How Might We Statements

Definition

How Might We (HMW) statements are a key tool used in design thinking to frame problems and challenges in a way that encourages creative and open-ended exploration. These statements take a problem or issue and reframe it as a question, starting with the phrase 'How might we...' to prompt innovative thinking and potential solutions.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. HMW statements help shift the mindset from problem-solving to opportunity-seeking, encouraging a more open and exploratory approach.
2. Effective HMW statements are broad enough to allow for a wide range of ideas and solutions, but specific enough to provide focus and direction.
3. HMW statements are often used in the early stages of the design thinking process, particularly during the empathy and ideation phases.
4. Crafting well-designed HMW statements can help teams uncover hidden assumptions, challenge existing perspectives, and discover new possibilities.
5. HMW statements should be framed in a way that avoids bias, judgment, or preconceived solutions, allowing for more creative and innovative thinking.

Review Questions

• Explain how the use of 'How Might We' statements aligns with the principles of design thinking.
  • The 'How Might We' (HMW) framing is a core aspect of design thinking, as it encourages a human-centered, exploratory approach to problem-solving. HMW statements shift the focus from identifying and fixing problems to identifying opportunities for innovation and creative solutions. This aligns with the design thinking principles of empathy, ideation, and experimentation, as the open-ended nature of HMW statements allows teams to better understand user needs, generate a wide range of ideas, and test and iterate on potential solutions.
• Describe the role of HMW statements in the problem-framing stage of the design thinking process.
  • In the design thinking process, the problem-framing stage is crucial, as it sets the stage for the rest of the work. HMW statements play a key role in this stage by helping teams reframe problems in a way that encourages creative and open-ended exploration. By starting with 'How might we...', teams can avoid narrow, prescriptive problem statements and instead focus on identifying opportunities for innovation. This allows them to better understand the root causes of issues, uncover hidden assumptions, and explore a wider range of potential solutions that address user needs more effectively.
• Evaluate how the use of HMW statements can impact the ideation and solution-generation phases of design thinking.
  • The use of HMW statements can have a significant impact on the ideation and solution-generation phases of design thinking. By framing problems as open-ended questions, HMW statements encourage teams to think more creatively and generate a wider range of ideas, rather than jumping straight to solutions. This divergent thinking allows for the exploration of unconventional or unexpected possibilities that may not have been considered with a more traditional problem-solving approach. Additionally, the collaborative nature of crafting and refining HMW statements can help teams uncover new perspectives, challenge assumptions, and develop a deeper understanding of the problem space, ultimately leading to more innovative and impactful solutions.

Related terms

Design Thinking: Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that emphasizes empathy, ideation, and experimentation to solve complex problems.

Problem Framing: The process of defining and articulating a problem or challenge in a way that sets the stage for effective problem-solving.

Ideation: The creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas, often through techniques like brainstorming.