{"id":462,"date":"2020-08-26T22:08:22","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T20:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lucianocastro.com\/divisite\/?p=462"},"modified":"2022-04-04T12:10:19","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T10:10:19","slug":"introduction-to-design-thinking-methodology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lucianocastro.com\/en\/introduction-to-design-thinking-methodology\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Design Thinking Methodology"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.5.7″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.5.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.5.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text module_id=”design-thinking-methodology” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|300|||||||”]<\/p>\n

Design thinking methodology makes us think, when we have to make a product, especially a software product, we always find ourselves in doubt \u2013 \u201cHow long will it take to make it?\u201d, and since we rarely have unlimited budget and time, the second important question is \u2013 \u201cHow much will it cost me to make it?\u201d.<\/p>\n

Both are fundamental and crucial questions when creating a product, but often, those are absolutely the wrong questions to ask. The most important question should be \u2013 \u201cWhich of the things I can do is really useful?\u201d\u00a0Since the natural economic time limits of a project impose a choice, understanding which functions are to be developed and in what order becomes crucial.<\/span><\/p>\n

A design thinking methodology known as Design Thinking is introduced in order to understand the project perimeter better, to understand which features must be included and which are really essential.\u00a0<\/span>This managerial design thinking methodology (developed in Stanford and then spread rapidly all over the world) increases an organization\u2019s ability to make effective and efficient decisions, through a process of developing creative thinking.<\/span>The Design Thinking methodology has a much wider application perimeter and can be used in various situations, but here we\u2019ll discuss in more detail its use in the Software world specifically.<\/span><\/p>\n

This approach essentially generates a unique value: knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through a creative and experimental process, it allows you to quickly understand the best solutions to adopt in order to avoid creating something that is unusable and useless.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Process<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

The process can be divided into six phases:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Empathize<\/i><\/b>: Do research to understand your users. Research can be done in the form of interviews, observations, focus groups, surveys.<\/li>\n
  2. Define<\/i><\/b>: Group the data of your research and define where the user problem exists<\/li>\n
  3. Conceive<\/i><\/b>: Prepare possible solutions. There aren\u2019t proposals which are too strange or stupid!<\/li>\n
  4. Prototype<\/i><\/b>: Create immediately something tangible that allows you to verify your idea on the field<\/li>\n
  5. Test<\/i><\/b>: Test your idea on the field (with test users or a specific audience)<\/li>\n
  6. Implement<\/i><\/b>: Put the vision into effect<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This sounds really interesting, but how much does it cost to make an app and how long does it take to make it?<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Applied\u00a0<\/strong>design thinking methodology<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A real case<\/strong><\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Know Unknowns: The Project Start-X<\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Some time ago I found myself at a meeting with an entrepreneur, some managers who all had many ideas. Their direct competitor had recently released a new application and the tension was palpable: they wanted to go out with something new on the market, to avoid losing ground.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe have to follow what others have done, with a lower price\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 claimed the Director of Marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cWe must create a more usable system that simplifies the life of the user in the various processes along the way.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 added another manager.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cWe have to change the way we collect information, simplify it and integrate our processes with third parties\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 claimed another.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cIt will take months\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 Technical Manager shook his head, while mentally translating all those requests into hundreds of hours of code to be implemented.<\/span><\/p>\n

    That meeting \u2013 and the subsequent ones \u2013 did not lead to a clear definition of what the product to be made actually was. We only knew that it was urgent,\u00a0 that we had to give a quick, better answer and hit the target as soon as possible.\u00a0<\/span>Company-X was a structured company, used to working on projects and applying Agile methodology partially. However, they were new to the idea of creating an MVP and testing it on the market, because \u2013 they feared \u2013 it would have an unwanted or unpredictable effect on their customer base.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cWe can\u2019t afford a half product, we need it whole.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    After about three weeks and with the competitor beginning to enjoy the fruits of their labour, the urgency became a necessity.\u00a0Therefore, we decided to approach the product in a new way: we would not be going out with a \u201chalfway\u201d, but with a complete product.\u00a0<\/span>We wouldn\u2019t have accomplished everything we had in mind \u2013 and all the huge list of wishes \u2013 but we would have focused only on those things that would really bring value to the end user. Our goal now was to beat the competition by not doing that something, but doing what was only necessary. And we had two months to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

    So Company-X decided to start, with some perplexity and fear, a Design Thinking project aimed at understanding and learning what could be a product that would really give value to their customer base and, potentially, bring new customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Design thinking methodology in action \u2013 Empathize<\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The first phase of design thinking methodology is Empathize, which means understanding users. Become empathetic.
    First step in design thinking methodology is to prevent the HiPPO (Highest Paid Person\u2019s Opinion) from ruling our future choices.<\/p>\n

    Together with the Managers, we have compiled a list of possible stakeholders to be involved during the decision-making phase.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In a day packed with meetings, we made a first list of 30 names (including employees, functional managers and customers) who could be contacted directly and a target audience in their customer care of almost 4000 users (approximately 10% of their recurring customer base).\u00a0<\/span>We\u2019ve tried to \u201cnormalize\u201d the base as much as possible. We tried to have a distribution of gender, industry and other values, as standard as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    The first result of the interviews were encouraging, the interviewees were open to discuss the various points, to explain the weaknesses of the system from their point of view and what the strengths were.<\/p>\n

    The first questionnaires we sent to users were not successful: out of 300 emails sent, only 5 people answered.\u00a0<\/span>Disappointed by the first result, we were ready to try new ways to involve the user base and receive feedback when Chiara, a Sales Manager, jumped in with more than welcomed help.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI don\u2019t think they will reply to any emails, they are not used to interacting with us. But if we communicate with all those who have the renewal expiring and give them a small incentive, I am sure they will help us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    The idea was simple and exceptional.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In a few hours we had a new list of users (3800), the list which maintained the same division between mainstream and extremes, but with the users who would have been \u201cforced\u201d to interact with the system.<\/span>The new model of communication this time asked the users to answer a series of questions, participate in the beta and in return, get a discount on renewal.\u00a0<\/span>At the first submission of this new model, over 70% of users responded and completed the form.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    We iterated and changed some of the questions in the questionnaire and interviewed some people more than once (fortunately, they were extremely available!) And in the end we obtained a database sufficient to understand what were the real problems perceived, the points that Start-X employees highlighted as problems but that have never been directed to management and strengths \/ weaknesses reported by users who have never been taken into consideration before.<\/p>\n

    The next step was to begin with identifying our target, to delineate our Personas, those who would become our potential customers and users of the product.<\/span>During this brainstorming phase we involved the whole extended team (our team and the Start-X team).<\/span><\/p>\n

    The brainstorming phase was always performed remotely, using video-conferencing systems and tools to track the personas and their first approach. Design thinking methodology is exactly way of thinking that can implement those kind of ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n

    For each Persona we identified the biography, their approach to technology, the use of the social media and brands used, their needs and ideas on what would be their Customer Journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

    At this point we had to define the solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Define Phase<\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    During the definition phase in\u00a0design thinking methodology\u00a0we tried to transform a generic definition of a problem \u2013 \u201cWe must create a product that reaches the masses and creates queues outside the shops\u201d \u2013 into a more specific solution \u2013 \u201cAdult men and women, between 35 and 45 years old need a solution to facilitate their communication in the digital world when they are away from home and to do so they need a device that they can bring with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    We carried out brainstorming sessions around our users, hypothesized solutions and kept an open mind to any possible innovation. \u201cThere are no stupid ideas.\u201d was the mantra.In a short time, keeping in mind who our subjects were, we outlined what would serve them and what were the needs \/ fears that we had to address.<\/span><\/p>\n

    For each user we defined the features and the customer journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We decided to use a User Story Map model that allows us to correctly categorize the user process, to map the themes at the top (those in blue) and to follow the various elements. For each of the Personas we are going to define the set of activities, stories and tasks that we assume they must perform along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Now we had to quickly test our idea, understand if it actually met the needs and bring it as quickly as possible to the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Our competitor was beginning to be successful and the numbers were on their side.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Ideate<\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    During this phase of\u00a0design thinking methodology, we began to outline possible real solutions, prepare sketches, prototypes, brainstorming, brain-writing.<\/p>\n

    Our team was completely remote and after a consultation, we decided to proceed in the simplest way to produce material, review it internally and then proceed to create a more attractive version to create.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The designers and some team members had agreed that to be as fast as possible, the best solution was not to use digital sketch tools directly, but to start with drawings directly on paper, to be shared with photos in the group and then proceed with the most interesting designs, to make them directly on Balsamiq or Axure.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Ideate process (as well as the previous ones) are not sequential processes. During all these phases, we kept in contact both with the extended team to be able to constantly receive feedback, and with the interviewees, to be able to review notes or any questions or proposals.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We came to define which changes were to be implemented and which design in order to apply the change.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Preparing sketches digitally became easier by using collaborative software to trace the sketch and having already shared the various sections and their specific behaviors.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Prototype<\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Now it was the time to make it real and to prove if what we are doing, what we have hypothesized and what we want to put in practice, actually works. Real\u00a0design thinking methodology test.<\/p>\n

    After almost 10 days from the beginning of our journey, we arrived at the crucial moment. We had to check our assumptions.<\/span><\/p>\n

    After a consultation and definition session with the team of developers, we weighed the stories and understood that the major component of development will lie in the creation of the back-end and interfacing with the legacy systems currently in place.\u00a0<\/span>Realizing the front-end component, on the other hand, would be a job that required a much shorter time.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We gave ourselves a time limit of 3 days to have a first version that reflects the product as much as possible and maintains the necessary functionality and three successive days to iterate over the collected data.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We decided to make the prototype of the front-end using the components already present, including a software for the analysis of the Heat Maps in order to have a representation of user behavior during navigation and use.<\/span><\/p>\n

    After 3 days (and a little sweat) we finally had our first version, with \u201cfalse\u201d data that reflected the behavior of the software we were going to create. There were some accessory elements that would be added later, but the software in that state represented a good deal of what would be created later.<\/span><\/p>\n

    After two weeks of work we had a software to try with users.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Test<\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The testing phase of\u00a0design thinking methodology\u00a0did not only happen at the end, but it was a constant moment of iteration and feedback.At the end of each element made, we tried to get feedback from users or customers before moving on to the next step.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Once the prototype was made, it was time to test it with the widest possible audience and check with them how effectively it responded to their needs, what their perception was and subsequently, what the expected result was during the usage.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The test phase of\u00a0design thinking methodology\u00a0was extended to the whole team and to some individuals outside the organization (customers and users) who, during the various sessions, had willingly consented to give their feedback on the implementation of the system.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The results were encouraging, the Start-X management could not only imagine what the product to be made would be, but could also \u201ctouch\u201d what it would become. The extended team had the opportunity to test it and verify their assumptions, correct them over time and all that within two weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Now we had to pass the final test \u2013 open it to users and understand what would happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    From Idea to Product: Our MVP<\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    We had data, ideas, Personas and a first tangible prototype.<\/p>\n

    It was time to roll up our sleeves and start developing.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We had a month and a half to build our system.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Hinges of the future project:<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n