Using Design Thinking to Solve National Security Problems
The world is becoming obsessed with Design Thinking (check out this graph if you don’t believe me). This “human-centered” methodology was popularized by Tim Brown, David Kelley, and others from Stanford’s d.school and the design firm IDEO.
Something about the practice of Design Thinking is captivating people and organizations. It is being applied to a variety of industries, from data science to transportation to health care. And we use it regularly at BMNT.
But this fad won’t last. Design Thinking is not a panacea to anyone’s problems. It won’t keep an organization relevant in the today’s rapidly changing business climate.
The Limits & Values of Design Thinking
Design Thinking works because it corrects the tendency to focus on feasibility and viability at the expense of desirability. It puts the human back in the equation where he or she belongs. At the starting point.
So what? Why is this important? Because many large organizations — especially those in the military — start programs with official requirements that are often far removed from what people actually want or need. It’s pretty easy to build a product according to a list of specifications. As famous entrepreneur and “Godfather of Silicon Valley” Steve Blank likes to describe it, existing organizations love to execute. Business as usual. Keep your head down.
But that mentality will not help you in an environment of high uncertainty. You need to clearly understand the problem you’re trying to solve — what Clayton Christensen calls the “jobs to be done” — for someone. Your users will throw away your product if it doesn’t solve their problem.
That’s why Design Thinking is so useful. The methodology offers many tools for unearthing desires, pains, issues, et cetera. Design Thinking helps you deeply understand and have empathy for users. And those users are the very people who rarely get a say in the traditional product/program development cycle in the military.
Why We Avoid Design Thinking
Most military organizations are heads down, focused on execution. Risk isn’t just profit — it’s could mean someone dies (who should live) or lives (who should die). The military needs to accomplish the mission, no matter what.
There is no room in this world for exploring or “being creative”. Those activities are likely viewed as disruptive, if not lethal. They generate unnecessary risk.
Accomplish the mission. That’s the goal. Time is running out. Resources are constrained. The environment is unforgiving and unpredictable.
Applying Design Thinking (with Eyes Wide Open)
Obviously you don’t want to formally use Design Thinking “downrange” (i.e. in a combat zone during operations). It’s critical to understand the environmental characteristics that would make it useful. Where is there a good [reward:risk] profile for Design Thinking?
Blue Sky Strategy Sessions
Look for places where people (esp. “experts”) can end up in a room arguing for hours with no conclusion. This sort of opinion war benefits no one and wastes a lot of time. Design Thinking can help such groups by framing specific design challenges that have actual humans at the center. It’s helpful to replace technologies, demographics, or other broad trends.
Research & Development
Scientists and engineers tend to start with a technology and try to reverse engineer a problem they could solve. Design Thinking lets them agree on a near-term design challenge, identify extreme users, and start immersing themselves in that environment. This helps them pair their technical expertise with newfound appreciation for the users who will end up using their product.
Pilot Projects
Program Managers often take a graduated approach to development. They want to scope pilots or proofs-of-concept to help them better understand the state of the art, and identify issues with adapting and/or integrating existing solutions to fit their needs. This process puts a lot of emphasis on their ability to create a fantastic Scope of Work. Design Thinking’s later stages — when you’re rapid experimenting with ideas based on user insights — can quickly evolve a set of milestones before the formal contracting process.
Wrapping Up
There are many ways to screw up the application of Design Thinking in the military context. Start by managing expectations, then look for environments where you can maximize the value of the methodology without triggering any events that affect you or your team.
Good luck, and let me know if you have any specific issues with which I can help.
