Mai to September 1998. I was pregnant and I wanted to become an architect before becoming a mother, therefore I completed my dipoloma project in 4 1/2 instead of 6 months that it regulary takes.
During my final year at the university I had to do a diploma project in order to finish my degree. I was always more interested in the use of architecture than just in the beautiful pictures of an empty building on a high-gloss magazine.
I came up with the project outline, about what kind of building my project would comprise and selected a real site just outside Stuttgart. I made the whole architectural project and drafted plans (at that point, I must have been the last student not to have used a computer for the diploma project) and made models and prototypes. It was not called Design Thinking back then, but it was the same process. I made interviews with the fictional users (I interviewed neighbors and relatives about what they would need if I built a home for them, for their activities at home). I used 'A Pattern Language' of Christopher Alexander to consider the effect of the design decisions.
User-centered design, 'A Patern Language' from Christopher Alexander, staying focused.
How well I managed the limited time I had. Prioritizing every decision to the constraints of time and effort while at the same time maximizing the output.