In large organisations when different teams perform very different roles and only look after specific aspects of a customer’s journey, it can sometimes be hard for people to see that their bit of the process is just one part of the whole customer experience. And, changing ones mind-set to put the customer at the centre of the bigger picture at all times isn’t a shift in mentality that will happen overnight.
In the design industry, the customer is always the focus. Whether it’s for products, architecture, fashion or advertising, good design ensures that the end product will be fit for purpose. So, designers are trained to approach problems in a way that develops solutions that address the customers’ wants and needs. This approach has come to be known as ‘design thinking’.
Design thinking
Design thinking is not just for designers. It is a solution-based approach for practical, creative problem solving which is now widely applied to many businesses and industries, for example, software engineering and healthcare innovation.
Unlike scientific methods of solving problems, which concentrate on collecting observational evidence and measurable facts, design thinking also considers the customer's needs, and their emotional state regarding the problem. It is subtly different too in that scientists focus on resolving a problem, whereas design thinkers concentrate on generating solutions.
Although design itself is subjective, design thinking is based on a core set of values, which can be applied in any problem solving scenario:
Creativity and curiosity – having an outside-in mind set
Empathy – for users and stakeholders so that solutions are customer-centred
Thinking holistically – not just about the singular problem but including emotional aspects
Team working – collaborating in multi-disciplinary teams on projects. Leaders don’t always have all the answers, success can require many voices
Generating lots of unconstrained new ideas – then distilling to a prioritised list
Rapid prototyping – taking risks and testing new ideas to see if they will have significant impact on the problem
Failing early and often – sacrificing ideas that don’t deliver enough value for customers
It seems to me that if we can encourage everyone to develop a design thinking approach, slowly but surely, putting the customer's experience first will become second nature to us all.
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