#WhyThoughtworks

Having completed a year working with TW, I can totally say that this is one of the best organisations to work with and this is my attempt to try and justify the same.

We as Product people use Design Thinking framework to understand our stakeholders and build better solutions for them. I think the core of TW culture reflects Design Thinking framework because I see various similarities between TW ways of working and Design Thinking framework.

First let’s see what Design Thinking is:

As per the classic definition by Wikipedia, Design Thinking?refers to the cognitive, strategic, and practical processes by which design concepts (proposals for new products, buildings, machines, etc.) are developed.?

?Let’s break it down to simpler language:?

Design Thinking is a process of solving problems with human-centered approach.?It keeps the customers at the heart of the process.?It tends to think of solving the pain points of the customers by empathising with them, understanding the issues they are facing and trying to solve those issues by involving with customers at each step of the process.???

Design Thinking is a non-linear framework, and it is quite like Agile framework; it’s iterative, it’s rapid, it adapts change easily based on the feedback from the customers and it is team oriented.??

?Let’s talk about the 5-stage process of Design Thinking Methodology:?

1. Empathize : During the Empathize phase the idea is to talk to multiple stakeholders and customers, Teams can conduct various User Research Programs to understand the pain point of users, can sit with various stakeholders to understand what they are looking for from current market segment. The idea is to listen to the pain points and understand the pain points from customer point of view.?
2. Define: Define phase usually revolves around defining the problem. Here, we start choosing a point of view we want to design solution for after analysing the data. It is recommended to have precise problem which you are trying to solve which could be easily communicated to stakeholders and help them understand what the pain points are we noticed during the empathise phase. Out of several pain points that are heard, the identified issues are narrowed down to specific problem statements, so to work on the fix.?
3. Ideate: From ideation phase 2 of the process starts; here we?ideate solutions that address the problem statement identified in step 2. In this step team comes up with?n number of ideas that can help solve the problem. From my personal experience bring in all the teams together (Technical Team, Quality Assurance Team, User Experience Team); tell them the business use, the pain point, the problem statement and ideate and brainstorm with them. The ideation process becomes rich with varied experience. Also, trust between different teams increases.
4. Prototype: In prototype phase usually, prototypes are created (POC’s are done in some cases) from the shortlisted solutions of ideation phase. These prototypes can be as simple as paper test to as complex as a software, however, the idea is to spend less time and money in this phase. Prototyping is an iterative process, and we want to include customers and other teams to start working on the prototype and collecting feedback as early as possible.??
5. Test: In this last step the prototypes are given to users and other members in the organisation to test whether the solutions are effective and continuous feedback on the same is collected to enhance the prototype. This is an ongoing or recurring process, until the best outcome or solution is achieved.??

Whenever we are thinking of enhancing a product, we are looking to do either of the following:?

• Better an existing experience?
• Create a new experience altogether?

To create such a product, one requires empathy and understanding of user emotions and pain points along with problem solving and management skills.?Looking at above I can say, Design thinking brings in a more empathetic, flexible, and iterative approach to every problem.?

Now let’s see how TW is following the framework in creating a better culture for its employees through some examples, which are only a few of many such practices.

As we see from above, Empathy is something which is at the heart of Design Thinking and empathy is what takes us closer to our stakeholders/customers and solve the problem in the right way. TW incorporate this not just by lot of community work for #LGBTQ #WomenInTech #Minorities but (for all the employees) by not limiting the number of days of “Sick Leaves”. These are the small things which one tends to overlook but this is such an empathetic take on your employees because ideally yes, one cannot limit, forecast, or estimate the number of days employees can/will fall sick in a year. There are lots of other examples like Solidarity over Charity, Inclusivity etc.

The next step in Design Thinking is Define, where we define the problem statements; in TW we have several “Noise Channels”, Woes channel and even communities which are continuously working on defining the problem. There are various topics picked and brought forward by fellow colleagues and TW as an organisation have given them a platform to talk about things which help us Define the next day, month, and year better. The problem on these channels varies from how to improve client tech stack to how we can plan our retirement in a better way.

The 3rd step is to ideate as per Design Thinking; Once the problem is defined, the ideation process starts keeping the #TWCulture of cultivation in mind. The process of collecting information starts at this point which is known as User research. User Research help one?uncovers new insights and ideas?that you simply wouldn’t be able to see through your own personal reference point once you have an idea in mind. One needs to find new ways to interact with customers, understand the issues they are facing and look at your solutions from a different perspective.?

TWers are asked to fill lot of surveys around lot of different pain points that were brought forward in Noise channels and various forums and townhalls; various communities which helps in bringing people together and help everyone get to better solutions. Post gathering opinions via surveys and AMA dedicated teams, the volunteers huddle together to ideate on the same, the culture of cultivation is important at this step when some tenured TWers and some new TWers start ideating by having a perfect blend of experience and new ideas.

The 4th step which is prototype is looked upon considering people; TW after ideating on problem, ask for what and why with fellow TWers and come up with various solutions which are shared, discussed in wider forums.

Examples of this is the various bucket’s introduction for tax saving via Sodexo cards, vibrant communities like MITRA and Social Change Group helping with individual and group needs looking into TWers mental health, inclusivity, the capability team ideating about learnings for future growth.

The 5th step which is test is executed from various angles in TW; for any new trainings, capability team divides groups (based on personal nomination) and collects feedback to enhance those trainings before launching it to entire TW. There are various Roadshows, simulation workshops and QnA sessions scheduled before making any major change.

Example before making any change at the organisational level, several roadshows, AMA, QnA, townhalls are scheduled, where people put forward their opinions and thoughts which are considered before finalising things, to make sure everyone is aligned. This helps everyone understand the upcoming changes in a more realistic way along with taking everyone together.

Of course, because of the above-mentioned things I feel that I am an integral part of TW as I am involved in their journey, I feel respected, and people hear my thoughts and pain points before they start creating solutions which keeps me more engaged and loyal towards TW.

#TWCulture #ThoughtworksIndia #WhyThoughtworks