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The “How Might We?” Approach – The Art of Asking Questions in The Design Process



Every group task brings a lot of challenges that have to be overcome. While some of these challenges are easy, some might require brainstorming. “How Might we” is a design thinking activity that helps the group members identify the problem and find relevant solutions. Many groups resort to this approach and claim it to be the best.


The more you dig into a problem, the more solutions you obtain in entrepreneurship. The “how might we” approach is very ideal for getting some fresh and innovative ideas. Framing the right kind of questions is extremely important here. This exercise proves fruitful when you cannot find the correct answers to your questions. A survey has verified that this technique has enabled many companies to get new and unique ideas.


Steps to Build The Right Kind of Questions

While following this approach is essential to frame the right kind of questions to get the right solutions. Here are a few easy steps that might help you:

● The first step is to understand your issue. Identify the hurdle that is causing difficulties. Once that is understood, try to drive the insights of the problem.

● Frame these insights or your point of view as questions. Begin each of them with “How might we?”

● Narrow your questions down and find relevant solutions for your problem.


Tips To Follow While Framing The Questions

Set your goals

Your primary goal should be to derive influential ideas and identify the problems that require a solution. Another primary goal is to boost brainstorming.


Strict to specificity

The questions you frame should neither be too broad nor too narrow. Always try to maintain a balance. Comprehensive questions can be very complex to solve, and they kill the potential for finding the correct answers. On the other hand, narrow questions might not give you any goal-oriented solutions.


Participants’ involvement-

Any group work with more than ten people can resort to this method. An increased number of people can open gateways to multiple solutions and fresh ideas.


Get your tools

The only things you need for the “how might we” exercise are some post-its, pens, and highlighted insights from your research.

Following these pro tips will help you in your subject work and acquire desired results.


Importance of “How Might We”

The main essence of the “how might we” approach for product design is to explore a wide range of ideas and solutions to a complication while maintaining a level of vagueness and ambiguity. This exercise is instrumental in opening up the horizons of possibilities to a particular problem. Furthermore, it helps you in generating solutions for not just design thinking but also collaboration and creativity.


The entire purpose of this activity also lies in suggesting adequate measures to a research problem. Its work is not just confined to giving hypothetical solutions. This approach also opens doors to unlimited possibilities and potential. It does not aim at settling for the first solution that comes to your mind. Another great thing about this approach is that it aims at collaborative efforts. It urges the individuals to work together as a team and arrive at a common consensus for problem-solving reasons.


At all those ideation sessions of entrepreneurship where you want to discover game-changing ideas, you can take the help of this method that will surely give you some thought-provoking and pragmatic elucidations. Moreover, this technique is devised so that it encourages group efforts to explore probable solutions to any product design complications.


Examples of “How Might We” Questions

Here are some examples of well-framed How Might We questions

● “How might we design a mobile app that helps young adults in finding employment opportunities?”

● “How might we design a product that limits the use of plastic in industries?”

● “How might we design a product that keeps a check on the amount of physical activity done by an individual in a day?”


All these questions can be brainstormed, and they can easily be solved with the help of this method. Apart from these, there can be great questions that can be formed for driving possible solutions.



Collab Therapy- A One-Stop Destination for All Your Ideas

Collab Therapy is a design space that helps new creative businesses to execute their ideas in the most practical possible manner. We assist them in product design and problem-solving measures. Our facilities and endeavors allow creativepreneuers / designers to execute their ideas under proper guidance. If you have any new design ideas in mind, then come to us. We will help you from sketching your ideas to building a prototype and a complete working model. Collab therapy is best known for assisting start-ups who are entirely new to business by improvising their working methods and suggesting better strategies. Small or big, new or old, just bring it to us if you have an idea. We will help your vision come alive.


Your design, effort, and idea integrated with our studio space, network and equipment can give birth to the next big thing; you never know. So without thinking twice, contact us today and watch your vision grow into a product.

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