SAP C_THINK1_02 - SAP Certified Associate - Design Thinking

Defining a design challenge is a critical step in the Design Thinking process. It ensures that the problem space is well-understood, actionable, and aligned with the goals of the project.

Option A: The design challenge needs to be aligned and defined together with the client.This is correct. Collaboration with the client ensures that the design challenge reflects their priorities and objectives. This alignment is essential for delivering meaningful outcomes.

Option B: The design challenge should have the right balance between open and close phrasing.This is correct. A well-phrased design challenge is neither too broad nor too narrow. It should provide enough direction to guide the team while leaving room for creative exploration.

Option C: After completing the scoping phase, the design challenge cannot be rephrased anymore.This is incorrect. The design challenge can and often should be refined as new insights emerge during the project. Flexibility is a key principle of Design Thinking.

Option D: The design challenge sets the scope for a Design Thinking project.This is correct. The design challenge defines the boundaries of the project, ensuring that efforts are focused on addressing the most relevant aspects of the problem.

Option E: The design challenge has to refer to a concrete persona in the context of the problem space.This is incorrect. While personas are important in Design Thinking, the design challenge itself does not need to explicitly reference a specific persona. It focuses on the broader problem space.

Design Thinking requires specific core components to effectively tackle problems in a human-centered and innovative way. Here’s why the correct answers are A, D, and E:

Environment and materials (A):A conducive environment with the right materials (e.g., whiteboards, sticky notes, markers) is essential for fostering creativity and collaboration. SAP emphasizes the importance of creating a space that supports active participation and idea generation.

Highly iterative process (D):Design Thinking is inherently iterative, involving cycles of divergence and convergence to refine solutions. SAP highlights that iteration allows teams to test assumptions, gather feedback, and improve outcomes continuously.

Multidisciplinary team of people (E):A diverse team with varied expertise and perspectives ensures comprehensive problem-solving. SAP stresses the value of multidisciplinary collaboration to generate innovative ideas and address complex challenges.

Incorrect Options:

B. Top management support:While top management support can be beneficial, it is not a core component of the Design Thinking process itself.

C. Creativity:Creativity is an outcome of the process, not a standalone component. The environment, iterative process, and team composition foster creativity.

The Design Thinking process follows a structured sequence of phases to ensure a systematic approach to problem-solving. Here’s why the correct answer is D:

Why this is incorrect:While scoping, research, and synthesis are important phases, their sequence is incorrect. Synthesis typically follows research, not scoping, as it involves analyzing and organizing insights to define the problem.

The Design Thinking process consists of several phases, each with a distinct focus. Creating choices refers to generating multiple potential solutions to a problem, which occurs during thePrototypingphase.

Option A: ScopingScoping involves defining the problem space and setting boundaries for the challenge. It does not focus on creating choices but rather on framing the problem.

Option B: ResearchResearch, particularly in the Empathy phase, focuses on understanding users and their needs. While insights from research inform idea generation, the creation of choices happens later.

Option C: Prototyping.This is the correct answer. During the Prototyping phase, teams generate multiple ideas and create tangible representations of potential solutions. This phase is about exploring different possibilities and iterating based on feedback.

Option D: SynthesisSynthesis involves analyzing data and identifying patterns to generate insights. While it informs the direction of solutions, the act of creating choices occurs during Prototyping.

In the synthesis phase, it is common for team members to question how the current exercise relates to previous activities. As a coach, your role is to guide the team and ensure they understand the interconnectedness of the Design Thinking process. Here’s why the correct answer is A:

Try to identify a common thread to explain the connections to all other exercises (A):The synthesis phase builds on insights gathered during earlier phases, such as empathy and research. By identifying a common thread—such as user needs, pain points, or patterns—you can demonstrate how synthesis integrates and refines these insights into actionable opportunities. SAP emphasizes the iterative and holistic nature of Design Thinking, where each phase informs and enhances the next.

Incorrect Options:

B. Explain that Design Thinking is not an a + b = c approach:While Design Thinking is non-linear, simply stating this does not address the team’s concerns about the relevance of synthesis. Providing clarity through a common thread is more effective.

C. Explain that in this case an iteration of the research phase is necessary:Repeating the research phase is unnecessary if the team has already gathered sufficient data. Synthesis is about making sense of existing information, not restarting the process.

D. Adapt the agenda and skip the synthesis exercise:Skipping synthesis undermines the Design Thinking process. Synthesis is critical for transforming raw data into meaningful insights and should not be omitted.

The empathy map is a powerful tool in SAP Design Thinking for capturing and organizing insights about users. It helps teams develop a holistic understanding of the user’s experience. Here’s why the correct answers are C, D, and E:

To understand the user's fears, obstacles, and frustrations (C):Empathy maps include sections for emotions and challenges, helping teams identify pain points and barriers that users face. SAP emphasizes addressing these issues to create meaningful solutions.

To understand what the user sees, hears, says and does (D):These categories form the core of the empathy map, capturing the user’s external environment and behaviors. SAP highlights the importance of observing and documenting these aspects to gain a comprehensive view of the user’s context.

To understand the user's needs and measures of success (E):Empathy maps also explore what users need and how they define success. SAP stresses aligning solutions with these insights to ensure relevance and value.

Incorrect Options:

A. To understand the attributes of the user's character:While character traits may emerge during empathy research, the empathy map focuses on observable behaviors and experiences rather than personality attributes.

B. To understand the user's ideas to solve the problem:The empathy map is not intended to capture the user’s proposed solutions but rather their experiences and needs. Solution generation occurs during ideation.

Visualizing solution concepts during an initial Design Thinking workshop is essential for communicating ideas effectively. Here’s why the correct answers are C and D:

Why this is incorrect:High-fidelity prototyping involves creating detailed, functional prototypes, which are typically developed later in the process. During an initial workshop, low-fidelity tools like sketches, collages, and storyboards are more appropriate for quickly visualizing ideas.

The "Design a Chair" mini-exercise is a classic activity used in SAP Design Thinking workshops to illustrate how the framing of a problem or challenge can significantly impact the solutions generated. Here’s why the correct answers are A and B:

The phrasing of the design challenge influences the results (A):The way a design challenge is framed shapes the direction and creativity of the solutions. For example, asking participants to "design a chair" versus "design a way for people to sit comfortably" will yield vastly different outcomes. SAP emphasizes that clear and thoughtful phrasing of challenges ensures alignment with user needs and encourages innovative thinking.

Need and demand are key when phrasing a design challenge (B):Understanding the needs and demands of users is central to SAP Design Thinking. A well-phrased challenge should reflect real user problems and opportunities. By focusing on need and demand, teams can create meaningful and impactful solutions. SAP highlights the importance of grounding challenges in empathy research to ensure relevance and value.

Incorrect Options:

C. Feasibility is the key when phrasing a design challenge:While feasibility is important, it is not the primary focus during the initial framing of a designchallenge. SAP prioritizes understanding user needs and exploring possibilities before considering constraints like feasibility.

D. Design is key when phrasing a design challenge:Design is an outcome of the process, not the focus of the challenge itself. SAP stresses that the challenge should center on the problem, not the solution.

In SAP Design Thinking methodology, prototypes play a crucial role in the iterative process of problem-solving and innovation. Here's a detailed explanation of why we create prototypes:

A. To make the design solution tangible.

Prototypes are physical or digital representations of ideas that allow abstract concepts to be transformed into something concrete. This tangibility is essential because it helps stakeholders visualize and understand the proposed solution better than verbal or written descriptions alone.

SAP Design Thinking Reference:According to SAP’s Design Thinking framework, prototyping is an integral part of the "Iterate" phase, where ideas are brought to life through low-fidelity or high-fidelity prototypes. These prototypes help in making ideas more concrete and understandable.

Why Tangibility Matters:When solutions are tangible, they can be more easily evaluated, discussed, and refined. It bridges the gap between conceptual thinking and practical implementation.

D. To get instant feedback and fail early

One of the core principles of Design Thinking is to test ideas quickly and often. Prototypes enable rapid testing and iteration, allowing teams to gather feedback from users and stakeholders early in the process. This approach supports the "fail fast, learn fast" mentality, which is crucial for innovation.

SAP Design Thinking Reference:In SAP’s methodology, the "Test" phase involves using prototypes to gather user feedback. The goal is to identify flaws or areas for improvement before significant resources are invested in full-scale development.

Benefits of Early Feedback:By creating prototypes early and frequently, teams can uncover potential issues, validate assumptions, and refine their solutions based on real-world feedback. This reduces the risk of costly mistakes later in the development process.

Why Not B and C?

B. To leverage the creativity of the participants:While creativity is certainly a component of Design Thinking, the primary purpose of prototyping is not to leverage creativity but to make ideas tangible and testable. Creativity is more emphasized during the ideation phase.

C. To create good team spirit:Although teamwork and collaboration are important throughout the Design Thinking process, prototyping is not specifically aimed at boosting team spirit. Its main objectives are tangibility and feedback.

Conclusion:

Prototypes are created primarily to make design solutions tangible (A) and to facilitate early feedback and failure (D). These objectives align closely with the iterative and user-centered nature of SAP’s Design Thinking methodology.