Design Thinking for Small Business Solutions

Starting in the 1940’s, designers started thinking more about how to more reliably extract better solutions to design problems. The results of this process was naturally first applied to architectural and industrial design. It was eventually recognized that the same principles could be applied to problem solving through a more formal ideation process. This eventually became known as Design Thinking. This “engineered” way of thinking formalizes the process regardless of the industry or operation. In other words this structure allows expansion not just of design but of problem solving in general. The flexibility it brings allows advancing operations and innovation through the eyes of the customer, end-user, strategist, educator and so on. Let’s dive into what it is and how it works.

Design Thinking consists of five core phases: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test

• Empathize

  This critical first step is to gather deep insight into user’s issues, how they understand the problems, response to problems, behaviors, motivations, and pain points. To truly empathize involves interviews, observation, and immersion into the resultant actions that are driven by the current situation. Often response mechanisms have failed to keep pace with technology improvements making the response less effective against today’s operating environment.

• Define

  Synthesize findings from the first part of the process into a clear problem statement. This is typically framed as a user-centered challenge. That is, defining the experience as perceived by the users and focusing on the final result. This could be any significant stakeholder: a department, an operation, product ideas, or financial goals. Just as long as it is clearly defined so that the result is measurable against the existing situation.

• Ideation

  Having established an agreement about what constitutes a successful outcome, the next step is ideation. This consists of generating a wide range of ideas without immediate judgment. This stage is similar to brainstorming sessions with the difference being the degree of focus: the “guardrails” if you will. The goal is volume and diversity, not perfection.

• Prototype

  Once you have some potential solutions, you need to build simple, low-cost representations of the ideas that you have generated. Prototypes can take many forms. Mazes, spreadsheets, workflow diagrams, decision trees, even 3D printers can be used to quickly build a representation of a proposed solution.

• Test, Accept, Finalize

  Finally, it is time to have people test the solutions and provide feedback. For this task, select people that are part of the group that is the intended beneficiary of this process – real users. You will need to collect feedback, using that feedback to refine the solution, and iterate. Don’t be surprised if some of the feedback overlaps with earlier steps in the process as the users “feel their way” through the new process. Things should converge within a few iterations and when all parties have agreed, then the new process needs to be formalized as an accepted replacement of the earlier process. How revisions like these are incorporated will be based in the operational norms of your company or industry.

Why Design Thinking Works

The reasons that design thinking is successful are manifold. Part of it is the fact that it is a narrowly-focused activity. In addition, the five-step framework carries the participants through the process, starting with empathy and ending with an actionable plan with room to iterate to a closure. This keeps the process on the track with the ability to look back at the reasoning before each of the steps. The inherent constraints that are developed make the process more productive by maintaining focus.

There are also psychological aspects that help make Design Thinking especially effective. It forces a perspective shift by focusing on empathy as the first step. Importantly, during idea generation, participation is done without evaluation at this step. No idea is judged, which increases the quality and quantity of potential solutions. Fear of failure is eliminated. The emphasis on experimentation allows for creative prototyping which makes the process feel more like a continual refinement. Furthermore, multiple disciplines come together in the process which results in diversity and originality.

The next time you are struggling with some operational or other business decision, try your hand at a Design Thinking approach. It’s easy enough to step your way through the process and after a few tries it will start to feel like a natural and effective approach to problem solving. You’ll soon find that you are creating more effective solutions throughout your organization.