Feb 9, 2021
Business Origami
Speed Dating Preparation
What is the research method about?
Business origami is a research method that models current and future systems by playacting with paper-cutouts. Invented by the Hitachi Design Center, its name referred to the Japanese art of folding paper into symbolic figures. The service design activity explores various attributes such as user experience, stakeholder relationships, resources and activities required and financial and information exchanges. Its purpose is to prototype value exchange over time within a specific context. By bringing system elements into the physical dimension, it provides insight to how different touch points realistically play out over time. The participatory nature of business origami allows people to understand varying views and bridges different perspectives by providing a common reference for further discussion. It is an innovative way that generates qualitative data on behaviors and attitudes that occur within the system. Although it is a structured activity with particular scenarios tied to predetermined goals, the process could help identify tangential components of the system that fall outside of the scope of the exercise.
When is it typically used?
Business origami is an exploratory and generative research method that works best early in the design process. It allows researchers to look for patterns and insights that lead to ideas and help define the problem.
Who is involved and in what capacity?
Project stakeholders come together in a custom-made workshop setting to participate in the business origami activity. After thorough user research, a multidisciplinary mix of 4–6 participants is selected to be involved and are given an equal voice.
How is it done?
- A horizontal whiteboard surface is used as the base of the set
- Paper tokens represent people/artifacts/environments/technologies
- Identify everything and group them into associated elements
- Manipulate cut-outs to do tasks in a given scenario
- Jot down relationships between elements with dry-erase markers
- Label the value exchange of the interaction by drawing arrows
- Discuss potential issues, risks, challenges and opportunities
Why would designers use it? Bring an example.
Designers would use business origami to investigate existing systems or made-up systems. By building a physical representation of a system and modeling interactions with tokens, the activity mimics different user journeys. Researchers can rapidly explore from different viewpoints and understand user feelings, behavior and actions in a complex model. Below is an example of a business origami activity done on Uber. The scenario is ride-hailing with interactions between customers, drivers and the company. Characters and tools are created with paper tokens and subjects would act out the process of ride-hailing. As subjects walk through the experience, relationships and value exchanges were marked out. The storytelling activity reveals how the company does not own expensive assets, customers would like cheaper taxis and drivers participate in the service to make more money in their spare time. With these insights, Uber can make according changes to their current business system.
