Slava Shestopalov’s article, “The Anatomy of Design Thinking Workshops,” published on Medium’s Design Bridges, deconstructs the structure of UX and design thinking workshops by identifying their fundamental components. Shestopalov posits that despite the variety of workshop formats—such as empathy mapping, customer journey mapping, and design sprints—they all consist of a set of foundational activities. By understanding these core activities, facilitators can design effective workshops tailored to their specific objectives.
The article outlines four primary activities:
- Post-up: Participants write individual ideas on sticky notes to surface diverse perspectives.
- Affinity Sorting: Grouping related ideas to identify common themes and reduce redundancy.
- Landscape Mapping: Organizing ideas within a structured framework (e.g., value vs. feasibility matrix) to establish priorities and relationships.
- Storyboarding: Visualizing scenarios through sketches to concretize abstract concepts.
By mastering these activities, facilitators can adapt and combine them to suit various workshop goals, fostering collaboration and innovation.
