basic ideas one at a time, hitting the return key between each one. The tool keeps a tally of the number of ideas you've come up with so that you can spur yourself on to beat your previous record. ❸ When the time is up, you'll see a list of your ideas that you can copy and paste into a document to explore further. I recommend that you aim for 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 15 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀. You probably won't hit it, but that's the kind of speed we're looking at here. Don't focus on detail; focus on coming up with more ideas. I built this tool the night before the workshop. We used it during the session and I can tell you that it works. It works really well! Maybe bookmark it for the next time you need to generate a bunch of ideas. Again, this was built with Cursor and includes features that I would struggle to code myself. Do you think this tool might be useful to you? What other tools would you like me to build?

Many AI projects fail—not because the tech isn’t good, but because we’re not doing the analysis! Systems thinking is critical, it's about understanding how parts connect, influence, and ripple through an entire ecosystem—not just optimizing a single task or process. And it’s absolutely essential working with AI. Here’s where systems thinking becomes critical in AI strategy and implementation: ✅ AI Strategy and Use Case Selection: Choosing where to use AI isn’t just about which use case fits, it’s about understanding what adds value, which processes are interconnected, and where AI will create value without unintended harm. ✅ Data Flow and Quality: Training an AI on data without mapping upstream inputs or downstream dependencies? That’s how bias, errors, and broken outputs happen—fast. ✅ Customer Experience: Automating support might solve one pain point, but without seeing the full customer journey, you risk creating new frustrations. ✅ Predictive Models and Decisions: If AI makes a recommendation that changes frontline staff actions, you need to understand the full decision-making loop: people, systems, timing, and consequences. ✅ AI Agent Implementation AI agents change the way humans work. Systems thinkers ask: How does this change roles, workflows, handoffs, and trust? What needs to adapt? Business Analysts who bring a systems mindset to AI are making sure those solutions actually work in the real world. Let’s stop treating AI as a one-off automation tool or project. It’s a systems change. And BAs who can see the system are the ones who will lead the future.