Cross Post: Five Lessons Learned from Applying Design Thinking to Data Use

Human centered design isn’t a new concept – design thinking tools like ranking exercises, journey maps, and personas continue to help users identify and find innovative ways to address critical barriers to data use. If you’re thinking about integrating design thinking approaches into data-centered projects, take these five key considerations into account before you begin:

1. Design thinking is a mindset, not a workshop agenda
2. Engage the right people – you need a diverse range of perspectives and experiences to uncover problems and co-create solutions.
3. Plan for the long haul.
4. Focus on identifying and understanding the problem you’ll be solving
5. The journey matters as much as the destination

View the original post by Excella’s Data Visualization Specialty Lead Amanda Makulec on ICTworks for more on applying design thinking to data visualization.

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