Apply design thinking and ideation techniques to generate and select innovative solutions to a defined problem.

What this dot point is asking

You need to show you can use a recognised innovation process to move from a defined customer problem to a chosen solution, and justify why you selected it.

The five stages of design thinking

Design thinking keeps the customer at the centre rather than the product.

1. Empathise - understand the customer deeply through interviews, observation and immersion. The aim is to feel the problem as the customer feels it.
2. Define - synthesise what you learned into a clear problem statement, often a "How might we..." question (for example, "How might we help time-poor students eat a healthy breakfast?").
3. Ideate - generate many possible solutions without judging them yet.
4. Prototype - build quick, cheap representations of the best ideas.
5. Test - put prototypes in front of real customers and learn from their reactions.

It is iterative, not a straight line. Testing often sends you back to redefine the problem or generate fresh ideas.

Defining the problem well

A sharp problem statement focuses ideation. A weak one ("make a good app") produces weak ideas. A strong one names the user, their need and the insight: "Year 12 students need a fast, cheap breakfast because canteen queues make them skip it." The "How might we" format then opens this up for solutions without locking in any one answer.

Ideation techniques

• Brainstorming - rapid, judgment-free idea generation, building on others' ideas. Defer evaluation.
• SCAMPER - prompts to transform an existing idea: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse.
• Mind mapping - branching from the central problem to explore related ideas.
• Worst possible idea - deliberately generating bad ideas to free up thinking and reveal what good looks like.
• Crazy eights - sketching eight ideas in eight minutes to force volume.

Selecting the best idea

Once you have many ideas, choose using explicit criteria, such as:

• Desirability - do customers actually want it?
• Feasibility - can you realistically build and deliver it?
• Viability - can it make money?

A simple scoring matrix (rate each idea 1 to 5 against each criterion) makes the decision transparent and defensible - useful evidence for your assessment.

Linking forward

Your selected solution becomes the basis for the value proposition and Business Model Canvas. Keep your "How might we" statement, idea list and selection matrix - they evidence your innovation process in both the school assessment and the external Business Plan.