Manuals / Design Thinking / Ch 2

A · UnderstandBeginner40 min read

2. Empathize: talk to humans

Design Thinking · 36 pages source format

Interviews, observation, and journey sketches. Seek stories and workarounds — not feature requests as gospel.

What you'll learn

  • Interview prompts
  • Observation
  • Empathy maps

Interview guide

Open with recent stories. Dig into last time they struggled. Avoid leading “would you use X?”

Do this now

Run 3 interviews (15–20 min). Capture quotes verbatim.

Pro tip. Ask “show me how you do it today” when possible.

Clear?

Empathy map

Says / Thinks / Does / Feels — one map per primary user.

Do this now

Build one empathy map from your interviews.

Clear?

Checklist