Design Thinking for Innovation   Final Assignment  21 October 2018 - Oscar

Background

I work as a UX Designer at a digital agency, working with clients from various industries. My  responsibilities range from conducting user research, creating design concepts, facilitating  workshops all the way to prototyping and handing oﬀ assets to developers.

Challenge

A major household appliance company has commissioned us to help them create an app for a  line of vacuum cleaners. This app should include functionalities that will allow consumers to order  new parts and reach out to personal advisor for any issues. Additionally it also needs to be able to  allow users to control and navigate the newest of their product: the robot vacuum cleaner. After  the conducting several types of user research (interviews, surveys..etc) we’ve gathered the data  and extracted emerging patterns. To kick oﬀ the project we have decided to run a “Design Sprint”  to help us quickly solve the problem of “how might we encourage vacuum owners to download  the app and use it?”

Selection

“Visualization”

On the ﬁrst day of the sprint, ideas and problems haven’t yet been identiﬁed yet, therefore it was  important for the group to gather together and share insights, discover patterns and map it out  visually so it helps us to unlock the creative side of our brains and helps us to see possibilities  that we otherwise would have missed. Visualising the problems and customer journey wasn’t just  important not the ﬁrst day of the sprint. We adapted visualisation throughout the sprint - we drew  diagrams, maps, wireframes, ideas to help the group visualize the problem and the patterns. This  helped us to move forward each day.

Application

On the ﬁrst day of the Sprint, we’ve already had valuable insights from the users and we have  invited various experts of the company to come and share their insights with us: what the current  challenges are and what potential problems the product could face. With so many insights it was  really hard to keep track so we wrote down major insights into “How might we questions” on  sticky notes and stick them on the whiteboard. Later on, we used these insights to start drawing a  customer journey map on the white board together to help visualize where the potential problems  could be in the customer journey and this visualisation helped us a lot to come up with solutions  the day after. We started with the customers in the store, learning about the product, buying th  product, installing the product, using the product and eventually downloading the app (our goal).  This method of mapping (drawing) out each of the step as a diagram was a great way to really  understand what our customers will go through. As a Facilitator of the Sprint, It was great for me  to see the group really responded well to the diagram on the board - the map changed throughout  the sprint as new insights emerged during the sprint.

Insight

It is hard to be in a group with so many ideas -  ideas in our heads which are not visualised and  many of the participants couldn’t not exactly grasp what the person might be talking about.  Visualization is such a powerful tool to align thoughts and bring everyone in the group to the same  level.  Throughout the sprint we used visualisation to map out customer journey, to identify  problems, create possible solutions (by using dot voting), we transformed ideas into concepts  (wireframes) on the board and we were able to get feedback from the group and iterate as a

group. Without visualisation it would be hard to align everyone and there would be a lot of  confusion in the group.

Approach

I think by adopting the Design Thinking mindset, it’s not about using 1 single tool to reach the  goal but by using a collective of diﬀerent tools that can really help drive the project forward. While  visualisation is a great way to align everyone and create solutions as a group, other tools like  storytelling or mind mapping are equally important to allow us to really dive into the mindset of  our users and the scenario and ﬁnd the best solution that will help solve the problem. After  reading the “Sprint” by Jake Knapp and taking this course, I truly believe it’s a collaborative eﬀort  of using various diﬀerent tools to make the project a success.


Design Thinking for Innovation Final Assignment 21 October 2018 - Oscar Background I work as a UX Designer at a digital agency , working with clients from various industries . My responsibilities range from conducting user research , creating design concepts , facilitating workshops all the way to prototyping and handing oﬀ assets to developers . Challenge A major household appliance company has commissioned us to help them create an app for a line of vacuum cleaners . This app should include functionalities that will allow consumers to order new parts and reach out to personal advisor for any issues . Additionally it also needs to be able to allow users to control and navigate the newest of their product : the robot vacuum cleaner . After the conducting several types of user research ( interviews , surveys .. etc ) we ’ve gathered the data and extracted emerging patterns . To kick oﬀ the project we have decided to run a “ Design Sprint ” to help us quickly solve the problem of “ how might we encourage vacuum owners to download the app and use it ? ” Selection “ Visualization ” On the ﬁrst day of the sprint , ideas and problems have n’t yet been identiﬁed yet , therefore it was important for the group to gather together and share insights , discover patterns and map it out visually so it helps us to unlock the creative side of our brains and helps us to see possibilities that we otherwise would have missed . Visualising the problems and customer journey was n’t just important not the ﬁrst day of the sprint . We adapted visualisation throughout the sprint - we drew diagrams , maps , wireframes , ideas to help the group visualize the problem and the patterns . This helped us to move forward each day . Application On the ﬁrst day of the Sprint , we ’ve already had valuable insights from the users and we have invited various experts of the company to come and share their insights with us : what the current challenges are and what potential problems the product could face . With so many insights it was really hard to keep track so we wrote down major insights into “ How might we questions ” on sticky notes and stick them on the whiteboard . Later on , we used these insights to start drawing a customer journey map on the white board together to help visualize where the potential problems could be in the customer journey and this visualisation helped us a lot to come up with solutions the day after . We started with the customers in the store , learning about the product , buying th product , installing the product , using the product and eventually downloading the app ( our goal ) . This method of mapping ( drawing ) out each of the step as a diagram was a great way to really understand what our customers will go through . As a Facilitator of the Sprint , It was great for me to see the group really responded well to the diagram on the board - the map changed throughout the sprint as new insights emerged during the sprint . Insight It is hard to be in a group with so many ideas - ideas in our heads which are not visualised and many of the participants could n’t not exactly grasp what the person might be talking about . Visualization is such a powerful tool to align thoughts and bring everyone in the group to the same level . Throughout the sprint we used visualisation to map out customer journey , to identify problems , create possible solutions ( by using dot voting ) , we transformed ideas into concepts ( wireframes ) on the board and we were able to get feedback from the group and iterate as a group . Without visualisation it would be hard to align everyone and there would be a lot of confusion in the group . Approach I think by adopting the Design Thinking mindset , it ’s not about using 1 single tool to reach the goal but by using a collective of diﬀerent tools that can really help drive the project forward . While visualisation is a great way to align everyone and create solutions as a group , other tools like storytelling or mind mapping are equally important to allow us to really dive into the mindset of our users and the scenario and ﬁnd the best solution that will help solve the problem . After reading the “ Sprint ” by Jake Knapp and taking this course , I truly believe it ’s a collaborative eﬀort of using various diﬀerent tools to make the project a success .