Lean Decision Quality® helps Design Thinking management method by exponentially increasing the ability of a company to make effective and profitable decisions, by creating sharing and “well being” for every stakeholder, both internal and external.
STRATEGIC DESIGN THINKING: GO BEYOND THE LIMITS OF THE LOGIC OF “PRODUCT” TO EVOLVE AND BECOME THE LOGIC OF USER EXPERIENCE.
WHAT DESIGN THINKING MEANS:
Design Thinking is a specific approach to Innovation, implemented by companies to solve problems and/or seize new opportunities; it is not a method which focuses solely on product/service aesthetics, structure, and design but which aims at building a journey, a customer-oriented experience.
THE GOAL OF DESIGN THINKING
Identify an innovative solution to a problem/opportunity which satisfies 3 core criteria:
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Desirability: think about what clients might want but lack, walking in their shoes and immerse yourself in their daily routine instead of trying to convince them a product or service is “good”
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Feasibility: identify themes and models, through observation and field activities, trying to build relationships and deepening insights to check how consumers react, adjusting the product, its price, or positioning
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Viability: define the winning solution, in terms of sustainability and profitability, identifying any activity or resource the company will actually have to produce to communicate, distribute and deliver this solution.
AN APPROACH WHICH REQUIRES A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE OF PACE, AT ALL LEVELS, AND IS ESSENTIAL TO PUT ASIDE THE OFTEN FRUITLESS “WE HAVE TO SELL THIS PRODUCT” LOGIC.
HOW A DESIGN-ORIENTED COMPANY IS ORGANIZED
The main strength of Design-Oriented companies (e.g. Apple) is that they have the skill to apply the design function at the executive level and apply its fundamentals to strategic decisions to benefit the future of the company. It is fundamental, to understand and share how you get to
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the conception of a project
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well balanced solutions and important strategic decisions
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the definition of a solid foundation which allows you to invest money
- Inspiration: collect the client’s desires/fears
- Ideation: generate alternative ideas about the product/service and test it in the market
- Implementation: implement the product/service and market it or you start a pilot project
Source: Stratego
LEAN DECISION QUALITY® + DESIGN THINKING: STRATEGIC DESIGN THINKING!
The potential of design thinking and the benefits deriving from it being applied to innovation and company management processes can be enhanced by “merging” it with Lean Decision Quality®
Here at Stratego, we have developed Design Thinking into Strategic Design Thinking, a whole new approach designed to integrate creative (diverging thinking) and analytical skills in a multidisciplinary environment fostering collaborating to produce new alternatives and a “fertile soil” for the production of exponential value.
STRATEGIC DESIGN THINKING : THE PROCESS, 5 easy steps towards a successful idea
The core process of Strategic Design Thinking starts by identifying the problem/opportunity, the ensuing business goal, and by then defining its coherence with the company identity and strategy.
INSPIRATION
Inspiration phase is divided into two steps:
- Explore: you start by exploring to frame the project, identify your ideal users, the different buyer behaviours, and how consumer trends influence the company choices.
- Empathize: during this second step you connect with the end users in their environment to know the details of their experience, trying to find what they need or might need
FRAMING
During this phase you define your strategic goals, the scope and dimension of the project, its frame, influenced functions, processes, who to involve.
IDEATION
The brief you expanded on during Inspiration step is now used as a starting point to define your strategic decisions. The multidisciplinary Project Team, through organized brainstorming, will produce alternatives, which have to be creative, doable and significantly different. The Strategy Table creative tool allows you to compare the various alternatives at the same time (each alternative refers to a different business model).
EVALUATION
At this stage, an analysis and synthesis process of the various alternatives begins, to compare their values (desirability, profitability) and risks using deterministic and probabilistic tools and techniques. Those which could lead to a solution or opportunities for change.
LOOP Ideation – Evaluation
The best solutions are once again analyzed, prototyped and tested to gather other information. The alternatives, enriched by these new information addressing unsatisfied needs, are re-examined to choose the best solution (alternative), thus allowing the design conception process to continue to get to the final goals. The solution is then shared with all those taking part in the process and offered to the Decision Makers.
IMPLEMENTATION
The last phase consists in defining a strategic plan and implementing a concrete action plan. Decision makers commit to the allocation of the human and financial resources needed to implement the project. If the selected solution includes considerable investments, a pilot project can be a good starting point to help field testing the idea and to reduce investment-related risks.
THE GENERATION OF EXPONENTIAL VALUE
The generation of exponential value given by the implementation of Lean Decision Quality® in Design Thinking comes from the use of innovative tools and a of a method proven and field tested for years which, when used at the right time, make a great difference.
The added value coming from Lean Decision Quality applied to Design Thinking is:
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Lean Decision Quality allows you to verify, through Strategic Coaching, the real problem because companies often identify a problem/opportunity which is, in fact, either a mimicking behaviour derived from a competitor or it is not coherent with the company strategy and identity (Vision, Mission, Culture).
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At Ideation stage, Design Thinking uses the Business Model Canvas tool, while Strategic Design Thinking uses the Strategy Table tool, which enables the comparison and evaluation of the various alternatives to find the best from the risk and value point of views. When you use the Business Model Canvas you get to examine one model at a time, discarding the others.
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At Evaluation stage, you often evaluate the value and not the risk or, when examined, you don’t weigh it correctly. Lean Decision Quality uses innovative deterministic (Tornado Diagram) and probabilistic (Montecarlo Simulation) tools which allow you to gather valuable insights when making decisions.
STRATEGIC DESIGN THINKING:
THE BENEFITS
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Better decision making processes and decision quality
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Research of a solution’s greatest maximum value
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Ongoing commitment and engagement in Decision Makers and inside the Project Team
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It fosters a proactive and positive environment and it develops a sense of belonging inside the company
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It allows the development of strategic skills, like Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision-Making, Coordinating with Others which is the difference making the difference in a Design-Oriented company
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Greater clients empathy / products and services User-Centric
WHERE STRATEGIC DESIGN THINKING IS APPLIED
Given its features, Strategic Design Thinking could be applied to any kind of problem, either in strategy, organization, new product/service development, and it generates excellent results when you need to face complex problems:
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Company & Brand Strategy
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Company & Brand Positioning
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Strategic Product Innovation & Management
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Business Model Innovation
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Change Management
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Merge & Acquisition
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Increase Profit Margins
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Reduce Investment Risks
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Start-up Venture
BUILDING VALUE FOR YOUR COMPANY IT IS NOT JUST A MATTER OF PROFIT...
it means to create a collaborative work environment which is engaged in the decision-making processes, share your business with suppliers, partners and clients, build a culture of social and environmental respect.