LUMINATE Framework
Section outline
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What is the LUMINATE Framework?
The LUMINATE Framework uses solution-focused thinking to understand, explore and, ultimately, solve problems from a person-centred perspective. It is based on popular design thinking ideology and borrows processes from the world of user experience design (UXD).
Design thinking is always a collaborative process and must involve a healthy mixture of representative users. In the context of Higher Education, this means the hands-on involvement from students, lecturers and other members of staff involved in the delivery of teaching, learning and assessment as well as those conducting and supporting research activity.
A group of staff and students at a recent design thinking workshop at the University of Essex (January 2020). The Framework involves eight distinct stages represented by the letters in the word LUMINATE:
- 1: Listen - Empathise with your stakeholders by listening to their concerns. Let them talk freely about the things that currently have their attention.
- 2: Understand - Learn how your representative users think, feel and behave. Conduct follow-up interviews (or online surveys) to fill gaps in your understanding.
- 3: Meditate - Take time to think deeply about the problems and challenges that surface during stages 1 (Listen) and 2 (Understand).
- 4: Ideate - Using waves of divergent and convergent thinking, create shared potential solutions with your stakeholders. Imperfect, incomplete or temporary solutions are acceptable at this stage.
- 5: Negotiate - Agree on the proposed solution(s) with your representative users. This stage may well involve further discussion and debate before you reach a final agreement. Then, take forward 3 to 5 "design challenges" to the next stage.
- 6: Apply - Bring the chosen actions into operation and manage the related activities. This stage, and the two that follow it, are critical because it moves you from "design thinking" to "design doing".
- 7: Test - Periodically test the actions to make sure each is fit for purpose, returning to your stakeholders for feedback.
- 8: Evaluate - Measure and monitor the impact of the chosen actions and disseminate your findings. Reflect on how successful they are in reality.
The essential ingredients of design thinking
Design thinking relies heavily on building genuine empathy with your representative users. Try and give them hands-on experiences if at all possible. For example, ask them to write notes, doodle, draw or even build something. By performing simple tasks, e.g., asking students to write down three words that summarise how they feel about their course, you can help your participants unlock thoughts and feelings that may not have occurred to them otherwise.
Another critical aspect of the design thinking process is iteration (repeat, repeat, repeat!). Although we anticipate that you will run through the stages sequentially, the Framework can also be used in a non-linear fashion. For example, if the Test and Evaluation stages highlight that your solutions are not working as expected, then you might want to return to stage 3 or 4 (Meditate and Ideate). However, suppose a good solution still isn't forthcoming. In that case, it is wise to return to stage 1 and work through the stages systematically again because this is a sign that you didn't get the information you needed during the Listen and Understand stages.
How to use the LUMINATE Framework
In this Moodle site, you will find information on each of the eight stages and how to implement the Framework.
In addition, we have included concrete example activities to use and a suggested timeline (including key milestones for the Autumn term) for you to follow if using the Framework with students. Feel free to use these as described. Alternatively, you can adapt them to suit the needs of your department or school (or devise your own activities entirely if you prefer).
The information and resources for the first two stages are available now. Material related to the remaining stages will be released soon, so you can follow the suggested timeline. When new resources are added to the Moodle site, we will let you know by posting to the announcements forum.
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This article provides a fantastic summary of design thinking from the Nielsen Norman Group, world leaders in research-based user experience. If you are new to the concept of design thinking, we recommend that you take the time to read this article.
⏳ DURATION: 10-minute read