Unlocking the Power of Design Thinking to Ignite Creativity
Introduction
Design thinking is an innovative approach to problem-solving that seeks to uncover and understand the underlying needs of end users. This technique combines creative and analytical processes, allowing teams to identify problems in their early stages and develop solutions more quickly. Design thinking encourages collaboration among team members by involving everyone in the process from ideation through implementation. It also helps organizations reduce costs associated with developing new products or services as well as increase customer satisfaction by providing tailored experiences for customers. The benefits of using design thinking include increased creativity, improved communication, stronger problem-solving skills, greater agility when responding to changes, and a better understanding of user needs.
Defining Design Thinking
Design Thinking is an iterative and user-centered approach to problem solving that begins by understanding the needs of end users. It focuses on creating solutions based on empathy with those users, as well as their context and environment. The core components of design thinking include user research, prototyping, testing and iteration. Design Thinking also emphasizes a collaborative process among team members to develop innovative solutions in a more efficient manner.
The characteristics of Design Thinking are: firstly it encourages collaboration between different stakeholders; secondly it emphasizes a solution-focused mindset; thirdly its iterative nature allows for rapid prototyping; fourthly its focus is on uncovering underlying user needs; fifthly it promotes creativity through brainstorming sessions and out-of-the box thinking.
The key processes involved in design thinking can be divided into three stages: discovery, definition and delivery. At the discovery stage teams conduct research to understand the problem from multiple perspectives including customer feedback surveys or interviews with stakeholders, competitors’ analysis etcetera. During the definition stage ideas are generated through brainstorming sessions which then leads onto developing prototypes during the delivery phase where these designs are tested with customers before finally launching them into production or market release depending upon what type of product/service being developed.
Several scholars have attempted to describe design thinking (Buchanan, 1992; Katoppo & Sudradjat, 2015; Hendricks et.al, 2018). Design thinking is explained as designer’s sensibility and strategies for meeting the demands of stakeholders. (Brown, 2008; Dell’Era et.al, 2018). It also explained as a human centric process (Schallmo et al., 2018; Lockwood, 2009) that use to provide problem-solving actions. In terms of usability, design thinking approach with a rigorous and systematic research process has advantages over the traditional way (Altman et.al, 2018). Leveraging on the theoretical concept of user co-creation (Payne et.al, 2008), design thinking include input from multiple perspectives. There are numerous study done using design thinking in various practical settings like innovation, software design, critical thinking, education, wicked problem (Dell’Era et.al, 2018, Hendricks et.al, 2018).
Brown explains design thinking as the cycle mental states in innovating for solutions which are diverging and converging. Decisions are produced in the divergent phase, whereas choices are made in the converging phase (Brown, 2008). This two mental states happen in series of process while going through the design thinking process. The divergent phase focuses on developing new idea and expand the thought beyond the comfort zone to find creative framework. The convergent phase is focuses on finding the creative solution with understanding of individual needs, functionalities and the challenge to solve (Lewrick et. al, 2018). Figure 2.5 illustrate the two mental states of divergent and convergent in design thinking.
Design thinking process
Despite the fact that the literature uses diverse terms to describe the design thinking process, the studies all support a common understanding of the process. The first stage in doing qualitative research is to gather user needs and define difficulties. The next step is to generate ideas using a collaborative and creative thinking process, which includes prototyping and testing to establish viability (Ngamvichaikit, 2021). Hasso-Platner Institute (HPI) school of design describe design thinking process as six steps process which are (1) understand, (2) observe, (3) define point of view, (4) ideate, (5) prototype and (6) test as shown in Figure 2.6 (Thoring & Mueller, 2011). This model originated in the Information Systems discipline, Method Engineering is concerned with the description, design, adaption, and evaluation of methods, using engineering principles.
Cankurtaran and Beverland (2020) established a three-stage design thinking method that includes (1) disrupt, (2) define and develop, and (3) transform as depicted in Figure 2.7. The model was introduce to find solution for wicked problem. Wicked problems can't be solved by using the same dominating logic that worked in periods of greater certainty and stability to them. Stepping outside of tried-and-true logics, on the other hand, is tough for managers. Wicked problem is problem that have is immediate and no ultimate test of a solution with solution option is not true-or-false, but better or worse. Every solution to a wicked problem is a “one-shot operation”; because there is no opportunity to learn by trial-and-error, every attempt counts significantly. This model is use by the research to find solution for B2B business sustainability during Covid19.
This study chooses to use design thinking process from Stanford Design School. Stanford Design School consolidate the understand and observe step that listed in HPI model and list five steps in the design thinking process as illustrated in Figure 2.8 which consist of (1) empathize, (2) define, (3) ideate, (4) prototype and (5) test (Khalid et. al, 2019).
Exploring User Needs
Once the initial research and understanding of user needs has been gathered, it is important to explore user habits and behaviours in order to identify potential solutions. Through data analysis and qualitative methods such as interviews or focus groups, teams can gain insight into how users interact with products or services. This information can be used to uncover insights that weren’t previously obvious, allowing for a more tailored design process. By exploring user habits and behaviors, designers can better understand their customers’ wants and needs which will ultimately result in creating solutions that are more desirable for end-users.
It is also critical to consider customer desires when designing a product or service. Products should always be designed with specific goals in mind so that they meet the desired outcomes of users efficiently. In order to do this effectively designers must take into account what features customers want from their experience interacting with the product/service; this could range from ease of use or speed of delivery time etcetera. Once these have been identified then teams can move onto prototyping ideas which reflect these desires before testing them out on real users through usability tests or beta versions etcetera.
By using a combination of research techniques such as surveys, interviews, focus groups and data analysis along with creative processes like brainstorming sessions designers are able to better understand user needs while also having an eye towards innovation at each stage throughout the development process thus resulting in higher quality products/services being launched into market faster than ever before!
Generating Ideas
Once the initial research and understanding of user needs has been gathered, it is important to explore potential solutions. Brainstorming sessions are a great way to generate ideas that can address the identified challenges. These brainstorming sessions should involve collaboration between different stakeholders in order to ensure that all perspectives are taken into consideration when coming up with innovative solutions. This process also encourages creative thinking which can lead to unexpected but effective results.
After gathering a variety of ideas, teams must then narrow them down by evaluating how well they meet user needs or solve identified problems. Prototyping possible solutions is an essential part of this process as it allows designers to test out their concepts and see what works best for users in practice before committing any resources towards implementation. By rapidly prototyping various designs, teams can quickly identify which ones will be most successful while also saving time and money on development costs since they won’t have spent too much effort on unsuccessful prototypes.
Finally, usability testing should be conducted with real users in order to make sure that the final product meets customer expectations and requirements effectively once launched into production or market release depending upon what type of product/service being developed. Through carefully observing how customers interact with prototypes during these tests, design teams can gain valuable insights into areas where improvements may need to be made before finalizing the product's design for launch day!
Iterating and Refining
Once the initial design of a product or service has been prototyped and tested with users, it is important to iterate and refine that design based on feedback received. Making adjustments to the existing prototype can help teams identify areas for improvement and make sure that their final product meets user needs in an effective way. Testing prototypes again with users after any changes have been made allows teams to gain further insight into which features work best for customers and what needs tweaking.
Understanding user feedback is also essential if designers want to ensure that their product is successful once released. Feedback from real users provides valuable information about how they interact with a product or service, allowing designers to pinpoint where improvements are needed or even uncover new ideas that weren’t previously considered. By continually gathering feedback throughout the development process, teams can be sure they are creating something tailored specifically towards customer desires while also taking into account other factors like cost-effectiveness etcetera when making decisions on which features should be included in the final version of their product/service before launch day!
Creating and Deploying
Once the design process has been completed and a prototype is ready for deployment, it is important to ensure that all stakeholders involved in the project understand how the product will be implemented. This includes understanding not just how users interact with the product but also how it fits into their current environment. Working alongside engineers and other team members can help designers create an implementation plan that addresses any potential issues before they arise.
After ensuring that everyone involved knows what’s expected of them, teams must then deploy their new design into production or market release depending upon what type of product/service being developed. This involves making sure all necessary components are properly configured, tested and updated if needed to guarantee a smooth transition from prototype to actual launch day. During this phase teams should also consider marketing strategies such as advertising campaigns or social media posts which could help promote the newly released product in order to increase visibility and hopefully sales numbers too!
Finally, once a successful launch has taken place designers must take time to reflect on what went right or wrong during development so lessons learned can be applied towards future projects moving forward. Feedback gathered from customers during usability tests should always be looked at closely as customer satisfaction is ultimately one of the most important factors when creating successful products or services! By taking these steps throughout every stage of development teams can make sure they are consistently pushing out high-quality designs while staying agile enough to adapt quickly when changes need to occur due to external factors like new trends etcetera!
Conclusion
By utilizing design thinking, teams are able to create better products and services that meet customer needs while also staying ahead of the competition. The process can help identify opportunities for innovation that weren’t previously obvious as well as uncover potential problems with existing designs before they become costly issues. Additionally, by combining qualitative research methods such as interviews or focus groups with data analysis teams can gain insight into how users interact with a product/service in order to tailor their design process accordingly. Through careful prototyping and usability testing teams are then able to refine their designs so that the final product meets user expectations when launched into production or market release. By taking these steps throughout every stage of development designers will be sure to create successful products/services tailored specifically towards customer desires while also remaining agile enough to adapt quickly when necessary due changes external factors like new trends etcetera!