“Goodbye Technology, Hello Human”
“Goodbye Technology, hello Human“
This is Design Thinking approach. An innovative human-centered management approach, developed at Stanford University in the United States in the 1980’s by Rolf Faste. An innovative approach, which has revolutionized the process of developing and monitoring projects.
So what is Design Thinking? What are its principles? How has this methodology fundamentally transformed certain companies?
Design Thinking is a method of creation which is based mainly, and in an iterative way, on user feedback and user behavior.
Empathy, creativity, co-creation, iteration and the right to make mistakes are at the heart of this innovation methodology.
« Before solving the problem right, make sure you are solving the right problem »
More concretely, the general principle is to define correctly, and as soon as possible, the problem which you seek to solve – before solving it by proposing solutions which will be at the same time desirable, viable and technically feasible.
This new phenomenon, which has now become a benchmark methodology for GAFAs, is in reality not that new. The idea of Design Thinking was indeed born in the 1950’s, in the United States, when the American advertiser Alex Osborn developed the methodology of “brainstorming”.
Wa have to wait the 1980’s to get an exact definition and a better understanding of this concept thanks to Rolf Faste, director of the Design Product section of Stanford University.
He listed the 7 stages of Design Thinking:
Define, Research, Imagine, Prototype, Select, Implement, Learn. These 7 stages were then reduced to 5, then finally to 3 more recently by Tim Brown, boss of the IDEO Company:
1- Inspiration: Identify a problem and understand its environment
2- Imagination (or Ideation): Find the concept, the idea that will solve the problem
3- Implementation: Design the form that will embody this concept
So, is Design Thinking a concept to adopt urgently by companies?
This is the question asked by some of the leaders and managers of large companies.
In a world which demands more and more agility and which puts the user at the center of its concerns, traditional methods of innovation and design have shown their limits: expensive, not agile enough and frequent tunnel effect.
Quickly identifying viable solutions is now a must-have for today’s businesses. The principle of Design Thinking makes it possible to meet this need. It may seem chaotic to those who are exploring it for the first time, as it leads to unexpected discoveries during the lifecycle of a Project, but it does lead to results that will significantly stand out by the end of the Project cycle.
The earlier you include the user in the project lifecycle, the better the benefits at the end of the project. Some studies claim that if you improve consumer loyalty by 5%, you can expect an increase in profits of 25% to 50%.
“It’s not the job of consumers to know what they want. The customer is unable to know that he wants something that does not yet exist. ” Steve Jobs
Nowadays, in a context of competition never seen in the history of the consumer market, customers are becoming more and more demanding, and experiences become more personalized and therefore more complicated as a result.
Nespresso, for example, with its capsules and its “club” of customers has been able to meet the expectations of these new consumers. The Japanese company Paris Miki works with its customers to mass personalize their glasses according to their requirements.
The Mikissimes Design System provides customers with an “exploration experience” using infographics supported by artificial intelligence to analyze the distinctive attributes of each customer’s face. These attributes are associated with adjectives provided by the customer, and describe the style they desire, such as sporty or elegant. The system uses this information to design, refine and create virtual prototypes of personalized eyewear, which can then be produced in an hour.
In view of its simplicity, its agility and above all its impact
on profits and cost reduction, Design Thinking has today become a methodology frequently used by GAFA as with certain startups – it can be applied in most contexts, from products to services, from marketing and media to management.
Trying is already moving forward!
