by Tyler Carey
Design Thinking is a business solution methodology that has been in use since the late 1960s, and is intended to help organizations use user-centric, analytical approaches to overcome problems. From a process standpoint, Design Thinking can be summed up by the terms: inspiration, ideation, and implementation. Unlike other solution planning strategies that treat the different phases of discovery and implementation as distinct stages with their own beginnings and ends, Design Thinking is more fluid with ideas and events happening at later stages allowing participants to backtrack and recalibrate as they go. This embracing of change throughout the process has resulted in Design Thinking being called a more ‘human’ approach to project planning, as it allows for – and even encourages – thinking outside the box to identify solutions that are unconventional and may or may not work. But, it is this risk taking that makes it so effective.
This unconventional approach to design is also what makes this approach work for business professionals whose roles may exist far, far outside the role of a traditional ‘designer.’ By using Design Thinking, professionals can better understand their colleagues’ and customer’s needs, and better address those needs through solutions that take the end user into account. Examples of Design Thinking being effectively used in different businesses include:
The Rutgers Design Thinking program is an intensive 4-day in-classroom or online program that focuses on innovative thinking as a means of designing products and services. Visit the RU Design Thinking website to learn more about our program, and engage with us today about your business and how the program can help you improve your and your customers’ experiences with your products and services.
Design Thinking is a business solution methodology that has been in use since the late 1960s, and is intended to help organizations use user-centric, analytical approaches to overcome problems. From a process standpoint, Design Thinking can be summed up by the terms: inspiration, ideation, and implementation. Unlike other solution planning strategies that treat the different phases of discovery and implementation as distinct stages with their own beginnings and ends, Design Thinking is more fluid with ideas and events happening at later stages allowing participants to backtrack and recalibrate as they go. This embracing of change throughout the process has resulted in Design Thinking being called a more ‘human’ approach to project planning, as it allows for – and even encourages – thinking outside the box to identify solutions that are unconventional and may or may not work. But, it is this risk taking that makes it so effective.
This unconventional approach to design is also what makes this approach work for business professionals whose roles may exist far, far outside the role of a traditional ‘designer.’ By using Design Thinking, professionals can better understand their colleagues’ and customer’s needs, and better address those needs through solutions that take the end user into account. Examples of Design Thinking being effectively used in different businesses include:
- doctors identifying better ways of handling patient communications
- school districts finding better ways to reach their students by having them solve real-world problems using collaboration and empathy
- executives rethinking and establishing a new corporate culture to better align with their employees’ and customer’s needs
- engineers creating products that are more user friendly, and better address consumer’s problems and expectations
The Rutgers Design Thinking program is an intensive 4-day in-classroom or online program that focuses on innovative thinking as a means of designing products and services. Visit the RU Design Thinking website to learn more about our program, and engage with us today about your business and how the program can help you improve your and your customers’ experiences with your products and services.
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