Design Thinking Reflection Using Learning Launch Tool

Challenge

I work in a bank organization as a resilience team member. Our team mainly provide solutions for  recurring problems and the personnel who affected by those problems. Our challenge is increase the  efficiency and effort management for the branch personnel of the bank by identifying their problems  and create quick/automatic solutions for them. In our scope there are 900 branches and 1800  personnel exist. All the problems encountered in branches need to be solved by these personnel at  most within one week. There are two personnel responsible in each branch. One works for the  customers of the bank and the other one works with the ATM devices in the branch building. There are  30 million customers and 5 thousand ATM devices within branch buildings. We need to quickly figure  out what kind of problems we might see, which are related to branch customers and/or which are  related to the ATM devices. When we determine the problems we will focus on possible solutions and  precautions for the problems before they cause bigger ones.

Selection

Since there are many customers and devices per branch personnel, being quick has has a crucial role  in this job. We must face and solve the problems when they first emerge and less customers effected.  Thus, we will use learning launch method, this ensure our problem detection and create solution ideas  will be easily implemented and experimented quickly. Also this tool will provide us fast and cheap test  environment.

Application

In the first learning launch we asked these questions. Who is our customer? As internal, branch  personnel, as external, customers of the bank. What are their main problems?  For personnel, ATM  device problems that are ATM balance difference, ATM money loss. For customers, ATM money jam  while performing transaction. How we can detect these problems? The best option for our assumption  is would be automatically problem detection mechanism. The faster we detect the problem the faster  we solve it. So, the customers would not have always need to report problems to us. We would have  been informed about the problem even the solving progress could have started. After all, we have  learned that from Chapter-4, “The purpose of a learning launch is to get the truth and then the truth  either confirms or dis-confirms your assumptions.” Our assumption seemed more likely be true, so we  could go on second phase of the learning launch. Hereby, we could test our assumption by measuring  problem detection and solving times, also effort and time effiency of the personnel, and problem  numbers reported by customers. For our second learning launch, we determined  an experiment group  consists of  ten different branches to make this progress fast and cheap as possible. For balance  difference and money loss problems, we defined and implemented error keywords to ten specified  ATM devices to have it indicated a possible problem. When the specific error keyword detected, an  automatic message generated to the personnel that contained "There is a problem that can cause  balance difference or money loss problem. Check the related transaction." Also, for the money jam  problem of the customers, we defined and implemented different error keywords with auto test feature  to the ten specifed ATM devices. When the specific error keyword detected, this time ATM device  started auto test and count all the money that customer deposited. After the jammed money counted  and specified, automatic money refund process to the customer account started. Also out team has  conducted a two surveys for ten personnel from different branches and one hundred customers who  had interaction with these branches and related ATM devices.The surveys were conducted within one  week and included questions about benefits of our new auto error detection method, time efficiency of

personnel, and feelings about the change. Also for customers, additional questions about customer  satisfaction were added.

Insight

The learning launch tool, helped our team to make assumptions and test them in a fast, cheap and  easy way. Our expectation from results to see increased efficiency of branch personnel and increased  customer satisfaction. When we evaluated the actuals results by comparing problem numbers  reported by per branch personnel and solution time of problems between the experiment branches  and the branches that learning launch assumption have not applied, we realized that auto error  detection has helped branch personnel to solve problems faster. Also, the personnel in these ten  branch reported less number of problems to our team than the personnel in other branches.However,  by the customer side, survey results show that some of the customers have refunded lesser the exact  amount of the money they intend to deposit. In future launches this insight will be reviewed. Changing  or improving the idea would seem to be useful.

Approach

We can say with the peace of the mind the learning launch tool is suitable and easily applicable for  improvement of our work processes, especially by enabling to test and see the results immediately.We  have obtained important insight from learning launches, and with this information we will get one step  closer to desired truth in our reviews. In future launches insight will be improved, we will made better  progress and be more ready for full rollout.

