Practicing Design Thinking at scale 🏢

Less talking, more action.

I’ve recently spent 14 months at a large financial service company. The reason for my presence was the organization’s intent for a human-centered approach to product & service design.

Below you’ll read my most valuable insights, as a Process Designer & Facilitator, of implementing Design Thinking at scale 🚀

People in a sprint, pre Covid-19. Photo by Folkert.

The starting point: what needed to be done 📄

First things first: some context. We were asked to implement a new way of working in a department that counts 100+ staff members. Each of them works closely with several departments within the company. The focus is retail and consumer products & services.

Before I started, it was suggested that the principles of Design Thinking were going to be the way forward.

In short, the approach should be one where multi-disciplinary groups of people gather to create solutions with customers at the core of their attention. During this process research should be done, and the product or service will (likely) iterate a couple times before it is taken into production.

It proved to be a valuable method, with unforeseen surprises.

Lessons learned — finding value ✨

The following insights are based on personal experience, combined with a survey that was conducted among Product Owners and Deciders that we work(ed) with.

🏗 1. Design Thinking = Design Doing

Design Thinking might appear to be all about thinking, although it’s very practical. It is a constructive mindset, project approach and toolkit.

To get this between the ears and in hands of people: start immediately. Do Discovery & Design Sprints, and the right approach will develop over time. No matter how long you think, there will never be perfect circumstances to launch.

People and methods adjust to each other, without one of them being dominant.

🔍 2. Find focus: help people to do one thing at a time

Surprisingly, what participants of this way of working value most is focus. Life is busy, especially when people are working from home (due to Covid-19) and combine their job with parenting, for example.

This approach provides clear guidance in what the team should do, and what they shouldn’t. Also, the workshops demand full attention. It’s hard work, but only for a limited amount of time. There is always a tangible outcome or clear path forward. People seem to like that.

🤝 3. Guide people in working with other departments

Working in multi-disciplinary teams is also much appreciated amongst our participants. The insight: support the people who are willing to peek over the fences.

The biggest challenge here is to create a structure. Most of the time, colleagues are new to each other. There is no traditional hierarchy (like within a business line). Now who is going to make decisions? Define roles and how to align & decide at the beginning of every project.

🧠 4. Provide the ability to think & act (with workshops)

I value workshops over regular meetings. Why? It‘s less talking, more thinking & deciding. More action. I experience that people don’t create enough time for themselves. They run from (remote) meeting to meeting, or from task to task.

Workshops help people to take a step back. As said, the most important thing this way of working brings is focus. A well prepared workshop or sprint provides just that.

🏅 5. Brand the initiative

Although the Design Thinking mindset and tools were the core of our way of working, we didn’t called it like that. The name was Diamond. It was for a couple reasons:

• To convince others
  We a had a story to tell that fitted with the purpose of the department and organization. That helped us to sell that way of working.
• To borrow from other methods
  We allowed ourselves to implement from other traits like Behavioral Design, Rapid Experimentation & Validation or any general workshop format. Each individual could make it their own & add value.
• To calm down naysayers
  We avoid a purist who might say: “This is not real Design Thinking”. We could answer: “You’re right, but it works.”

👔 6. Get help from above

No surprise: being backed by management important. Needless to say, this is to create the needed funding, advice & mental support.

We create involvement by doing regular updates. During these moments we are as honest as can be. Share things that go well, tell it when there is doubt.

🎯 7. The way to put customers at the center of attention

Last but not least, the company’s interpretation of Design Thinking provided people to iterate their concepts based on talking & testing with customers.

After all, it creates products & services that are made for the people who will use them. No brainer, right?

It’s not over — and it never will be 🗯

These learnings are all positive and it might sound easy. Not really true. It is a process of trying, learning and improving.

When I left, I still found it difficult to manage different stakes in one group, or keep track of all the people involved. However, we developed ways to deal with that. I’m sure the people who are involved now are improving daily.

Implementing a new way of working is about providing people with a starting point and guidelines to develop it further. By doing so, people will step forward and figure out what works.

During this process I worked closely with Folkert de Jong. My valued buddy at Clockwork and a true Coddiwompler.