Design Thinking Process Its Influences and Critiques - Research Paper Example

Abstract Innovation is the trend in the 21st century market setup; it has been recognized as one of the fastest growing sections in the market and highly competitive. Creativity is, therefore, a puissant enabler to craft novel ideas. Companies always called for new techniques to attain recognition in the market; this is majorly done through such strategies like branding and product differentiation. The realization about the significance of innovation and creativity has sent many companies stampeding to ensure that their workforce is adequately trained on the techniques of innovation hence companies have invested heavily on innovation and creativity. Value creation techniques have shifted from manufacturing intense approaches to knowledge based designs which mean that companies have to adjust adequately to fit the market requirements. Innovation requires more than one approach in coming up with a complete recognizable product. Thus, companies have to amalgamate their resources to achieve quality innovation techniques. Despite the need for coherence in the market many industries have failed to implement this, competition has worsened the situation making each company rely on its own resources. However, this may not be an ideal platform for design thinking methodology. In this paper, I depict the roles and applications of design thinking in different scenarios, in the society. I draw up cases from a number of resources to depict the importance and how design thinking process can be attained with maximum benefits in the long run. Design thinking enhances the process of interoperability of the strategic and operational mindsets of individuals towards the set work environment. Design thinking is used in the derivation of human, technological and business sources and their interplay. Secondly it is influenced by socio-cultural and process based patterns (Lockwood, 23). Introduction Recent discussions evolving around knowledge usage have stressed the importance of utilization of distributed knowledge in innovation. It is illustrated that exploitable knowledge lies outside the organization that wants to undertake a new product development, this means that such an organization has to consider different components which may include and not limited to consumers, suppliers, and competitors and among other stakeholders in the business environment. The principle has an immense effect on management who are supposed to be open-minded and allow views from the external environment. By doing so, these managers will be allowing necessary skills to transpire in the innovation agendas. Collaboration of the human knowledge has also been identified as another factor that may aid the innovation process. Open source forums like Wikipedia and social Medias can be used for innovation purposes. Essentially design thinking process is a process that brings in a lot of significant changes in how society can approach problems. For instance, design thinking may be a process the will help the world to curb the pains caused by hunger in the world; design thinking can culminate to attain a solution to the numerous global conflicts among countries. However, a number of these problems have not been solved because design thinking approach has not been taken seriously or it may be because very few researchers have touched on the topic. The paper analyzes some of the solution design thinking have attributed to numerous problems faced by companies across the world (Meinel and Larry, 100). Design thinking methodology Design thinking originates from the exploration of how the designers approached their problems and developed suitable solution concepts. It was originally investigated in such fields as art, architecture and industrial design. Building on the early works of the process, researchers have come up with a holistic framework that is detached from designer's professional domain and applied to various fields of innovation. It is beneficial for an organization to attain innovation through the interplay of creativity and exploration of the human and business related attributes in the society. Design thinking is presently an extensive discourse as a managerial component. It avails numerous methods, rules and patterns that accompany a team-based knowledge and a collaborative approach in everyday operations of the organization. These routines are applied by companies across the world in attaining their set standards on innovation. Design thinking enhances creativity and lets people think beyond the obvious circumstances in the society, by applying this management will be able to foster innovation. Design thinking can bring a milestone of changes in the society. Many companies have successfully applied the concepts and delivered quality products or saved the environment from pollution burden. It shows the way resources can be combined so as to avoid conflict, but bring about cooperation and success (Martin, 19). This process can be broken further into The stages according to this diagram are Real life application of design thinking Seduction Project A project established in 2011 for the Dutch Hivos is an example of a project that culminates the concept of design thinking. The seduction project's main goal was to reduce the waste of energy by minimization of energy consumption. It was designed by Boondoggle Amsterdam; the interaction in this project was the relations between the consumer and the advertiser. This case qualifies an a depiction of design thinking because of the nature of the problem assessment which was done, they approached their problem by clarifying that they were to aid in the reduction of energy consumption in the local library, in Utecht. The main problem which galvanized the library was the high rates of energy consumptions that were experienced in the library. It was connected to the frequent use of the elevators even in the presence of stairs just adjacent to the elevators. After a keen observation of the behaviors of the people, they realized that many of the people preferred using the elevator as compared to the stairs in the building. The approach they took in analyzing the problem and coming up with the solution was a design thinking textured way. A humanly centered perspective was used; this changed their direction from concentrating on the elevator and structure means to influence the people on energy efficiency. It was not meant to be an imposition rather it was meant to be an unconscious move which will drive people willingly to a more cost effective approach. It was supposed to be a mutual situation which would benefit both the users and the client. This is the same strategy which is applied in a number of world problems. For instance in the case of the Syrian and the Middle East conflict, although the world had all the resources they could need in overthrowing the government in that country, they did not opt to go down that road this is because there was a more friendly approach of negotiations, hence design thinking process. Tim Brown CEO (IDEO) In order to test this approach, with the identified problem they decided to run some experiments that changed the locations of the routes where people were passing in order to take the stairs and the elevator, in the end they collected the data and came to a conclusion. The solutions they attained to this case scenario were putting red tapes marking towards the elevators and just leaving the stairs unmarked. It was meant to encourage the users on the use of the stairs to save energy. The red marks did not prohibit the use of the elevators rather was a signal that by using the elevator you were bound to bring related costs to the library. It plays with the conscious of the users and raises the probability of them considering a cheaper alternative which in this case was the stairs. People should not be deprived of what they are discouraged to use, design thinking depicts that if people are given powers to assess the situation on their own there is likelihood that the impending results will be amicably accepted by all the involved parties in a given situation. From the case scenario, the elevator was not locked up nor was a security guard put at the door to guard it against overuse. The solution to such a problem is into facilitating understanding on why you think a particular process should not be done (Cross 27). Apple Company is one of the international companies that regard design thinking in its operations. In a case study depicting apple company, it is established that the company designs very simple products that must meet customer demands, thus reengineering of the products on those segments that depict errors is allowed instead of re-producing the whole product. It is common to see different organizations that are not taking the concept of design thinking with a deeper perspective of the real outcome. However, to become success managers we have to think like designers and conceptualize the deeper meaning how to achieve success. Design thinking acts as a signpost or a map that gives directions on what performance procedures to undertake. For instance let's say if Toyota Company wanted develops a new model of its brands, the fact that the company wants to make a new product will not be received with concerns, and if the company develops visuals and pictures of its new brand then it will create a huge impact among its employees and the customers. This is what design thinking encompasses (see appendix 1). Quality production is another area that depicts design thinking. There were times when quality was no concern for businesses in the market. Production of goods was done at normal standards and average quality. However, with the pass of time this has changed tremendously, firms like Unilever and Proctor & Gamble have comprehended the importance of quality production. Design thinking creeps in when the management of the companies undertakes the role of ensuring that the products are restructured to fit the required standards. It does not have to stream down to the development of new products. This is what apple company has continuously done in its production endeavors (Martin and Karen, 45). The best strategy in any real world is identification and analysis of the problem. Human behaviors constitute a good proportion of the determinants of the design thinking process; this is due to the roles they play in the companies they serve. Another real life scenario where the problem can be tackled by design thinking is the curbing of hunger prevalence in the world. FAO should not always concentrate on the objectives of dissemination of food to hunger prone areas. Just like in the case of seduction project the problem culminating in the dry parts of the world can be reduced significantly. For instance although some countries in the Middle East like Taiwan are dry, they are categorized in the class of the developed nations simply because they identify the right projects which can boost their economies. The same way the hunger stroke countries should do; alternatives ought to be the major parts of the process. There is always an alternative to food aid, instead of giving out food aid; the problem should be approached from the cause. It can be either due to poor managements in the company or reluctance of the people in that country to work (Menges and Sean, 11). World hazards such as forest fires and droughts have in the past caused havoc the society. Mitigating such problems takes many efforts from different stakeholders. This is where there is a call to have the community participate in the process of ensuring that the best interests of the environment and the society are taken into consideration. Provision of equipment and huge amount of finance budgets towards emergencies is not the sole answer. It must be approached from a multifaceted perspective. It means that the design thinking must be employed for efficiency to be achieved during such occurrence. Design thinking will approve the inclusion of the people who are affected by the impending nature. The people have to be trained on how they should handle such circumstances when need does arise. Communities should be trained on firefighting skills, since a fire just needs five minutes before it spreads and within the few five minutes the experts will be preparing their motorcades or maybe dressing up for the call. This is never going to be productive because the fire would have consumed the entire building. Because of this many governments have taken the initiative of ensuring that its citizens are adequately trained on first aid and disaster prevention skills (Liedtka and Tim, 67). Conclusion Design thinking has brought about a new wave of approach to given situations in the society. As depicted by apple company manager Steve Jobs, people need to think differently when they see that the obvious does not give rise to any profits. It is high time the world stopped operating on redundant resources and clasping a move that is more productive. Design thinking is that very move that will reduce the burden of investing a million dollars and reaping the same million dollars. It makes no sense when an investment can give rise to a product that is worth less than the investments. It thwarts logic for operations to give birth to inferior outcomes. Design thinking technique comes in when a company wants to attain success and growth, it is because design thinking facilitates innovation and innovation leads to growth and expansion. The world is encompassed by numerous instances of design thinking that do not manifest easily to us. For instance, the cases of Syria and Libya in 2010 depicted a complicated move by many countries. Different countries tried to resolve the cases through mediation methods. As compared to the old version which allowed military action as Iraq, the design thinking approach recognizes for a win-win situation hence it is the most important approach which necessitates co-existence and market growth. Design thinking is the future of the production trends in the world, without it companies will be operating on inefficiencies (Ambrose, 34). Works cited Ambrose, Gavin, and Paul Harris. Design Th!nking. Lausanne: AVA Academia, 2010. Print. Cross, Nigel. Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work. Oxford: Berg, 2011. Internet resource. Liedtka, Jeanne, and Tim Ogilvie. Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers. New York: Columbia Business School Pub., Columbia University Press, 2011. Print. Lockwood, Thomas. Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience and Brand Value. New York, NY: Allworth Press, 2009. Print. Martin, Roger L. The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking Is the Next Competitive Advantage. , 2009. Internet resource. Martin, Roger L, and Karen Christensen. Rotman on Design: The Best on Design Thinking from Rotman Magazine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013. Print. Meinel, Christoph, and Larry Leifer. Design Thinking: Understand - Improve - Apply. Berlin: Springer, 2011. Internet resource. Menges, Achim, and Sean Ahlquist. Computational Design Thinking. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print. Appendix Appendix 1 Apple understands from the customers and the market what role, identity and meaning a new product should become before starting the design and innovation process. There is very close interaction with the customer (e.g. experience, testing) before and throughout the design and development process. After having explored this in detail, products are designed and engineered and become different versions, with different functionalities and colors. The Lombardy firms' R&D operation seems to have similar design thinking. "The members of the community are prized as much for their immersion in a discourse as for their originality. In other words, long before any thought is given to the form an item will eventually take, its role, identity, and meaning have been thoroughly explored."2 The general look, the product feeling and the product handling seem always to stay the same. "Innovating Through Design " by Roberto Verganti, Harvard Business Review, December 2006 Apple finds a good balance between designing and developing of completely new products or services and keeping eyes on their core products, which are required to generate revenue and be profitable. Doing so, they are going to be continuously find new and innovative thoughtful products and at the same time do not put the whole organization at risk by strategically heading into the wrong direction. Read More