The Design Thinking Playbook

by Michael Lewrick

  He wants to know how he can transform his knowledge of information technologies into meaningful solutions. It’s vital to him that he find a scalable solution for his blockchain idea quickly and that an innovative business model makes the enterprise viable in the medium term.

  He wishes to work in an environment in which the concept of “teams of teams” is a lived reality, and would like to get suggestions for it.

  With the aid of design thinking, Marc wants to establish a common language and mindset. The dynamics, complexity, and uncertainty are rising. Marc can deal with the situation pretty well, but he has noted that his team is not so good at it.

  Particularly in the blockchain environment, technological development is proceeding quite rapidly. The team must learn from experiments speedily and develop both the market and customers.

  Use cases:

  Marc would like a book that helps his team adopt the design thinking mindset more speedily and learn faster. The book should contain suggestions and tips, both for experienced design thinkers and for people who are dealing with the mindset for the first time. In addition, Marc would like to get suggestions on how to develop his digital business ecosystem and how to maintain strategic agility even in the growth phase.

   EXPERT TIP

  Create a persona

  How do we proceed when creating a persona?

  There are different ways of creating personas. It is important to imagine the typical user as a “real person.” People have experience, a life career, preferences, and private and professional interests. The primary goal is to find out what their true needs are. Frequently, potential users are sketched out in an initial iteration, which is based on the knowledge of the participants. It must then be verified that a user who has been sketched out like this actually exists in the real world. Interviews and observations often show that potential users have different needs and preferences than those originally assumed. Without exploring these deeper insights, we never would have found out that Peter likes red underpants and Lilly has a tic with flip-flops.

  In many workshops, so-called canvas models are used in the context of strategy work and the generation of business models and business ecosystems associated with it. We developed a “user profile canvas” for our workshops that helps in having the key questions at hand and, based upon them, in creating a persona expeditiously.

  To promote the creativity of participants and encourage out-of-the-box thinking, it is useful to cut the canvas apart and glue it onto a huge poster. On this poster, the persona can be drawn in full size.

  In so doing, it is worthwhile to improve the persona iteratively, refining it and digging deeper step by step.

  It always makes sense to ask for the “why” in order to get to the actual problem. We try to find out about real situations and real events so as to find stories and document them. Photos, images, quotes, stories, etc., help to make the persona come alive.

  In general, work with the persona concept is reminiscent of the procedure applied by so-called profilers (case analysts) in American detective TV series. Profilers are on the hunt for the perpetrators. They solve murders and reconstruct the course of events. They work by describing relevant personality and character traits in order to draw conclusions from behavior.

  We recommend taking the time to create a persona yourself. The intensity and closeness are important for building up empathy with the potential user. If time is short, standard personas can be used.

  You must be cautious when it comes to personas with brief descriptions. The example of the “persona twins” shows why. Although the core elements are the same, the potential users couldn’t be more different. This is why it really makes sense to dig one level deeper to understand the needs in greater detail. We get greater insights, and that makes things even more intriguing.

  Persona twins

  Born in 1948

  Grew up in England

  Married twice

  Has children

  Successful, rich

  Takes vacations in the Alps

  Likes dogs

  Born in 1948

  Grew up in England

  Married twice

  Has children

  Successful, rich

  Takes vacations in the Alps

  Likes dogs

   EXPERT TIP

  Empathy map

  How do we build up empathy with a potential user?

  The initial draft of a persona is quickly done. Although just an outline exists, it can be quite helpful and eye-opening. A brainstorming on the team can yield initial insights and contribute to a better understanding; it is absolutely necessary, though, that it be underpinned with real people, observations, and interviews.

  In a first step, the user must be defined and found. Ideally, we’ll go outside right at the beginning and meet a potential user. We observe him, listen to him, and build up empathy. The insights are well documented, in the best case using photos and videos. If you take pictures, it is important to ask permission beforehand, because not everybody likes to be photographed or filmed! A so-called empathy card can be used here that addresses the following areas: hearing, thinking and feeling, seeing, speaking and doing, frustration, and desire.

  We also suggest speaking to experts who know the persona well and, of course, being active yourself and doing what the user is doing.

  The credo is: “Walk in the shoes of a potential user!”

  Especially when we think we know the products or the situation, we attempt to approach a situation like a beginner—curious and without previous knowledge. Consciously and with all our senses, we go through the experience the user is going through!

  After this “adventure,” it is useful to define hypotheses on the team, then test them with a potential user or by using existing data, then confirm, discard, or adapt them. The picture of the persona becomes clearer and more solid with each iteration.

   EXPERT TIP

  Review the persona

  To obtain initial knowledge on the user, another tool that helps is the AEIOU method. AEIOU helps us to capture all the events in our environment.

  The task is clear. Get out of the design thinking rooms and speak to potential users, walk in their shoes, do what they do.

  The AEIOU questions help to put some structure into the observations. Especially with inexperienced groups, it is easier this way to ensure an efficient briefing on the task at hand.

  Depending on the situation, it is useful to adapt the questions individually to the respective observations. The AEIOU catalog of questions and the associated instructions help participants establish contact with initial potential users. Experience has taught us that it helps the groups if a design thinking facilitator or somebody with needfinding experience accompanies first contact of potential users. We all are pretty inhibited when it comes to addressing strangers, observing them, and asking them about their needs. Once the first hurdle has been cleared, some participants and groups develop into true needfinding experts. Chapter 1.4 will deal in greater detail with needfinding and the creation of question maps.

  AEIOU is broken down into five categories.

  Consider how each of the users behaves in the real world and the digital world.

  Activities

  What happens?

  What are the people doing?

  What is their task?

  What activities do they carry out?

  What happens before and after?

  Environment

  What does the environment look like?

  What is the nature and function of the space?

  Interaction

  How do the systems interact with one another?

  Are there any interfaces?

  How do the users interact among one another?

  What constitutes the operation?

  Objects

  What objects and devices are used?

  Who uses the objects and in which environment?

  User

  Who are the
users?

  What role do the users play?

  Who influences them?

   EXPERT TIP

  Hook framework

  How can we use people’s habits for our market success?

  The hook framework (Alex Cowan) is based on the idea that a digital service or a product can become a habit for a user. The hook canvas is based on four main components: trigger for an action, activity, reward, and investment. For the potential user, there are two triggers for his actions: triggers from the external environment (e.g., a notification from Tinder that you received a “Super Like”) or internal triggers for an action (e.g., visiting the Facebook app when you feel lonely).

  The action describes the minimum interaction of your service or your product with a potential user. As a good designer, you want to design an action to be as simple and fast as possible for the user.

  Reward is the key emotional element for the user. Depending on the configuration of the action, the user can be given a lot more than the satisfaction of the initial need. Think of positive reviews and feedback through a comment or article. You just wanted to share the information, but you get back far more due to the reputation of the community.

  The question remains as to what the user invests in order to get himself back in the loop and to trigger an internal or external action. For example, he actively follows a Twitter feed or writes a notification that a certain product or service is available again.

   EXPERT TIP

  Jobs-to-be-done

  framework

  What is the actual task of a product?

  The jobs-to-be-done framework became widely known through the milkshake example. The problem statement looks familiar to us: How can the sales of milkshakes be increased by 15%? With a conventional mindset, you would look at the properties of the product and then consider whether a different topping, another flavor, or a different cup size might solve the problem. Through a customer survey, you find out that the new properties are popular. However, in the end, only incremental innovations are realized, and the result has only been marginally improved. The jobs-to-be-done framework focuses instead on a change of behavior and on customer needs. In the case of the milkshake, it was found this way that two types of customers buy milkshakes in a fast food restaurant. The point of departure was: Why do customers buy a product? To put it differently: What product would they buy instead of the well-known milkshake?

  The result:

  The first type of customer comes in the morning, commutes to work by car, and buys a milkshake as a substitute for breakfast and as a diversion while driving. Coffee doesn’t work because it is first too hot and then too cold. It is also liquid and can spill easily. The ideal milkshake is large, nutritious, and thick. So the jobs-to-be-done of the milkshake are therefore a breakfast substitute and a pleasant diversion while driving to work.

  The second type of customer comes in the afternoon, usually, a mother with a child. The child wants something to eat in the fast food restaurant and is whining. The mother wants to get something healthy for the child and buys a milkshake. The milkshake should be small, thin, and liquid, so the child can drink it quickly, and it should be low in calories. The milkshake’s jobs-to-be-done are to satisfy the child and make the mother feel good. In principle, for any product, whether digital or physical, you can ask: Why would a customer buy my product or service?

  Innovations like those designed by Adobe Photoshop and Instagram are good examples of jobs-to-be-done in the digital environment. Both solutions aim at making photographs look like those taken by pros. Photoshop offers easy professional editing of pictures through an app. Instagram realized early on that pictures can be easily edited and shared via social media.

   HOW MIGHT WE...

  develop a persona?

  Because human beings always take center stage in design thinking and the persona to be created is very important, we sketched out the approach once more by way of example. When teams are tasked with developing “empathy” with a user over a certain period of time, or when they first apply design thinking, it is useful to specify a structure and the steps to be taken. Depending on the situation, we recommend using the tools just described (AEIOU, jobs-to-be-done framework, hook canvas, user profile canvas) or integrating and using other methods and documents into the steps listed here.

  To help you better understand this process, the Playbook is interspersed with various “How might we . . .” procedures.

   EXPERT TIP

  Future user

  How do we map the user of the future?

  Especially in radical innovation projects, the time horizon is often far longer. It may take 10 years before a product is launched on the market, for example. If its target group is 30 to 40 years old, this means that these users now are 20 to 30 years old.

  The future user method attempts to extrapolate these users’ future personas (see “Playbook for Strategic Foresight and Innovation”). It expands the classic persona by analyzing today’s persona and its development over the last few years. In addition, the future target group is interviewed at their present age. Subsequently, the mindset, motivation, lifestyle, etc. are extrapolated to get a better idea of the future user.

  The method is easy to apply. It is best to start with the profile of the current user and underpin it with facts, market analyses, online surveys, personal interviews, and so forth.

  When developing the persona, changes in values, lifestyle, use of technologies/media, product habits, and the like, must be borne in mind.

  KEY LEARNINGS

  Working with personas

  Use real people with real names and real properties.

  Be specific in terms of age and marital status. Get demographic information from the Internet.

  Draw the persona, in life-size, if possible.

  Add visualizations to the persona. Use clip outs from magazines for accessories (e.g. watch, car, jewelry).

  Identify and describe use cases in which they would use the potential product or services.

  Put the potential user in the context of the idea, his team, and the application.

  List pains and gains of the persona.

  Capture the customer tasks (jobs-to-be-done) that the product or service supports.

  Describe the experience that is particularly critical. Build a prototype that makes it possible to find out what is really critical.

  In so doing, try to take the persona’s habits into account.

  Try out tools for the definition of the content (e.g., user canvas and customer profile, hook canvas, future user, etc).

  1.2 Why is process awareness key?

  An important factor of success in design thinking is to know where you stand in the process. For Lilly, Peter, and even Marc, the transition from a divergent to a convergent phase is a special challenge:

  At what point in time have we gathered sufficient information, and how many ideas are necessary before we begin to transform the cavalcade of ideas into possible solutions?

  Alongside the current level of development, the tools must be constantly kept in mind in design thinking. Which of them are the most effective in the current situation? There are generally two mental states in the “hunt for the next big opportunity”: Either we develop many new ideas (i.e., we “diverge,”) or we focus on and limit ourselves to individual needs, functionalities, or potential solutions (i.e., we “converge”). This is usually depicted in the shape of a double diamond.

  For Lilly, it is a little easier to meet this challenge, because she knows how long her design thinking course at the university lasts, and she can control, as early as with the definition of the design challenge, how open or restrictive the question should be (i.e., how broad the creative framework for the participants is to be). With regard to real problem statements, things are somewhat different. Normally, we force ourselves at the beginning to leave our comfort zone and define the creative framework broader than we actually wish to. In the divergent phase, the number of i
deas is infinite, so to speak. The tricky part here is to wrap up this phase at the right time and focus on the most important functionalities that ultimately lead to an optimal user solution. Of course, there are many examples of all sorts of ideas being launched on the market, and chance contributes to success—well-known examples include a number of services offered by Twitter. But chance does not often work this way; hence, in the process, converging is decisive for success.

  Steve Jobs was a master when it came to managing the “groan zone” optimally. He had the right instinct to choose the time for a change of mindset and for leaving the divergent phase. This way, he led his teams to brilliant solutions. At Apple, Bud Tribble established the term “reality distortion field,” standing for Steve Jobs’s ability to master the mental leap. The term stems from an episode of the original Star Trek series, “The Menagerie,” in which aliens create their own world by means of their thoughts.

   EXPERT TIP

  Optimal point in time to change the mindset

  One good influencer that helps us change our mindset is a limited period of time. If the final deadline for an innovation project is pushed forward or the first prototype is expected earlier than scheduled, the mindset must be automatically changed as well. In addition, it is advisable to lay down the functionalities and characteristics in an early phase of the design thinking process. During the transition to the convergent phase, we take them up again and attempt to match them to a great number of varying ideas. This selection makes it possible to eliminate some ideas at this stage. It can be useful for consolidating or combining ideas into logical clusters. But, even then, we won’t be spared from selecting and focusing in the end. It is helpful during this phase to present the remaining ideas to other groups and participants. Then Post-its can be distributed, and the community can decide which is the best idea. If we only involve our own group, the decision is often not objective enough because we always risk falling in love with a certain idea. It’s up to you how ideas that have not entered the convergent phase ought to be dealt with. Some facilitators encourage participants to throw the ideas written on the Post-its on the ground, while others keep the ideas as a knowledge reservoir until the end of the project.