Design Thinking approach for Innovation: What, Why and How?

Design is transforming the way leading companies create value. The focus of innovation has shifted from being feature-driven to design-driven, from product-centric to customer-centric and from marketing-focused to user-experience-focused. But in case of products, most people confuse design with how it looks while actually its more about how it feels to the end consumers.

With businesses getting more complex, technology getting more advanced, automation kicking in, we are often surrounded by problems that can’t be solved through traditional ways of problem-solution approach in which we try to identify the obstacles and limitations and try to fix them. However, in most of these situations, we need more practical and creative approach which relies on developing solutions that are user-centric and goes deep in the pain points of the users and coming up something creative to tackle the problem.

This approach is commonly known as Design Thinking. If I have to define it in one sentence, I would call it “an iterative user-centric approach which finds ideal solutions based on the real needs of real people”. It is based on the methods and processes that designers use, but it has actually evolved from a range of different fields such as architecture, engineering and business and so it can be applied to any field; it doesn’t necessarily have to be design-specific. Design Thinking in its true form is human-centered design which enhances the user experience at every touch point and fuels the creation of products and services that deeply resonate with customers. It is extremely user-centric. It focuses on humans first and foremost, seeking to understand people’s needs and come up with effective solutions to meet those needs. It’s an iterative process which favours ongoing experimentation until the right solution is found.

Thinking like a designer can transform the way organizations develop products, services, processes, and strategy. This brings together what is desirable from a user point of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable. It begins with developing an understanding of customers’ or users’ unmet or unstated needs. It also allows us to improve products by analyzing and understanding how users interact with products and the conditions in which they operate. When design principles are applied to strategy and innovation, the success rate for innovation dramatically improves. Great design has that “wow” factor that makes products more desirable and services more appealing to users.

There are different models and frameworks for Design Thinking but the most popular one is a five-phase model proposed by the D School, Stanford who are at the forefront of applying and teaching Design Thinking.

Phase 1: Empathize - This stage is all about getting to know the user and understanding their wants, needs and objectives. This means observing and engaging with people in order to understand them on a psychological and emotional level. By the end of this phase, you will have a clear understating of the users.

Phase 2: Define - This phase is dedicated to defining the problem. What are the difficulties and challenges the users are facing? The key here is to frame the problem in a user-centered way; for eg. if you are working for a mobile company, rather than saying “We need to…”, frame it in terms of the users: “The mobile users need…”. By the end of this phase, you should have a clear problem statement

Phase 3: Ideate - This phase involves usage of different types of ideation techniques, from brainstorming, mind-mapping etc. to explore new options and alternatives. Towards the end of this phase, you’ll narrow it down to a few ideas with which to move forward.

Phase 4: Prototype - This phase is all about experimentation and turning ideas into tangible products. Prototypes are made which incorporate the potential solutions identified in the previous stages. This step is key in putting each solution to test and highlighting any constraints or flaws. 

Phase 5: Test - The last stage is Testing of the prototypes, but this is rarely the end of the Design Thinking process. In reality, the results of the testing phase will often lead you back to a previous step, providing the insights you need to redefine the original problem statement or to come up with new ideas you hadn’t thought of before. As I said earlier, it’s an iterative process.

The Design Thinking process is not linear; it is flexible and fluid, looping back and around and in on itself! You will discover new things in different phases and with each discovery, you’ll need to rethink and redefine what you’ve done before. Integrating Design Thinking into your process can add huge business value, ultimately ensuring that the products you design are not only desirable for customers, but also viable in terms of company budget and resources.

·Fosters creativity and innovation: Rather than repeating the same tried-and-tested methods, Design Thinking encourages us to remove our blinkers and consider alternative solutions. This leads to challenging assumptions and exploring new pathways and ideas. This fosters a culture of innovation which extends well beyond the design team.

·Puts humans first: By focusing so heavily on empathy, it encourages businesses and organizations to consider the real people who use their products and services and hence create meaningful user experiences. For the user, this means better, more useful products that actually improve their lives. For businesses, this means happy customers and a healthier bottom line.

·Significantly reduces time-to-market: With its emphasis on problem-solving and finding viable solutions, Design Thinking can significantly reduce the amount of time spent on design and development

·Cost savings and a great ROI: Getting successful products to market faster ultimately saves the business money which leads to a better return on investment

·Improves customer retention and loyalty: Design Thinking ensures a user-centric approach, which ultimately boosts user engagement and customer retention in the long term.

Design thinking relies on the human ability to be intuitive, to recognize patterns, and to construct ideas that are emotionally meaningful as well as functional. It minimizes the uncertainty and risk of innovation by engaging customers or users through a series of prototypes to learn, test, and refine concepts. Some of the world’s leading brands, such as Apple, Google and Samsung, have rapidly adopted the Design Thinking approach. Indra Nooyi incorporated Design Thinking approach in Pepsi in 2012 placing design thinking at the core of business strategy and leadership. The focus on designs shifted from only packaging to the entire system, from product creation to packaging, to how a product looks on the shelf, to how consumers interact with it.

The great thing about Design Thinking is that it’s not just for designers. It leverages group thinking and encourages cross-team collaboration. It can be practiced and applied by anybody from any function to solve problems in a creative and innovative way – in our designs, in our businesses, in our lives.