DESIGN THINKING FOR BUSINESS INNOVATION

REFLECTION

STUDENT: Selene Rodriguez

DESIGN TOOL APPLIED – LEARNING LAUNCH

Challenge

As a university student in the business creation and development degree, I constantly see the need  to generate alternative solutions to existing problems, or market opportunities detected as part of  trends in the environment. Generally, in work teams, we use different approaches, such as social,  environmental and, of course, economic. The objective pursued in the design subjects that I have  had the opportunity to take is the generation of innovative solutions through the design thinking  methodology, seeking to connect the true needs and deep motivations of users with the ideas and  solutions proposed, guaranteeing that Through the use of various tools that we are following the  right path and that the generated solution, which will be transformed into a tangible product or  service, really adds value and is functional for our end users (we use a user-centered approach).

During an immersion block, the challenge presented by the academy consisted of detecting a large- scale problem and generating a high-impact solution for said situation. Through a 6-month process,  we had the opportunity to generate a viable, scalable, and high-impact business model, having as  its guiding principle the problem analyzed.

Although the process carried out was long and we had the opportunity to apply various design tools,  including those presented in this course; I consider that one of the most relevant was the one  referring to the validation process, presented as Launching Learning. In this sense, it is important to  mention that the problem detected refers to the situation of unemployment and remote work  driven by the COVID-19 pandemic; Market trends showed the increase and permanence of the  remote work modality, in addition to the potential growth of users interested in working at their  own pace as freelancers.

Selection

After a process of discovery and deep analysis of the market needs (of the client and potential user,  defined as two profiles with totally different motivations) and once we obtained relevant and quality  information that served as a basis for generating ideas for solution to the problem, my team and I  decided that the most appropriate thing would be to carry out a dynamic of idea validation through  the generation of low-fidelity prototypes, with the aim of presenting them to the potential user  (described in detail through the use of ethnographic tools and achieving segmenting our two main  users, since the project was about a mobile application for the provision of technical and  professional services through a “shared economy” business model).

The objective of implementing the strategy, as mentioned in the videos of this course, lies in the  need to test the efficiency and acceptance of the platform proposed as a solution to the problem,

in addition to obtaining in-depth feedback on user interaction. with the elements presented in the  application, but above all, to obtain information that disapproves of the use of it and will give us a  more realistic approach about what the client wants and needs, providing us with a clearer guide  for the modification of the proposed solution. In general, this tool worked as a fast and cheap means  to validate the efficiency of the solution, as well as the level of user involvement with it.

Application

As part of the application process, the team and I designed a series of pretotypes and a working low- fidelity prototype with the resources at our fingertips. Through this design we were able to provide  potential users and clients with a close perspective of what the proposed application would offer to  satisfy the problem of hiring and obtaining professional jobs (according to the objective of each  user). Through the resources and elements available, we had the opportunity to create a demo of  the application quickly and visually with the most relevant basic functions and we provided access  to various users (considered within our target market) to interact with it and provide feedback based  on your experience and expectations of use.

Insight

In this step of the process, we try to discover in an objective and punctual way what wows and what  Works for our users. Through the interaction with the presented prototype, we obtained relevant  and common information that provided us with elements to pivot the original idea.

The most important insight we obtained is about the importance for the user of having a system of  references and opinions of other clients who have already received a service from a certain  professional, registered on the platform. The prototype presented presents a range of evaluation of  the experience in a general range of five stars, however for the users (potential clients) it was  important to add specific criteria that could be visible to determine which professional profile would  be more suitable to their needs; for example, certain relevant factors were added such as: cost,  time, quality of service, friendliness of the freelancer, communication, among others that are highly  relevant when making a decision. Thus, the visualization of the qualifications in each element  separately provides the user with a better knowledge of the professional to be hired, providing the  opportunity to "judge and select" according to their priorities or specific needs.

Approach

The design thinking process used to generate solutions in this challenge was really complete and  very useful in order to fully satisfy the needs of the end user, also guaranteeing the viability of the  project in terms of the business model and the financial model required as part of the projections  and growth potential of the same.

The tool used allowed us to reflect and rethink about the first idea generated to solve the problem.  The construction of a low-fidelity prototype allowed us to obtain quality information quickly and

cheaply and allowed us to generate appropriate modifications that allowed us to satisfy the wishes  of the user without having to invest too much time and money in an idea whose feasibility was  practically unknown. The use of design thinking tools (in general) analyzed during the course, as well  as their presentation through specific cases allowed me to obtain a broader and more precise  perspective of the importance of carrying out user-centered thinking and design processes to  guarantee the generation of solutions that truly meet the wishes and needs of a specific client or  group of clients. Something that I will definitely do differently in future idea generation processes is  the application of the 4 questions analyzed: What is, What if, What Wows and What Works, in order  to use a specific methodology that allows guiding the generation of solutions of a An adequate and  functional way, which will definitely be useful for the development of new projects and work with  multidisciplinary teams that contribute different points of view and enrich the final result of the  process.

