Understanding Pre-Experience and Learning in Action
Pre-experience
In Design Thinking, pre-experience refers to the idea of helping people imagine and visualize a new product, service, or experience before it is fully developed. This allows them to assess its potential value more accurately. Let’s break it down with an example:
- Neuroscience Insight: Research shows that when people are able to vividly imagine something new, they can better judge whether it will be useful or not. For instance, if you were designing a new smartphone app, showing potential users a sketch or a video of how it might work can help them decide if they would use it, even before it’s built.
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Creating Artifacts: Pre-experience doesn’t require building a fully functioning prototype. Instead, designers create simple, low-cost representations of the idea (like sketches, stories, charts, or even videos). These
don’t have to be perfect but should capture the main features of the idea.
Example: If you’re working on a new type of fitness tracker, you might create a rough sketch showing its basic design and features, instead of a working product. This gives people a sense of the product without spending too much time or money on development. -
Flexibility and Learning: These basic prototypes or artifacts can be easily changed. Since they’re not fully developed, feedback from users can quickly help identify what works, what needs changing, or what’s missing.
Example: If users of your fitness tracker sketch suggest that it would be better if the device could also monitor sleep patterns, you can adjust your design accordingly before you build the final version. - Invitation to Feedback: Incomplete prototypes invite users to give input on what features they would like to see. This early feedback helps you refine the idea before committing resources to a final product.
Learning in Action
Learning in Action is about testing ideas in the real world to see how well they work. It helps innovators understand what changes are needed to make ideas better.
- Real-World Testing: The best way to figure out if an idea works is to test it with real users. For example, after designing your fitness tracker, you would give it to actual users to see how well it performs and what improvements are needed.
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Ego and Attachment: Innovators can sometimes become too attached to their own ideas, making them defensive when receiving feedback. Learning in action helps them step back and separate their personal feelings from
their ideas, so they can listen to criticism openly and use it to improve their work.
Example: Let’s say the testers of your fitness tracker don’t like the design. Instead of getting upset, you use their feedback to understand why they don’t like it and make improvements. -
Making Decisions: Once feedback is received, learning in action helps innovators decide whether to move forward with their idea, make changes (iterate), or even abandon it if it’s not working.
Example: After receiving feedback, you may decide to change the interface of the fitness tracker, or you may even decide to scrap the idea if users find it too complicated. -
Reducing Fear of Change: When employees or customers see that an idea is being tested and adjusted based on their input, they feel more comfortable with the idea of change. This helps reduce resistance when the final
product is released.
Example: As your fitness tracker design evolves based on feedback, your team and potential customers become more confident in the final product, knowing it has been tested and improved based on real user experiences.
Summary Table: Pre-experience vs Learning in Action
| Aspect | Pre-experience | Learning in Action |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Helps users imagine and evaluate new ideas early. | Tests ideas in real-world conditions to gather feedback. |
| Artifacts | Simple, low-cost representations (sketches, videos). | Actual prototypes or real-world experiments. |
| Flexibility | Easy to modify and adjust based on feedback. | Adjustments are made based on user interaction and testing. |
| Feedback Involvement | Users help refine the idea by providing early input. | Users provide feedback during real-world testing, guiding changes. |
| Risk of Ego Involvement | Low, as ideas are not fully developed. | Can be high if creators are too attached to their ideas, but learning helps reduce this. |
| Impact on Change | Helps users understand the potential value early. | Helps innovators detach from their ideas, making change easier and faster. |
