Combining Design Thinking and Enterprise Architecture for Customer-Centric Solutions

What does your perfect product/solution look like?

There isn’t one! Just as imagination has no limits neither does your perfect solution. Every time we design a solution, we design the most feasible one not the most perfect one, because in times like these the definition of “perfect” changes fast, mostly because of technology and people. Technology is advancing and customer demands are advancing with it.

So, how do you bring these two very different worlds together? Where does the sweet spot lie?

If you ask me, I always start with the customer/user experience. Technology comes later and the approach I take to find the sweet spot is a combination of design thinking and enterprise architecture.

At one of the open group conference, I was glad to see that there are many people who take the same approach. The standardized format below was presented by Rolf Knoll from Novatech. I’ve just added some content based on my own experience.

Design thinking mainly consists of three components:

• Multidisciplinary teams – Diverse, innovative ideas are best developed in strong and multidisciplinary teams
• Process – The path to innovative ideas is made up of series of steps (shown above) which are iteratively completed
• Space – Inventive development thrives in a culture of open collaboration and a flexible work environment.

The phases of the process:

• Understand – The five “W” questions: who, what, where, when, and why?
• Observe – Conduct observations and surveys in the customer environment
• Point of view – The phrase “How might we …” is often used to define a point of view, which is a statement of the user + need + insight
• Ideate – Create solution alternatives
• Prototype – Convey your idea quickly and further development of solution alternatives
• Test – The purpose of testing is to learn what works and what doesn’t, and then iterate.

Embedded design thinking – Approach of University of St. Gallen

Goals:?

• Increase collaboration between business and IT
• Move towards a customer-oriented innovation culture.
• Viewing design thinking as a cycle that is completed several times within a project

Project can be divided into two phases:?

• Diverging phase?To generate as many different ideas as possible to capture the scope of the problem?
• Converging phase?Consolidate the best ideas of the first phase and generate the best solution

Now let’s talk about the other crucial part, the architecture aspect, how do we handle that and embed design thinking in the process.

However, let me first give you an overview of the architectural development method (ADM) of TOGAF.

While design thinking focuses on the user experience, enterprise architecture provides the structural framework for building scalable and sustainable solutions. EA aligns technology with business strategy, ensuring that the chosen solutions can adapt to future changes and integrate seamlessly with existing systems.

The different phases of ADM are briefly described below.

• Preliminary phase: Define scope of the enterprise Define and establish an organization-specific EA framework
• Phase A: Define the scope of architecture development cycle Create an architectural vision
• Phase B, C & D: Domain specific definition of architecture
• Phase E: Cross-domain consolidation of architecture Analysis of solution alternatives Initial planning of proposed realization
• Phase F: Detailed planning of solution realization
• Phase G: Governance of solution realization
• Phase H: Continuous process improvement

“Lean ADM” – ADM reduced to essentials

The beauty of ADM is it can be customized. So, let’s do some modifications to embed a design-thinking approach in it.

• Preliminary and Phase A?specifics will remain same. They are renamed the “EA Capability” and “Architectural Vision” phase respectively.
• Phases B, C, and D?can be grouped under broader “Architecture Definition.”
• Phases E & F?can be named “Transformation Planning.”
• Phase H and Requirement Management?can be grouped into “Change and Requirement Management.” A concurrent process will be “Change and Requirement Management” and “Governance of the ADM & EA Capability.”

After customizing the TOGAF cycle (the standard representation by the Open Group), the tailored diagram will look something like this:

“Change and Requirement Management” are now cross-phase activities. The individual phases and cycles are governed by – “Change & Requirement Management.”

Further tailoring the ADM by design thinking as a technique

According to “Long Live Design Thinking,”?one of the most powerful things about design thinking is its ability to shift the way organizations fundamentally think and work – the way they conceive, design, and create solutions that people (actually) like.

So, when it comes to the overall experience of the product/service/solution, the design thinking approach will take care of it.

In other words, we add features as we move ahead. But what lays the very foundation which allows us to add features seamlessly? It is the Architecture or the solution design as we may like to call it.

Architectural thinking gives you a structured way to deliver end-user products/experience, using a customer-centric approach governed by ADM. This helps you address the ever-evolving product needs and technology advancements.

As an architect, you need to think about how to factor things in the digital age, when and how to use a particular technology. You must align both with the organization strategy as well as customer demands. Taking the approach explained in this blog would greatly help you in finding the right balance or the sweet spot as I mentioned earlier.