Design Questions
Design Questions help teams explore complex problems by framing them as questions rather than statements, fostering curiosity and opening up diverse perspectives. This method encourages deeper inquiry and helps uncover hidden assumptions, leading to more innovative solutions.
Use this method when a team is stuck defining a problem or needs to generate a wider range of potential solutions. It's particularly useful at the beginning of a project or when facing a complex, ambiguous challenge.
Solves: Premature solutioning; narrow problem definition; lack of diverse perspectives.
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Step 1: Individually, each participant brainstorms questions related to the problem statement. (10 minutes)
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Step 2: In small groups, share and cluster similar questions, identifying key themes. (20 minutes)
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Step 3: As a whole group, discuss the themes and select 3-5 questions that best capture the essence of the problem. (20-30 minutes)
- Encourage participants to ask 'why' and 'what if' questions.
- Ensure that the selected questions are open-ended and invite exploration.
- Use different question prompts (e.g., 'How might we...?', 'What would it look like if...?').
- Prioritize questions using a dot-voting system.