Course Name: Design Thinking in Business

Effective date: 1 May 2023

Week 2
The Value of Design Thinking
LO1: Understand the imperative of Design Thinking in Business
LO2: Identify the organization’s urgent problems
Upon completion, students are able to:
1. Understand the history of Design Thinking
2. Explain the value of Design Thinking in strategy
3. Explain the strategy of Design Thinking
 OUTLINE

2.1. History of Design Thinking

2.2. Value of Design Thinking to Strategy

2.3. Design Thinking for Strategy

2.1. History of Design
Thinking
 2.1. History of Design Thinking
The concept of design thinking emerged for
the first time in the 1960s in the context of
participatory design (Arnold 1959).
Participatory design was a movement
characterized by quick software prototype
development cycles, incorporating
customer feedback into the prototyping
process
1960s
The term Design Thinking, written in
capital letters, describing
methodology of creative problem
solving was introduced by Lawson
(1980) in his seminal book How
Designers Think.
1980s
In 2001, the team led by Brown at IDEO, introduced its
three-step process around inspiring, ideating, and
implementing (Brown 2009).
a
In 2005, researchers at the newly founded d.School at
Stanford University developed a five-step design thinking
process that has been at the heart of many subsequent
researches on design thinking processes
The New Millennial

1970s
The first milestone in design thinking history was set
by the publication of Herbert A. Simon’s book The
Science of the Artificial in 1968 (Simon 1968).
1990s
The 1990s were characterized by the adaption of design
thinking to solving business problems. In 1991, Faste’s
colleagues Kelley, Moggridge, and Nuttall founded IDEO, a
consulting company based on design thinking.
 Five-Step Design Thinking Process

Empathize Define Ideate Prototype Test

This first step is about During the second New possible
understanding the problem step of the design solutions are created Prototyping is about
at hand. Observations, thinking process, by starting with a transforming ideas Before selecting
interviews, and the gained data is large number of ideas into actionable a prototype as
measurements are some of used to clearly and narrowing them concepts that can the problem’s
the key tools used to gain define the problem down by eliminating be shared, solution, they
an objective, non- at hand and those ideas that are reviewed, and are tested and
judgmental view of the describe the core unacceptable in terms validated. validated.
challenge at hand. Key is challenge to solve in of cost, value, time,
empathy and customer- an objective way. resources, etc.
centricity.

By: d.School at Stanford University, 2005

2.2. Value of Design
Thinking to Strategy
 Four Key Traits Valuable
to Strategy Design
Design thinking is based on
Design thinking is prototyping and validating ideas
iterative in nature
Design thinking combines
the best of the two
worlds of analytical and
Design thinking is
intuitive thinking,
customer-centric
resulting in a so-called
abductive reasoning
approach
 2.3. Design
Thinking for
Strategy
 Design Thinking for Strategy

The simplest model of a creative process is a two-step process (Sawyer, 2012):

Divergent Thinking
Many possibilities are generated

Convergent thinking
Trending towards the best idea
Design Thinking Process Used for
Strategy Design
 Four Steps of the DTS Process

01 02
Observing Learning

03 04
Designing Validating
 Four Steps of the DTS Process
The design thinking framework formalizes strategy development by offering a
strategy design process supported by a common language addressing four key
questions:
(1) What customer needs, pain-points, and sought-after gains are currently
addressed or nor addressed, and what customers are not served?
(2) How can the identified needs and pain-points be addressed in a way that
customers are willing to pay for?
(3) What are the distinct capabilities and resources required to achieve a
sustainable competitive advantage in delivering upon the promises made,
that is, addressing the identified needs?
(4) How is the strategy ensuring that sustainable profits can be generated?
Alternative representation of the design
thinking for strategy or DTS process
 REFERENCES

1.Diderich, Claude. (2020). Design thinking for strategy. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International
Publishing (Chapter 2)
2.https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-is-design-thinking-and-why-is-it-so-
popular
3. https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/the-5-phases-of-design-thinking/
4. https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/what-is-design-thinking/
5. Design Thinking in Business Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPXeeyL4tEA