The Swiss-Army Lives of How-Might-We Questions // ALD 005 — E69

Thank you for listening to this Ask Like a Designer episode of the Design Thinking 101 Podcast.

This episode is about how to use “How might we …” questions to anchor your innovation projects, align your team, and adjust the problem you are trying to solve as you learn.

This episode is based on this article: ALD 005 // The Swiss-Army Lives of How-Might-We Questions. Read the article and others like it on Fluid Hive’s Ask Like a Designer.

In these short Ask Like a Designer episodes on the Design Thinking 101 podcast, you’ll find new ways to explore the show’s stories and ideas about design-driven innovation. I’ll share methods, templates, and ideas that have worked in my practice in teaching.

What did you think of this episode? Please send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team.

Cheers ~ Dawan
Design Thinking 101 Podcast Host
President, Fluid Hive

Show Highlights

[00:58] The One Question to rule them all: what problem are you trying to solve?
[01:15] Finding the right problem to solve is the key to great innovation work.
[01:32] What do you do with your answer to the question?
[01:47] The purpose of “How might we…” questions.
[02:17] The three required parts of a “How might we…” question.
[02:27] The two optional parts of a “How might we…” question.
[03:48] Ways “How might we…” questions can help a designer or design team.
[04:16] What is reframing, and how does it relate to innovation work?
[05:07] “How might we…” questions also help those who are not on the team, but who are providing knowledge, insights, or assistance in some way.
[05:44] Having clear goals is important when doing innovation work.
[06:27] “How might we…” questions help guide team conversations about the work.
[06:43] “How might we…” questions also act as a guidepost.
[07:30] We want questions that create possibilities for many workable solutions.
[07:59] Free Ask Like a Designer tool to help you create your own “How might we…” questions.
[08:31] Design Thinking 101 Learning courses.
[08:52] The Innovation SmartStart webinar.

Design Thinking 101 Learning — Courses and More

Design Thinking 101 Learning helps people start seeing and solving like a designer. Each training course focuses on a different collection of actions and skills critical to using design thinking effectively and getting the results you seek.

Please join me in the first course, Design Thinking 101 — Framing: Creating Better Solutions by Finding More Valuable Problems to Solve.

Each course is structured to help your innovation actions create what you need for the people you serve, your organization and yourself.

Grab your spot and start seeing and solving like a designer today.

DT101 Episodes You Might Like

Ask Like a Designer — DT101 E61

Design, and One Question to Rule Them All // ALD 002 — DT101 E63

There Are No Problems Worth Solving — Only Questions Worth Asking // ALD 003 — DT101 E65

Your Good-Life OS: Designing a System for Living Well and Peak Performance // ALD 004 — DT101 E67

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Cheers ~ Dawan

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Design Thinking 101 Courses — Framing

In this self-paced, online course, Framing: Creating Better Solutions by Finding More Valuable Problems to Solve, you will learn to create more effective solutions by understanding the problem you are trying to solve. This is the first course in Fluid Hive's Design Thinking 101 Courses Series.

Creating effective solutions begins with understanding the problem we are trying to solve. Is this problem worth solving? Where should we look to understand our problem? What’s happening inside this problem? How do we define the problem? How do we adjust problem framing as we go? During the course, you will learn to answer these questions and apply them to your work.

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Resources — Thinking and Solving Like a Designer

Articles

Ask Like a Designer — Monthly articles with design ideas, methods, frameworks, templates, and a question-fueled approach to design-driven innovation. Discover new ways to think and solve like a designer.

Guide

Download Fluid Hive's Innovation Shield: a guide to avoiding innovation traps by asking 9 of Fluid Hive's Design Thinking Questions.

Your Ask Like a Designer Studio

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Enjoy invitations to free, live Studio events. Receive articles, Design Thinking 101 podcast updates, tips, tools, templates, workshop information, and more to help you create and perform!

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Innovation Smart Start Webinar

Your next project could be easier, faster and more effective if you play smart at the start. In this webinar Dr. Dawan Stanford will teach you ways to ask like a designer so your projects succeed more often and your revenue grows.

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