IBM Enterprise Design Thinking
After hearing about IBM’s Enterprise Design Thinking Course being accessible to everyone, I decided to complete it and receive a Practitioner Badge. I wanted to further understand the design thinking principles that people should acknowledge and practice in enterprises. Enterprise Design Thinking is an approach made for large and diverse teams to quickly deliver human-centered outcomes to the market. The course wasn’t too long and the lessons were very straightforward and easy to go through with real examples. The main themes were: collaboration, synthesis, design research, prototyping, and storytelling. We started by going through four parts: Introduction, A Focus on User Outcomes, Restless Reinvention, and Diverse Empowered Teams.
“Companies who leverage Enterprise Design Thinking see a 300% return on investment.”
“Teams who use Enterprise Design Thinking are 75% more efficient.”
I. Introduction
The first part was highlighting that design thinking is for everyone and it is also more than just a product or service. The whole idea was the experience behind each product and service overall that varies among each individual. We were asked to “design a vase” and then later “design a better way for someone to enjoy flowers in their home.” It was a fun activity (see below) and I also got to see other peoples’ work as well that were all very unique. The main point was to understand that when we focus on designing a specific product, we limit ourselves from creativity. Instead, we should think about why someone would want a vase - what is the purpose and what other ways can we think of? Besides just a product, we should think about the experience.
In some enterprises, it is hard to shift to more collaborative meetings in which everyone shares their ideas. Complexity and ambiguity is also a challenge in which there are so many things to talk about. IBM encourages that teams put a focus on user outcomes and consider who they are and how their experience can be improved. Going into the Principles of Enterprise Design Thinking, we have The Loop and The Keys.
The Loop
Involves understanding the present and seeing the future as a continuous cycle of observing, reflecting and making.
The Keys
Practices to help align enterprise teams through hills, playbacks and sponsor users. Hills are statements revolving user enablements with a focus on desired outcomes. Playbacks are presentations of ideas and updates to user experiences through stories. Sponsor users are domain experts who provide feedback for your team.
II. A Focus on User Outcomes
When faced with a challenge, the most important step is asking why. This involves finding the root cause of the problem through the 5 Why’s. Also it is important to do research online and understand your users by conducting design research.
III. Restless Reinvention
IBM encourages continuous improvements to experiences as people are constantly wanting updates. The products we see existing now can be a prototype for future breakthroughs. Active ideation is important to consider as well as taking many risks and failing quickly but cheaply.
IV. Diverse Empowered Teams
Teams are very important when it comes to creating amazing experiences. Having people from a variety of backgrounds provides different viewpoints that can help with creativity and output. With a diverse team, it is best to encourage sharing and finding alignment. Telling stories is the best way to share information.
V. Reflection
Overall, the course was very enjoyable and I became more familiar with encouraging design thinking at the enterprise level. As someone who has had experience in business roles, I really believe that teams are the strongest when they are diverse and collaborating with each other. Testing many, many ideas before deciding on the promising ones is also very crucial to the whole process. It is no wonder that companies that adopt design thinking are becoming more successful.