How we use Design Thinking as a framework and guiding principle | Part III: Point of View
‘The actual needs of customers can be better understood from an empathetic perspective. Positioning oneself in the customers’ shoes helps us understand the needs behind the needs, i.e., the values of the user. From that, we can infer the thought process and priorities to frame typical users.’
In the last weeks, I introduced you to the first two phases of the Design Thinking process, which is divided into six steps:
1. Understand
2. Observe
3. Point of View
4. Ideate
5. Prototype
6. Test.
As the phases Understand and Observe are dedicated to gaining as much information as possible, the Point of View phase's objective is
- to analyze data from phases 1 and 2;
- to help us to clarify assumptions;
- to recognize patterns in the needs of our customers/users;
- to deep dive into systems and make them experienceable;
- to understand the needs of our customers/users on all levels;
- to emphasize with our customers/users;
- to develop a Persona — a distilled essence of real users.
Why develop a 'Persona.'
So creating a Persona helps us to understand our user's background, experiences, behavior, and mindset; the goals and needs; problems and challenges; and options and alternatives.
Based on that, solutions can be developed to solve the user's problems.
Attention: Keep the value chain in mind!
So in a few seconds, you will meet Paula Giegler, a Persona based on insights we generated through research and interviews with various experts. A survey we conducted anonymously — tackling the Design Challenge: How might Utility Provider of the City of Verden be positioned in the future to meet the climate goals and ensure a climate-neutral energy supply?
You might ask yourself what Paula might have to do with this question.
Paula is just one of the manifold players in the ecosystem of a utility provider. Next to the city council, businesses, industries, and others, the citizens play an important role as they are the users of the services provided and who pay for them.
So the utility provider has to create value for their customers (the Paula Gieglers') to be successful in the future — based on Paula's goals and needs, problems, and challenges. Otherwise, Paula would choose alternatives and options — producing electricity or heating via PV or heat pump or changing the provider.
Paula Giegler, 23, Junior Graphic Designer
From diverging to converging: Or how to extract quality from quantity.
Creating the Point of View leads us from a comprehensive question — which still is our guiding star in the Design Thinking process—to questions that focus on a typical user — a Persona. This approach helps us to synthesize what we have learned from our research in phases 1 (Understand) and 2 (Observe).
And most of all, it helps us to emphasize with a person who might be real; it allows us to get emotionally connected, and this again makes it easier for us to find solutions for our Persona's problems.
Every question opens the door to new worlds.
Finding solutions for a Persona like Paula Giegler leads to a variety of new but very focused Design Challenges, which Utility Providers might ask themselves:
- How might we promote and encourage citizen initiatives?
- How might we quickly provide consultation to citizens?
- How might we enhance our customer support when a citizen has an inquiry?
- How might we deliver services and products efficiently to citizens?
- How might we promote collaboration between residents to use combined green solutions?
- How might we become the first point of contact on energy-related topics?
- …
From converging to diverging: Or how to develop user-centered ideas to solve user-centered problems.
Phase 4 of the Design Thinking Process — Ideate is dedicated to finding solutions to solve our Persona's problem. In my next article, I will share how the a.m. questions help us ideate.
So stay tuned and subscribe not to miss it!
Andrea Kuhfuss, Co-Founder and CEO of QLab Think Tank GmbH
