Photo by Bonneval Sebastien on Unsplash
Why design thinking?
Design thinking is a key part of innovation. Oftentimes, when a company comes to HeroX seeking solutions, they are trying to problem-solve for specific pain points that their customer is experiencing. The pain points can be related to finances, productivity, process, or support. It takes a conceptual brain (or in the case of HeroX, a collective conceptual brain) to get a three-dimensional overview of the problem. That’s when design thinking can be a powerful force for solving problems and finding opportunities.
Why HeroX?
Sometimes, in order for innovation to happen inside an organization, it is critical to step outside that organization. And the reason for this is that companies inadvertently squash creativity and innovation with their traditional models. As Gary Hamel wisely commented, “Too few voices are heard, creativity is constrained, decisions are underinformed, barriers separate capital from talent and necessary change is slow.” When you partner with HeroX, you get an infusion of new blood to stimulate the circulation of ideas. You get independent design thinking, fresh concepts, and a new team of collaborators with no agenda other than the problem at hand.
Asking the right questions
In order to get answers, it is essential to ask the right questions. It’s important for our team to understand the end goal of the challenge posed by an organization. What is the brand vision? What is the desired user experience? When our crowdsourced team gets a firm handle on this, they can then break down the pain points and turn them into a design opportunity. In order to do this, they map the customer journey, including pains and gains, and start to dissect user-experience issues and brainstorm what could be done differently.
How-might-we statements
Getting inside the mind of the customer is critical in understanding their experience, because only then can that experience be improved. Design thinking often involves how-might-we statements: “How might we help (pain point) so that they can instead experience x, y, z (desired result).
DVF
In breaking down the gap between the desired user experience and the current user experience, assessing the customer pain points gives you a measure of desirability.
What industry position or operational capabilities makes solving these customer needs feasible? The V in the equation is viability. How will addressing this pain point allow the company to grow?
Design is an innovative, iterative process. HeroX teams have created solutions in technology, healthcare, infrastructure, space travel, and so many other arenas because when you harness the genius that is out there in the world and unite curious minds around a puzzle to be solved, it’s a very exciting process that produces amazing results.
