The "Third Way" to Innovate

Design thinking as a mindset

Design thinking is not just a process, it’s a mindset. The five steps of design thinking are iterative processes deeply integrated with each other. The core of the design thinking mindset is accepting the very concept of change. This helps create products and services that are aligned with people’s needs and expectations while dealing with complexity, risk and uncertainty. Design thinking demands one to go back and forth from one stage to the next and constantly make required changes according to the user.?

A design thinking mindset means to constantly stay out of the comfort zone and challenge underlying assumptions and/or ideas. This enables multidisciplinary teams to come under a single umbrella and fuse divergent thinking to expand the range of potential solutions. As the CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown explains that design thinking is based on generating a holistic and empathetic approach while working towards a solution, this is different from a solely scientific approach where human needs, motivations and behaviors are neglected. He refers to this as a ‘third way’ which combines rational and analytical research along with creative ideas and subjective intuition. This 'third way' of thinking is firmly based on creating an empathetic, holistic, and analytical way of understanding end-user problems and generating innovative solutions.

Design thinking in software development?

Design thinking approach in software development is a step towards creating an intelligent and well-regulated system that revolves around the users’ needs. Generally, clients are not focused on the technology that will be used in order to make a certain website or application but they are focused towards the final outcome and utility. This paves way for the designers and developers to adopt the non-linear design thinking process to not just understand the customer expectations but also the end-user needs. A critical thinking approach can help empathize with the clients while coming up with workable, creative, and smooth solutions.?

Design thinking in business management?

Instilling design thinking as a mindset also means thinking beyond just the creation and development of products and software. It can be integrated in business processes for long-term success. Strategies such as service design and UX are applied in business management for continuous improvement and efficiency. Similar to the benefits of design thinking in development, this can open space for innovation, improve employee engagement, enhance customer experience, quickly adapt to market changes and reduce costs of the business systems’ management.

Conclusively, adopting the 'third way' or the design thinking mindset can profoundly influence every facet of a technology business, from the process of product development to service provision and across all departments involved in running the business. At Liquid Technologies, design thinking has become our guiding philosophy in every domain, enabling us to deliver products and services of exceptional quality. Simultaneously, this approach has enhanced the efficiency and long-term sustainability of our working environment and practices.

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