The Entrepreneurial Mind:

Asynchronous Activity

Submitted by:
Arce, Andrea Mariz T.
Buensuceso, Lianne G.
Dela Vega, Jane Claire M.
Imbien, Lalaine B.
Mendoza, Janella Rose D.
Ronato, Gillian Kate D.
Tariman, Triska Jane R.

Submitted to:
Prof. Randy D. Asor
 THE USE OF DESIGN THINKING

I. What is Design Thinking?

Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that places a strong emphasis on
understanding the needs and perspectives of end-users or customers. It is a human-centered and
iterative process used to create innovative and effective solutions to complex problems. Design
thinking is a flexible and collaborative approach that can be applied to a wide range of problems,
from product design and innovation to process improvement and service design. It encourages
creativity, empathy, and a focus on the end-user's needs throughout the problem-solving process.

II. The Design Thinking Process

In the design thinking process, begin by breaking the business problem into smaller parts.
Then, brainstorm various solutions, starting from the most basic level. There are five (5) key stages
which are the following:

1. Empathizing - During this stage, designers seek to understand the wants, desires, and
challenges of the customers for whom they are developing. In-depth research,
interviews, questionnaires, and observations are used to get insights into the
viewpoint of the client. The goal is to cultivate empathy for the user's experiences and
to find hidden problems or opportunities.
2. Defining - After establishing an in-depth understanding of what the customer wants
and needs, the next stage is to characterize the problem or challenge. This step entails
combining the research and ideas gained throughout the empathize stage in order to
develop a clear and detailed problem statement. A well-defined problem statement
guides the rest of the process.
3. Ideate or forming ideas - During this stage of the process, concentrate on coming up
with innovative solutions to the problem. We stimulate alternative ways of thinking
and strive to come up with a variety of solutions. Designers and team members
collaborate to produce several ideas. This phase is all about being open to new and
unexpected ideas, and frequently employ tools such as brainstorming, creating
diagrams, sketching and such in order to help.
4. Prototyping - Prototyping is a stage in which you put the various concepts and
approaches that you've brainstormed into real or physical representations. This entails
 producing actual models, digital mock-ups, or prototypes that provide a more solid
and practical sense of how your ideas might work in practice.
5. Testing - To acquire feedback and insights, prototypes are tested with real users. The
purpose is to observe how users engage with the prototypes, identify strengths and
flaws, and collect data to modify and improve the solutions. Observing user behavior,
running usability tests, and performing interviews or surveys to get user input are all
common components of testing.
6.
III. The Power of Storytelling
Storytelling is in the heart of our DNA as a human being, it helps us connect events is
a holistic experience through time. This unique nature of stories makes it one of the
essential tools during the design process of both products and services.
To understand the storytelling and how it is implemented in the design process, we
need to explore its different parts and how they are put into a unified component called “a
story.” Generally, every story has the following elements:
a. Domain (What) – This is where you define the problem or the topic that is
addressed inside the story. In the design process, it can be a consumer target such as
booking a medical appointment or refunding an online purchase order.
b. Players (Who) – The players involved in the story or the people who are included in
the story. The leading player represents the demographic information that will be
used to build the persona engaged in the design process. The principal character
here is the consumer as the one who faces the experiences. Other players may
involve into the story such as the customer support or the employees who
communicate with consumers
c. Story flow (How) – Each story consists of three main phases; beginning, middle, and
end. In each story, there is the central crisis or a problem that usually comes near the
middle stage. This is typically the problem targeted inside the design process.
➔ Problem Framing
This stage comes early in the design process. It aims to explore the problem to build an
accurate understanding of the main issue that needs to be solved. In the problem framing
stage, the storytelling can be used in this explorative initiative. It helps the design team to
engage with the user to define the problem using a qualitative data from the consumers.
➔ Solution Framing
In the solution definition and prototyping stages, the design team would number of
potential solutions that need to be tested and evaluated to understand which is the best
solution from the user perspective. In this stage, the storytelling can be used again in this
stage but with a different purpose. In this case, the team tries to understand which solution
is the most appropriate for the consumer.
➔ Solution Implementation
One of the practical features of the design thinking process is the ability to get consumer
feedback about the product or the service to improve the product in the future. Here, the
storytelling can be used to explore how the final product is used in real life and how
 consumers interact with it in their everyday life. The information collected from the
feedback sessions are usually used to improve the future versions of the product.

IV. Observation and Insights

In summary, the use of design thinking is a valuable approach to problem-solving and innovation
that prioritizes the needs of users and encourages creativity. It's a dynamic process that can be
adapted to various contexts, but it also comes with its challenges and requires a commitment to a
user-centered, iterative mindset. When applied effectively, it can lead to transformative and
user-centric solutions. Here are some observations and insights on this topic:

OBSERVATION & INSIGHTS

● Human-Centered Design thinking emphasizes a deep understanding of the

Approach end-users or customers. It starts with empathy, aiming to truly
understand their needs, wants, and pain points. This user-centric
approach often leads to more effective and meaningful solutions.

● Iterative Process Design thinking is highly iterative. It involves cycles of problem

definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing. This iterative nature
allows for continuous improvement and refinement of ideas and
solutions.

● Creativity and Design thinking encourages creativity and innovation. Promoting

Innovation brainstorming and divergent thinking helps teams come up with
novel solutions to complex problems.

● Cross-Disciplinary It often involves interdisciplinary teams, including designers,

Collaboration engineers, marketers, and end-users. This diversity of
perspectives can lead to holistic solutions that consider various
aspects of a problem.

● Bias Toward Action Design thinking promotes action over analysis paralysis. It
encourages teams to create tangible prototypes early in the
process to gather feedback and learn from real-world
interactions.

● Failure Tolerance Failure is seen as a part of the process of design thinking. It's
viewed as an opportunity to learn and improve. This mindset
shift can be liberating and lead to more innovative outcomes.

● Adaptability Design thinking can be applied to a wide range of problems and

industries. Its adaptable nature means it's not limited to design
fields; it can be used in healthcare, education, finance, and more.
 ● Long-Term Value While design thinking can be time-consuming, the investment
often pays off in the form of solutions that are more likely to
resonate with users and have a lasting impact.

● Ethical Design thinking also requires considering ethical implications. As

Considerations solutions are developed with empathy, it's important to ensure
they do not inadvertently harm or disadvantage any user groups.

● Challenges Design thinking isn't a panacea. It can be challenging to

implement in organizations with rigid structures and cultures. It
also requires time and resources, which can be a barrier for
some.

● Continuous Practitioners of design thinking often need to continually learn

Learning and adapt as new tools, methods, and technologies emerge in the
field.

Source: Brown, T. (2008). Design Thinking (2008th ed.). Harvard Business Review.

V. Interview

In an interview setting, the ability to identify and emphasize with customers' needs is paramount.
It's about more than just addressing their existing concerns; it's a proactive approach to
understanding their desired points deeply. By doing so, interviewees can demonstrate their capacity
to form fresh ideas that cater to those needs, fostering innovation and creativity. This process goes
beyond problem-solving; it's about discovering new opportunities and unmet demands, enabling
companies to stay ahead of the curve.

Design thinking is a valuable tool for gathering data, it involves not only asking questions but also
actively listening and empathizing with customers to extract meaningful insights. Moreover, owners
who interview their customers immediately after a purchase gain a unique advantage. This
approach allows for real-time feedback, giving businesses the chance to adapt and refine their
offerings promptly. Such customer-centric strategies are integral to not only meeting expectations
but also exceeding them, ultimately leading to stronger customer loyalty and business success.

Interview Techniques
● Make the interviewee relaxed
● The interview should be on time and heading in the right direction
● Concentrate on the customer and not on documentation
● Ask open ended questions
● Listen, refrain from talking
 ● Encourage but not influence follow one's feelings and drill down
● Repeat to confirm
● Thank the customer at the end of the process

Effective Interview Questions

● Open-ended Questions
○ Open-ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or
‘no’, and instead require the respondent to elaborate on their points.
○ Open-ended questions help you see things from a customer’s perspective as you get
feedback in their own words instead of stock answers.
○ Examples
■ What were the main reasons you chose our product/service?
■ How did you feel about our customer service?
■ What would make you use our product/service again?
■ What is the most important feature of our product/service for you?
■ How would you describe your experience with us?
● Closed-ended Questions
○ Closed-ended questions are questions that can only be answered by selecting from a
limited number of options, usually multiple-choice questions with a single-word
answer , ‘yes’ or ‘no’, or a rating scale (e.g. from strongly agree to strongly disagree).
○ Closed-ended questions give limited insight, but can easily be analyzed for
quantitative data.
○ Examples
■ Would you recommend our product/service?
■ Did you experience good customer service?
■ Would you consider using our product/service again?
■ Are you interested in buying product/service today?
■ Are you happy with your experience with us?
■ Did you find what you were looking for today?

Types of Open-Ended Questions

● Explorative
○ open up new avenues and insights
○ Ex: How do you find...?
● Affective
○ invite members to share feelings about an issue
○ Ex: How is your impression of...?
● Reflective
○ encourage more exploration and elaboration
○ Ex: What in your opinion causes...?
● Probing
○ invite the person or group to go more deeply into a particular issue
○ Ex: Can you explain how..?
 ● Analytical
○ examine causes and not just symptoms
○ Ex: What are the reasons for...?
● Clarifying
○ help free us from ambiguity
○ Ex: So, that means..

VI. Experiments
What is an Experiment?
It is basically a systematic and controlled procedure conducted to investigate and
understand a specific phenomenon, hypothesis, or question. This may involve the
manipulation of one or more variables while keeping others constant to observe the
resulting effects.
Types of Experiment:
● Natural Experiments: These are sometimes referred to as quasi-experiments. The
process involves making predictions or forming hypotheses and then collecting data
by observing a system.
● Controlled Experiments: They are often conducted in laboratory settings, but can
also be carried out outside of a formal lab environment. In a controlled experiment,
researchers compare an experimental group with a control group.
● Field Experiments: They can encompass both natural and controlled experiment
types.

Role of experiment in Design Thinking

In the midst of design thinking, experimentation comes into play as the team creates
educated hypotheses and tests which concepts best meet the parameters established.
Experiments are any data collection method that can prove or disprove a hypothesis. By
stimulating the conditions within the intended context, it becomes possible to either
confirm or refute the hypothesis, resulting in the generation of fresh insights regarding the
issue at hand. The experiment's parameters are designed to mimic real-world
circumstances, as informed by the principles of design thinking, thereby enhancing the
credibility of the experiment's outcomes.

Qualities of an Experiment
Experimentation is not merely testing of hypotheses, it must have certain qualities in order
for it to be valid, such qualities includes:
● ​Falsifiable: It must be structured in a way that allows for the possibility of both
confirming and refuting the hypothesis or research question. In other words, it should be
capable of producing results that can be tested and potentially proven wrong.
 ● Practical: It is acceptable to compromise on rigor for the sake of expediency or
practicality when necessary. Certain degree of interpretation and reliance on intuition is
permissible.
● Biased towards Action: Must evaluate and gauge the inclination to invest a form of
currency, such as money, time, engagement, or attention, in the utilization of the
product or service.

VII. Art and Science Applied to Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship as an art

● Art can be defined as the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the
production of aesthetic products. (Morin,2011)
● Entrepreneurship can be considered as an because it involves techniques like
apprenticeships and experience.
● Entrepreneurs are quite imaginative and possess the art of creating and visualizing that
others are unable to.
● An artist’s imagination is the limitation as to what he can create. The same goes with
entrepreneurs who work to make their dreams and vision a reality and innovators when it
comes to creating new ideas

Similarities between an entrepreneur and an artist

1. Intuition

● Both entrepreneurs and artists have a strong sense of intuition. One’s ability
to follow his gut instinct as an artist or an entrepreneur is vital to the
creation process and finding your target consumer. For instance, Steve Jobs
followed his guts and created the iPhone w/c is an idea that is hard to come
by during his time.

2. Thinking Outside the Box

● Artists tend to copy whatever the trend or what is hot in the eyes of the
consumer, but the best artists and entrepreneurs are those who don’t copy.
Entrepreneurs who think outside the box avoid copying the ideas of others,
but they are rather interested in creating something new or improving
something that has already been done.

3. Purpose

● The goal of an artist is to entice a viewer or customer into liking and

eventually purchasing his masterpiece. The same goes with an entrepreneur
who wants to create something compelling which will cause the customer to
make a decision of purchasing or availing one’s product.
 Entrepreneurship as science

● Entrepreneurs can utilize science and analytics processes for a smarter decision
ability in business operations
● Through information systems, companies can have a more objective point of view
which can help them in making tough decisions especially those which will affect the
finance of the company.
● Entrepreneurship through analytics can also come in handy when it comes to
decision making. With the calculations, logic, and science in every decision, risk can
be reduced, and a lot of resources can be saved.

Application of Scientific Method to Entrepreneurship (Entrepreneur.com, 2014)

● The scientific method can be defined as a process of experimentation that is used to explore
observations and answer questions. This method is not only applicable to science but to
entrepreneurship as well. Through this method, entrepreneurs may be able to know who
their customers are. what their customers want. and how to give what they want so that the
enterprise has a higher chance of achieving success.
1. Ask a question - an entrepreneur must ask a question first before looking for answers,
Scientists usually question observable phenomena or natural curiosity. For entrepreneurs,
this step includes the exploration of possibilities for product development and marketing. If
an entrepreneur's goal is to create a product, he should take note of what exactly the
customers need. The main aspect of an enterprise should be solving the problems of its
target consumers. On the marketing side, entrepreneurs should ask why their customers
would be interested in buying the product.
2. Research your subject - after knowing the important questions to your business, an
entrepreneur must find relevant data on the question being asked. Scientists usually gather
past research from other scientists during this step and use this as a foundation that they
can build on. For entrepreneurs, they should engage in collecting data regarding their
potential customers and their competitors.
3. Create a hypothesis - a hypothesis is an educated guess or prediction on the relationship
between two variables. It is a testable statement, something that can be supported or
falsified through experimentation (Trefry, n.d.). Scientists create hypotheses in order to
summarize what they expect to find after experimenting. For entrepreneurs, this pertains to
the creation of a business plan which contains the assumptions made by the entrepreneur.
4. Experiment to test your hypothesis - testing the hypothesis is an important part of the
process in order to achieve an accurate and functional model for the business. It is not
enough to simply establish an idea; the idea has to be put to a series of tests to know
whether the idea is viable or not. For instance, an enterprise hypothesizes that "women
between 18-30 years old will prefer a shampoo with a special ingredient". This hypothesis
 could be tested through surveys, or if found feasible. development of the idea and present it
to beta testers
5. Review your data and form a conclusion - based on the data gathered through
experimentation, an entrepreneur can now have a concrete and objective conclusion.
Measuring qualitative data is a bit tricky hence it is advised to use a scale in order to
transform qualitative data into quantitative data.
6. Publish your results and invite others to expand - when scientists have a finding, they
publish it immediately and let other scientists scrutinize or criticize their work so that it
may be further improved. The case is different however for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs
do not necessarily publish their findings, but they launch their idea instead and take
feedback from their customers and use it to make their product better. The launch of the
idea is not the end of the process as constant revision will be a key to refining the idea.
VIII. References

8 must know question types for Effective Leaders. (2022, April 7). George Vrakas.

https://georgevrakas.com/2014/10/21/8-must-know-questions-types-for-effective-leaders/

Brown, T. (2008). Design Thinking. Harvard Business Review.

https://readings.design/PDF/Tim%20Brown,%20Design%20Thinking.pdf

Elmansy, Rafiq. “The Role of Storytelling in the Design Process.” Designorate, 24 Sept. 2018,

www.designorate.com/the-role-of-storytelling-in-the-design-process/.

Open-Ended Questions [vs Close-Ended] + 7 Examples. (2023, July 10).

https://www.hotjar.com/blog/open-ended-questions/

“What is Design Thinking? | IxDF.” The Interaction Design Foundation,

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking. ‌

Rosario, K. (2021). Art and Science Applied to Entrepreneurship. Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng

Maynila. Retrieved from

https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/pamantasan-ng-lungsod-ng-maynila/the-entrepreneuria

l-mind/lesson-37-art-and-science-applied-to-entrepreneurship/31262055

Mindhatch, C. B. (2018, May 21). Design Thinking: the scientific method for innovation.
Medium.
https://coonoor.medium.com/design-thinking-the-scientific-method-for-innovation-f5912
e721063
Design Thinking To Go: Experiments. (n.d.).
https://web.stanford.edu/group/instr_design/cgi-bin/LEAD_TIP/dt_to_go/experim
ents/index.html
Helmenstine, A. M., PhD. (2020). What is an experiment? definition and design. ThoughtCo.
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-an-experiment-607970
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