My Design Notes

0

14 May 2012

10 design thinking tools for managers
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
A few years ago I had the pleasure of attending an innovation workshop arranged by Tim Ogilvie of Peer Insight. Last year Tim Ogilvie and Jeanne Liedtka co-authored Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers (Columbia Business School Publishing). It was awarded Top Business Management Book of 2011 by leading business book reviewer 800-CEO-READ.

Citing from Designing for Growth, "This book aims to demystify design thinking by translating 'design' from an abstract idea into a practical, everyday tool any manager can profit from. Using a business perspective and business language, we’ll translate the vocabulary of design, unpack the mysterious connection between design thinking and profitable growth, introduce a systematic process (complete with simple project management aids), and teach you the ten tools you’ll need to marry the design approach to traditional business thinking in ways that enhance your ability to profitably grow your business."

The design process presented in the book deals with four very basic questions: What is? What if? What wows? and What works? The process is visualized using two intertwining bands that represent "divergent" and "convergent" thinking. In the early part of each stage of the process we are progressively expanding our vision whereas later we reverse the process by converging, progressively narrowing down our options to the most promising.

The ten tools associated with the design process are:
1. Visualization
2. Journey Mapping
3. Value Chain Analysis
4. Mind Mapping
5. Brainstorming
6. Concept Development
7. Assumption Testing
8. Rapid Prototyping
9. Customer Co-Creation
10. Learning Launch
The book contains explanations of the process and the tools, and several real-life examples. Visit the book's website at designingforgrowthbook.com.
- views
- Tweet
0

26 Apr 2012

Strategic Design Thinking for Innovations
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Yesterday's seminar by the Finnish Association of Consulting Firms (SKOL) was entitled "Innovation and know-how as success factors of the future". One of the five presenters was Marco Steinberg, Director of Strategic Design of the Finnish innovation fund SITRA. He talked about the evolving role of innovation in design.

Marco Steinberg started by giving three substantial changes in the requirements for innovation:
1. Instead of optimizing one part or entity we need to look at the problem holistically
2. We should have a suggestion-based instead of an analysis-driven innovation process
3. We should not limit ourselves to efficiency improvements – we should create something new
To illustrate his point of view he recited a true story of an Italian town with a problematic swimming pool. People had ceased to use it and the authorities hired an architect because they thought that the reason was the poor condition of the construction. After studying the problem the architect came up with a surprising solution. The construction was certainly in need of repair, but the reason people avoided it was the new bus schedules: they did not coincide well with the opening hours of the pool.

Design is traditionally seen as form giving. Designers are expected to follow a specification and deliver a solution accordingly. In the world of large-scale, complex, and often conflicting systems and interests this is no longer enough.

In an earlier presentation Mr. Steinberg characterized design as a problem-solving discipline for synthesizing disparate issues, integrating through deep understanding, and visualizing complex, multidimensional problems. He sees design as a process that includes iteration, prototyping, and the management of the whole sequence from inception to implementation. According to Steinberg the problem must be examined through multiple scales, perspectives, and contexts.

Steinberg has extended the domain of design into strategic design, which gives form to decision making. In the SKOL presentation he visualized this idea with a funnel diagram. Traditionally designers are involved at the narrow end of the funnel, after the big decisions have already been made. The room for innovation is very narrow, and in the worst case you are answering the wrong question with a brilliant design.

Strategic design is about "unpacking" the problem, creating several alternative funnels. Strategic design takes place before we are locked into a solution to the defined problem.

Steinberg's third diagram visualizes the three new stages of decision-making: 1) Strategic Design, 2) Stewardship, and 3) Implementation.

Innovation begins by asking the right questions. Strategic design thinking requires multidisciplinary dialog and integrated teams. This does not imply that innovation is a result of a consensus. Steinberg sees it as a major challenge, especially in Finland, that design is driven by a requirement to reach a consensus. This can kill killer innovations.

Images by Aarni Heiskanen, based on original images by Marco Steinberg
- views
- Tweet
0

11 Mar 2012

Service and business design go hand in hand
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Service designers rightly emphasize how service development should start from the customers, and their needs and motivations. Service is collaboration between the customer and the provider. It is, therefore, important to make sure that the provider has the will and means to deliver the service as planned. To accomplish this, service design should integrate with business design.

As a management consultant I've been involved in dozens of service-development projects. In some cases I've been able to help my client for years, starting from the first ideas, until the service is in its second or third development cycle. A couple of years ago I devised a framework for communicating the service-development life cycle. It is suitable for both B2B and B2C services, even though I've mainly used it in business-to-business cases.

The framework has two halves. The upper half denotes the customer's and the lower the company's viewpoint (see the illustration).

1. Needs and strategies

The first phase is related to understanding what the customers want to achieve. The purpose of a service is to make customers perform better in their everyday tasks. When you know the outcome that the customer wants — for example, less time used, fewer errors and less waste — you can start making strategic choices on the needs you want to satisfy. A service strategy also defines what means you want to use to achieve your goals.

A software company I know had identified the need to improve construction-site management. It started off with scheduling and production control. It found out that the best way to do that was to make a virtual model of the construction. That opened the doors to other applications later on.

2. Service concept and business model

After you have decided on your strategy, you can create a concept-level plan of the service. The concept defines what the benefits of using your service will be, and what the service does. In other words, you'll have to look at the service through your customers’ eyes and understand what kind of service helps them do their work better.

Another thing to consider is the maturity of the customer in relation to what you can offer. For example, the construction management software firm realized that it had to offer both software and people to operate the software for the first customers.

During the concept phase you can already start creating a buzz around the service; do test marketing, and perhaps make some service prototypes. Customer relationship building starts at this stage. On your company's side you'll have to define the business model that makes offering the service feasible. A business model includes the revenue and cost logic of the service.

3. Service design and operational model

The third phase focuses on the delivery of service. You will design the service and create the business platform for delivering it. This is the phase where you prototype, test, and launch your service. You will need the right people, systematized processes, and technical solutions to make the service delivery cost-efficient. Getting the right kind of customers and exceeding their expectations is the best marketing you can do.

4. Relationship value and improvement

The fourth phase is all about establishing the service as a first choice of existing and new customers. They will get more value from your service than anywhere else. You'll strengthen the customer relationships through learning and cooperation. You must systematize the service to a point where you can scale it up for an enlarged customer base or for new markets.

The model I have outlined is adaptive and dynamic. You must and you will go back to adjust your earlier assumptions. Improving the outcomes and making your processes more efficient guarantee that your business grows profitably in the years to come.
- views
- Tweet
0

14 Feb 2012

The untapped value of design
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
A study published in January 2012 of 1,380 Finnish companies shows that most businesses don't consider design to be a competitive advantage. Quality, reliability in delivery, sales, pricing, marketing, logistics, and brand are more important, according to the respondents.

There hasn't been too much research on the business value of design. Some Finnish studies seem to suggest that design investments have a positive return. The best performers have managed to integrate design with R&D, marketing, and strategy. The benefits to this approach include accelerated growth of production and sales, and product and service differentiation.

The researchers asked, “what is design?” Four out of five respondents replied that it is the aesthetic design of objects. The responses that design "means customer centricity" or "is vital to a company's existence" got the least support.

Less than 20 percent of the companies had invested considerably in design in the last two years. Little over 30 percent had invested slightly, and 10 percent had made no design investments whatsoever.

Those that had invested some or nothing reasoned that design was not suitable in their industry, or that they could do well without it. One-fifth that had negative attitudes said that design would take too much time and resources. Over half of the skeptics felt that hiring a designer would be too costly or difficult.

Those who responded that design is the basis of their operations had to answer additional questions. Seventy-eight percent of them said that design is an element of all development of products or services. Six out of ten thought that design comes from inside the company, and 20 percent responded that it derives from the customer.

Why does design improve quality, according to the supporters? Sixty percent felt that design improves the usability, ergonomics, and durability of products. It reduces waste and errors, and makes products and services environmentally friendly. It also helps companies differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Companies that rely on design said that it speeds up market entries and that customers are willing to pay more for great design. Those who incorporate design into their strategy consider it to be a resource.

The study "What design means to companies" was conducted by the Association for Finnish Work in co-operation with four other Finnish associations.

Charts by AE Partners Oy
- views
- Tweet
0

8 Feb 2011

Design thinking bootcamp bootleg
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
The Stanford d.school has released an updated version of the Bootcamp Bootleg, a working document that captures methods taught at the "Design Thinking Bootcamp,” course. The guide outlines a human-centered design process, and describes a number of methods that support design thinking throughout the process.

You can download the 2010 version at d.school.

Image © d.school
- views
- Tweet
0

19 Oct 2010

Design is conversation
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Paul Pangaro presents his ideas on re-thinking design thinking. He views the process of design as conversations.

He concludes with the following chain of deduction:

Conversation leads to agreement
- Agreement leads to action or transaction
- Action repeated over time leads to relationship
- Relationship maintained over time leads to trust
- Trust provides a fertile ground for change
- Change is the pivot-point of innovation
- Innovation needs a new language
- New language is created in conversation
Rethinking Design Thinking - Paul Pangaro - PICNIC '10 from PICNIC Festival on Vimeo.
- views
- Tweet
0

11 Aug 2010

Design modes and methods from d.school
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford has published Bootcamp Bootleg - a "loose collection of methods, modes and mindsets". It is freely available as a pdf download.

There are five modes:
- Empathize
- Define
- Ideate
- Prototype
- Test
Some of the methods:
- Assume a Beginner's Mindset
- Team Share-and-Capture
- Empathy Map
- Bodystorming
- Feedback Capture Grid
Image: d.school
- views
- Tweet