Glossary

Cognition: The mental process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, context, interactions, and (sensory) experiences.
Artifacts: Refers to the carriers of knowledge and understanding. include facts, assumptions, frames, insights, (early) ideas, concepts, (early) prototypes, and proof of concepts.
Foundation of Design Thinking: Six types of thinking in three opposite pairs.
Paradigm: A pattern consisting of a set of linguistic items that form mutually exclusive choices.
Kangaeru® paradigm: a model that arranges the thinking abilities used in Design Thinking into three dimensions and explains how they can be combined to enhance our cognition.
Type of thinking: A mental means that has an effect on our cognition, especially on the development of our cognitive artifacts.
Creative thinking: The label used for (a type of) thinking which expands the scope, increases the number of options or the size of the area under consideration.
Critical thinking: The label used for (a type of) thinking which narrows the scope, decreases the number of options or the size of the area under consideration.
Reflective thinking: The label used for (a type of) thinking which allows us to elicit new information through an interaction with an external party (an ‘external’ source).
Interactive thinking: The label used for (a type of) thinking which allows us to solicit new information through internal reflection on existing information (considered to be an ‘internal’ source).
Abstract thinking: The label used for (a type of) thinking which shifts our focus toward gaining an overview, away from details, and involves the use and generation of more abstract (or conceptual) artifacts. It also relates to taking some distance from the matter at hand.
Specific thinking: The label used for (a type of) thinking which shifts our focus to details, it uses and generates more specific artifacts. It also relates to a closer level of observation or involvement.
Thinking space: The space formed by the Kangaeru® paradigm indicating which types of thinking can be combined beneficially and which cannot. It places all possible modes of thinking into an intuitive position or ‘direction’ (Up/Down, Left/Right and Front/Back, and its combinations).
Thinking in moves: Using the ‘thinking space’ to change one's thinking, for example, suggesting a more Creative approach by indicating a ‘move to the left’, etc.
Thinking in dimensions: Think of each dimension as a separate means to balance one thinking. For example, managing scope by balancing Creative exploration with Critical investigation, etc.
Layers of Abstraction: Consider the vertical dimension as a separate dimension. This allows each combination of the Creative-Critical dimension with the Interactive-Reflective dimension to be applied more or less Abstract, or Specific.
Combining types of thinking: types of thinking being applied to a similar extent within the same activity. When types of thinking are combined their effects are also ‘combined’, leading either to cancellection or enhancement of the effects.
Mutual cancellation: When opposite types of thinking are combined and counteract each other, and cancel out each other's effects.
Mutual enhancement: When types of thinking are combined and their synergistic effects lead to an overall greater effectiveness.
Modes of thinking: Are combined types of thinking, applied in activities. These may consist of 1, 2 or 3 types of thinking, each from different dimensions.
Exploration: Applying a particular mode of thinking for the duration of an activity. Allowing the activity, or mode of thinking, to ‘run its course’ and ‘exhaust its effectiveness’. Exploration can be done in any of the directions of the (combined) types of thinking, for example, Creative exploration, Critical-Interactive exploration, etc.
(Im)balance: Any type of thinking applied without its opposite leads to an imbalance. This can be rebalanced by periodically applying its opposite (see mode-switching).
Activity: An event with a beginning and an end, executed in a (roughly) consistent mode of thinking.
Thinking in activities: Cognition in activities can be enhanced by including context, engaging in interactions, using your imagination, and involving our senses. These enhancements are an integral part of the methods described in detail in popular Design Thinking frameworks.
Sample activities: Examples of common labels for activities which (possibly) use certain (combinations of) types of thinking. For example: Concept Validation (Abstract-Critical-Interactive), Verification (Specific-Critical-Reflective), Prototyping (Specific-Creative), etc.
Empirical process control (EPC): A way of managing a process by determining the next step(s) based on an evaluation of the situation at hand, the evolving task, and the means and capabilities available.
Elemental process: A schema consisting of an unspecified activity, an evaluation event, and two forms of control (reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action) showing how empirical process control creates an effective process in Design Thinking.
Reflection-in-action: The ongoing monitoring of the effectiveness of an activity; it takes place during the activity. It is a form of ‘real-time’ reflection, hence the name ‘in-action’.
Reflection-on-action: The evaluation event which takes place between activities and includes the evaluation of the current situation, and the decision making regarding the next steps. It is a form of ‘post-activity’ reflection; takes place between activities, not during or ‘in’ an activity, hence the name ‘on-action’.
Mode-switching: Changing the type(s) of thinking that is applied, usually from one type of thinking to its opposite type. Rapid mode-switching takes place within an activity as a result of reflection-in-action, and is a temporary change, (just) Mode-switching takes place from one activity to the next as a result of reflection-on-action.