1. A S S I G N M E N T : E M P A T H I Z E A N D D E F I N E
DESIGN THINKING ACTION LAB
Submitted by:
Aniket Vaidya
Team NMark
Hyderabad, India

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT
A hard working, smart, talented person who has
just joined his MBA after having a work
experience of 2 years, needs a way to find out the
exact reason behind the transition from school to
work because he wishes to focus on the things which
act as value addition in his professional life
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3. 3
STEP 1: CREATING PROTOTYPES

4. IDEA 1: FOR PROTOTYPE
USE OF PERCEPTUAL MAP
Consider the following parameters and plot them on the
perceptual map (shown in the next slide):
A. Job prospects
B. Hike in salary
C. Opportunity for promotion
D. Interesting work
E. Respect and recognition
F. Make educational profile strong
G. Value addition
H. Interest in the subject of Management
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5. THE TOOL USED IN THE PROTOTYPE:
PERCEPTUAL MAP
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Need
HIGH
IMPORTANCE
HIGH
LOW
LOW
DIAGRAM: PERCEPTUAL MAP
THE MOST
IMPORTANT
REASON FOR
TRANSITION

6. WORKING OF THE PROTOTYPE
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The perceptual map is a tool which is used as a prototype for the first
idea. By using this tool, a person can:
Reason Benefits of perceptual map
Check reality To see how the person actually perceives the
various components
Look for the gaps To assist the person where his perception of a
particular thing lies with respect to the graph
Track preferences To track own preferences and priorities

7. TESTING THE PROTOTYPE
Who?
A hard working, smart, talented person who has just
joined his MBA after having a work experience of 2 years
Process:
The participant who has been interviewed, was given a
copy of the prototype and was given a chance of
explanation of what he understands from the prototype
Then he was given with the demo of its working and was
explained the benefits associated with this prototype
He mapped his priorities and preferences on the
perceptual map and introspected
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8. OBSERVATIONS
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What worked?
- He got excited to see such
prototype
- He immediately started
working on introspection
What could be improved?
- Aspect of how to decide
priorities
Questions
How effective this prototype
be to solve the intended
problem?
Ideas
Separate educational and
professional priorities
Observations

9. IDEA 2: FOR PROTOTYPE
ROLE PLAY
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Creating a scenario, where a participant (given a chance) is
asked to join any one of the communities.
Rules:
• There are different communities formed with the people
motivated by different objectives.
• The objectives of these communities include Job prospects,
Hike in salary, Opportunity for promotion, Interesting work,
Respect and recognition, Make educational profile strong,
Value addition, Interest in the subject of Management.
• The respondent is asked to join any one of these communities
without knowing the people in it.

10. WORKING & TESTING OF THE
PROTOTYPE
Who?
A hard working, smart, talented person who has just
joined his MBA after having a work experience of 2 years
Process:
Like-minded and people with prior work experience and
who have joined MBA program, are asked to form groups
according to their objectives
The participant will not be informed about the names of
the people who have already enrolled in the community
This will give direct preference of the participant towards
the primary reason of joining the MBA program
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11. OBSERVATIONS
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What worked?
- He got excited to see such
prototype
- He felt proud that he was
invited to join the community
What could be improved?
- Time given to the participant
to think on his decision
Questions
How effective this prototype
be to solve the intended
problem?
Ideas
More communities can be
formed
Observations

12. REFLECTION
• Since the idea of the prototype was totally different,
and was welcomed by the stakeholder I would stick
to these ideas incorporating the suggestions given
by him
• Both the prototypes are to be tested in the same
order as mentioned
• If both the prototypes have got only a single answer
leading to the reason of joining MBA, that is the
answer of the problem statement. If not, again we
have to design a prototype to decide one reason
among the two
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13. 13
THANK YOU!!