Te Hoahoa Otinga: Designing Solutions

You need: a problem statement from your user · sticky notes · a partner

1. Write the problem on the top sticky note, e.g. 'The club's bibs go missing.'
2. Ask 'why?' and write the answer on the next note underneath.
3. Repeat until you have asked 'why?' five times, or you reach something you could change.
4. Circle the root cause. Cross out any 'solutions' that only fix a symptom.
5. Check with your user: does this root cause sound right to them?

How you'll know: Your root cause is something you can design for, and your user agrees it is the real issue.

Go further: Try the council park challenge: the park is empty and the council wants a new playground. List four ways to find out if a playground is really the problem.

You need: interview question card · notebook or recording device (with permission) · an adult present for off-site interviews

1. Ask permission to take notes, and explain you are learning about the problem, not selling anything.
2. Start with 'Tell me about the last time…'. Let silences sit; people often add the useful bit after a pause.
3. Ask 'why?' at least twice, and 'Can you show me?' once.
4. Write down exact words and anything you see them do that they didn't mention.
5. Write three needs starting 'needs to…'.

How you'll know: Each need describes the problem, not a product. 'Needs to open jars without twisting hard' is a need; 'needs an electric jar opener' is a solution.

Go further: Watch your user do the task for five minutes without talking, and list three things they didn't say out loud.

You need: timer · role cards · paper and pencils

1. In threes, give each person a role card: Decider, Devil's Advocate, Doer.
2. Brainstorm for three minutes: design a new school uniform using only three colours.
3. The Devil's Advocate respectfully points out what could go wrong with each idea.
4. The Decider must choose the colours by minute four.
5. The Doer finishes a labelled sketch by minute ten. Swap roles and try again with a real design decision.

How you'll know: Your team made a decision on time, and everyone can say how their role helped.

Go further: Talk about it: in Aotearoa teams often aim for everyone to agree. When is agreement worth waiting for, and when is a quick decision better?

You need: A4 paper folded into eight · pencil · timer

1. Fold the page into eight boxes.
2. Set a timer for eight minutes: one idea per box, one minute each.
3. Make each idea different: something to wear, something to hold, something on a wall, something digital.
4. Star the two ideas your user is most likely to use every day.

How you'll know: You have eight genuinely different ideas, not eight versions of the same one.

Go further: Combine the best parts of two ideas into a ninth.

You need: strips of card, corrugated card, plastic from packaging and paper, all the same size · two desks · coins or washers as weights · ruler

1. Cut each material to the same size strip, e.g. 30 cm by 5 cm.
2. Bridge each strip across a 20 cm gap between two desks.
3. Add weights one at a time until the strip sags 2 cm.
4. Record the number of weights for each material in a table.
5. Fold or roll your weakest material and test again.

How you'll know: A fair test keeps the strip size and gap the same, so only the material changes.

Safety: Keep feet clear when weights fall; use scissors, not craft knives, for thin card.

Go further: Work out which material gives the most strength for the least weight.

You need: your prototype · test plan · clipboard · camera for hands and prototype only

1. Tell your user the task, e.g. 'Hang your bag and get your lunch out.'
2. Hand over the prototype and say nothing. No explaining, no helping.
3. Record every hesitation, workaround and comment.
4. Afterwards ask: 'What was the hardest part?' and 'What would you change?'
5. Sort notes into worked / didn't work / surprised us.

How you'll know: You have notes of what your user did, not just what they said, and one clear change to make.

Safety: Check the prototype for sharp edges, loose staples and hot-glue strings before a young child or older person uses it.

Go further: Run the same test with a second user and see if the same problem shows up.

You need: clean recycled materials (tubes, boxes, fabric, lids) · low-temperature glue gun with adult · masking tape · scissors

1. List the parts your design needs and what each part must do.
2. Hunt the recycling for a material that does each job.
3. Build version two using only recycled materials plus joiners.
4. Test it against your 'needs to…' statements.

How you'll know: It still meets the need, and you can say what each recycled material replaced.

Safety: Glue guns only at the supervised station; rinse and check recycled containers for sharp edges.

Go further: Weigh the materials you used and estimate how much would have gone to landfill.

You need: design story · trade-off table template

1. List the main decisions you made (material, size, shape, how it attaches).
2. For each, write what you gained and what you gave up.
3. Mark which constraint (size, time, cost, safety, sustainability) forced the choice.
4. Ask your user if the trade-off was the right one for them.

How you'll know: Every trade-off has a reason linked to a constraint or to test evidence.

Go further: Suggest one trade-off you would make differently with more time or money.