What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is a systematic innovation process that serves to identify and eliminate the real pain points of customers. The method enables companies to develop solutions for real user needs and quickly test whether these solutions generate real value.

Objectives and benefits of the workshop

With our Design Thinking Workshop your team learns to think creatively about products and services from a customer perspective. The workshop consists of approximately 20 fast and entertaining activities that lead participants from problem identification to testing a prototype solution. Starting with a concrete, practical question (i.e. how can we improve customer onbording) your team will go through the 5 phases of the Design Thinking process, directly applying the most important techniques and tools of the Design Thinking Method.

In essence, the participants learn

• Systematically identify and understand customer needs and problems
• Finding creative solutions to the biggest problems
• Quickly build a prototype and test the solution

All results of the workshop will be documented in the form of a photo protocol and included in a comprehensive presentation. With these documents as orientation and reference, the participants can conduct Design Thinking Workshops on their own any time after the training.

Contents and methodology of the workshop

Introduction to the Design Thinking concept and examples

At the beginning of the workshop, we will briefly show how and why Design Thinking has become one of the most popular innovation methods of our time. We will then present the Design Challenge agreed on with you for the workshop.

Understanding and defining the problem

The Design Thinking Workshop usually starts with a personal research (“out of the building phase”, preferably through personal interviews) to find out where customer problems lie. If this is not possible, the workshop participants can interview each other as experts on the subject. It would be important to find out the following points:

• Facts: Who uses what, when, why, how and where?
• Insights: What are the pain points, what creates pleasure?

As soon as we have gained insights from the conversations, we can prioritize the identified pain points. For this purpose we create User Journey Maps with emotional levels. We then define what the new product or service should achieve and for whom exactly (which personas) the solution should be developed.

Ideation
Rarely is the first idea the best idea. Design Thinking encourages your team to explore options and build on the ideas of other team members. Combined, this creates a better overall solution than if everyone was trying to find solutions on their own. The idea phase takes many forms, but is essentially based on several moderated brainstorming activities with specific questions. The idea phase ends with the decision for a concrete solution. In the next phase, a simple prototype is developed for the idea the team decides on.

Prototyping and testing
Prototypes are created quickly and easily on paper, in PowerPoint or with Lego®  Serious Play®  and serve primarily as a communication tool. This enables us to receive high-quality feedback for our solutions. Based on the feedback on our prototype, we understand what changes we need to make bevor the product is ready for further implementation.

Investment

Option 1: One-day Inhouse Design Thinking Workshop, focus on learning the method

Option 2: Two-day Inhouse Design Thinking Workshop, focus on learning the method and creating actionable results

About INNOMINDS and your workshop moderator

INNOMINDS is an innovation consultancy with a comprehensive network of experts. We help organizations to become more agile and to master change. Our customers include leading companies such as Lufthansa and organizations in the public sector, such as the business development agency of the city of Berlin.

Your workshop moderator Jörn Steinz (MBA), born in 1975, is used to developing new solutions. During his 10 years with Accenture, XING and the Freenet Group, he led a variety of product and service development projects. For example, he successfully used the Design Thinking method at the technology retailer Gravis to develop innovative service offerings complementary to the sale of hardware products.
As the founder of the innovation agency INNOMINDS, Mr. Steinz has been conducting business training with a focus on building creative competencies since 2015. Mr. Steinz studied Business Administration in Aachen and Coventry and is a graduate of the EADA Business School in Barcelona.