DESIGN THINKING     (LEARNING LAUNCH)

What is Design Thinking?

Imagine that you have an idea. You come up with an ingenious application

which you think will solve your business problems. There are currently no

identical solutions on the market and the one which is most similar is not

really working in the way that customers expect it to.

While your vision is still fresh, you start thinking about the first fundamental

question that comes to mind: “How long will it take to get it done?”

And since we rarely find ourselves with unlimited budget and time, the second

consequent question comes quickly: “How much will it cost me to do it?”

Both of these are fundamental and crucial questions in the making of a

product, but often they are precisely the wrong questions to start with.

Instead, the most important question to ask first is: “What value can I

create for my users?”

To better understand the scope of a project, requirements, and timing we can

use a methodology called “Design Thinking,” which helps us during the

“Discovery Phase” of a product. This is exactly the time when we need to

understand not only what will make a great product, but also how and if we

should do it. This creative and experimental approach helps us to better

understand how to create things that are not only usable but above all, useful.

The Design Thinking process is particularly useful because it

generates a unique and specific outcome: knowledge.

This methodology has a wider scope of use, but for the purpose of this Design

Thinking Case Study, we will focus only on one specific field - Software

Product Development.

The Theory of Design Thinking

Before we delve into the practical applications of the Design Thinking and my

experience applying it, let’s take a deeper look at the Design Thinking process.

Design Thinking is a methodology that provides a solution-based approach to

solve problems. It focuses on understanding the user perspective, with a

human-centered point of view. The power of this methodology is the

possibility to test quickly if an idea, solution or enhancement can bring real

results to our customers. Integrating different methodologies, tools, and

techniques coming from different fields (marketing, psychology, design,

business), the purpose of Design Thinking is to put the user on the very center

of the problem we have to solve.

The goal of the methodology is to “find the user itself and define its needs” and

by finding those needs, create a solution or a product that can be really useful.

To achieve this goal, the whole concept is split into six design thinking phases.

1. Empathize: The goal of this phase is to understand your customer, by

searching and gathering information about their business. During this

phase, we can use several different tools, such as interviews, focus group

observations, and surveys.

2. Define: In this phase, we collect and categorize information from the

Empathize phase. It’s here where we define User Personas and User

Journeys.

3. Ideate: Using the above information, here the team ideates solutions.

There are no silly or wrong ideas! Everything must be expressed and

documented.

4. Prototype: During this phase, something tangible is created, that will

allow you to verify your idea in real life. Don’t overcomplicate and create

this MVP as quickly as possible.

5. Test: Verify your idea in real life with actual users. Get feedback. Ask

questions on how to improve it.

6. Implement: This is the phase where all the collected knowledge gets

translated into a final product.

If after reading this you may be thinking: “This is great but how is this going to

help to quickly make my app a reality.”


DESIGN THINKING ( LEARNING LAUNCH ) What is Design Thinking ? Imagine that you have an idea . You come up with an ingenious application which you think will solve your business problems . There are currently no identical solutions on the market and the one which is most similar is not really working in the way that customers expect it to . While your vision is still fresh , you start thinking about the first fundamental question that comes to mind : “ How long will it take to get it done ? ” And since we rarely find ourselves with unlimited budget and time , the second consequent question comes quickly : “ How much will it cost me to do it ? ” Both of these are fundamental and crucial questions in the making of a product , but often they are precisely the wrong questions to start with . Instead , the most important question to ask first is : “ What value can I create for my users ? ” To better understand the scope of a project , requirements , and timing we can use a methodology called “ Design Thinking , ” which helps us during the “ Discovery Phase ” of a product . This is exactly the time when we need to understand not only what will make a great product , but also how and if we should do it . This creative and experimental approach helps us to better understand how to create things that are not only usable but above all , useful . The Design Thinking process is particularly useful because it generates a unique and specific outcome : knowledge . This methodology has a wider scope of use , but for the purpose of this Design Thinking Case Study , we will focus only on one specific field - Software Product Development . The Theory of Design Thinking Before we delve into the practical applications of the Design Thinking and my experience applying it , let ’s take a deeper look at the Design Thinking process . Design Thinking is a methodology that provides a solution - based approach to solve problems . It focuses on understanding the user perspective , with a human - centered point of view . The power of this methodology is the possibility to test quickly if an idea , solution or enhancement can bring real results to our customers . Integrating different methodologies , tools , and techniques coming from different fields ( marketing , psychology , design , business ) , the purpose of Design Thinking is to put the user on the very center of the problem we have to solve . The goal of the methodology is to “ find the user itself and define its needs ” and by finding those needs , create a solution or a product that can be really useful . To achieve this goal , the whole concept is split into six design thinking phases . 1 . Empathize : The goal of this phase is to understand your customer , by searching and gathering information about their business . During this phase , we can use several different tools , such as interviews , focus group observations , and surveys . 2 . Define : In this phase , we collect and categorize information from the Empathize phase . It ’s here where we define User Personas and User Journeys . 3 . Ideate : Using the above information , here the team ideates solutions . There are no silly or wrong ideas ! Everything must be expressed and documented . 4 . Prototype : During this phase , something tangible is created , that will allow you to verify your idea in real life . Do n’t overcomplicate and create this MVP as quickly as possible . 5 . Test : Verify your idea in real life with actual users . Get feedback . Ask questions on how to improve it . 6 . Implement : This is the phase where all the collected knowledge gets translated into a final product . If after reading this you may be thinking : “ This is great but how is this going to help to quickly make my app a reality . ”