Design thinking for business processes

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 1

Our approach is fundamentally different compared to the
way most business problems are solved

Typical approach:

Rapid solution to well

List known options Establish proof defined / understood
problem

Design planning approach:

Creative
solution to
Seek inspiration Generate options Establish proof ambiguous
problem

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 2

Distinguishing four project approaches

Intuition

Typical design (typical) business

approach decision making

Discovery Evaluation

Management
Design planning consulting (best in
approach class B school)
approach)

Facts

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 3

The approach should be selected based on the condition of
the organization

Idea rich vs. Idea poor

Hypothesis driven, Discovery driven,

fact based fact based

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 4

Our role: generate a portfolio of non-obvious,
creative (real) options

Degree of
Size of bubble =
uncertainty Unfamiliar with expected value
market, and
offering type

Familiar with
market, and
offering type
Near term Mid term Long term

Implementation timing

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 5

The design planning approach is aligned with current high
level, strategic thinking

From: To:
Deterministic view Strategy as a
of strategy balanced portfolio
of initiatives

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 6

To satisfy these rather high expectations, we need to
leverage all three modes of design

• Building coalitions
• Demystifying complexity
• Communicating ideas
• Connecting value and design
Design • Understanding strategic goals
leadership

Design Design • Optimism

skill set thinking • Empathy
• Options orientation
• Dealing with “mysteries”
• Conducting research • Everything is a system
• Sketching ideas
• Creativity
• Prototyping
• Structuring information
• Working with others

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 7

Three topics for today

• Reframing problems
• Point of view
• Elegant systems

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 8

JC Penney was a different store back then….

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 9

Designers reframe problems at four levels:

From: To:

• Industry focus • User focus

• Generic, stereotypical view • Nuanced, complex view of

of the customer customers

• Perceived, assumed process • Actual process

• Reductive reasoning • Systems thinking

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 10

Examples of reframed problems:

Project Original frame Reframe

Troubled Buildings How can we tear down vacant and How can we prevent buildings from
abandoned buildings faster? every becoming troubled?

Learning in Grand Rapids How can we reduce the drop out How can we coordinate the efforts
rate? of all the learning related NGOs
and GRPS?

Chicago Bike Federation What infrastructure do we need to How can we use mentorship and
make commuting by bike easier? social networks to create a more
supportive and inclusive biking
community

Boeing How can we improve hygiene of How can we improve well being for
airplanes? travelers?

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 11

Imagine the two scenarios:

A new teacher brings a A general manager brings a

problem to the principal: problem to a design
planner:
“This student is misbehaving in
class - he should be moved to a “We are getting killed by the
new class” iPhone, we need a touch
screen phone right now”
What should the principle do?
What should the design
planner do?

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 12

In both cases, a good reframer would…

A new teacher brings a A general manager brings a

problem to the principal: problem to a design
planner:
“This student is misbehaving in
class - he should be moved to a “We are getting killed by the
new class” iPhone, we need a touch
screen phone right now”
What should the principle do?
What should the design
planner do?

• First have empathy for the problem originator - understand

why they have framed it in this way
• Recognize the problem as presented has only one solution;
this suggests the problem frame is biased and incomplete
• Check the facts, gather opinions from other stakeholders
• Reframe so multiple solutions may be considered
• Recognize potential barriers to the reframe, including how to
present it to the originator

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 13

Review: the skills / process of a successful
problem reframer

How can we
reframe this in a
bias free / solution
free way?
Here is the
problem, and the
likely solution is…

Sponsor / client Reframer / designer

A good problem reframer will:

• Recognize bias in the original problem frame
(remember, this is recognize, not manufacture)
• Restate the problem in a bias free,
solution free way
• Use the new frame to develop creative options
for solving the real problem

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 14

Framing errors
Description: Implications:

• People tend to frame problems with a • Design often requires a

Narrow Framing short term, tactical focus long timeline
• People overvalue what is happening now, • most problems are not
undervalue impact of the future state framed as true design
challenges
• People tend not to change their • Design leads to change,
established behavior which conflicts with this
Status quo bias
• Framing may intentionally minimize powerful bias
possible change

• People often anchor to a piece of • People may not accept

Anchoring information (or an idea), early in a project, new ideas / new
even if it is not relevant to the information if they have
solution area already anchored

• Frames are often based on implicit • Can lead to surprises later

Hidden assumptions in the project
assumptions • These assumptions remain unarticulated, • Forces you to act on
yet the drive decision making incomplete information

• People often identify the wrong problem • If we solve for the wrong
Attribution drivers - or what it causing the problem drivers, the problem will
• People rarely think they can be not actually be resolved
the problem (and could get worse)

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 15

Framing errors - examples

Narrow Framing

Anchoring

Attribution

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 16

Framing errors - examples

Narrow Framing

Hidden assumptions

Attribution

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 17

Framing errors - examples

Status quo bias

Anchoring

Hidden assumptions

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 18

There are 10 indicators that we need a reframe; they are
clustered into 3 areas:
Problem scope
Is it too narrow?
• Single data point
• Fighting fires
• I know there is something
bigger…
• Off my pay grade
Solution orientation
Is it too specific?
• Solution in mind
• Routine solution, not a
routing problem
• Role of the sponsor in the
solution
© 2009 Jeremy Alexis
Alignment
Is it poorly defined?
• No one agrees
• Too many meetings
• Customer is everyone
19
There are four strategies and ten tactics for reframing:

Make it tangible Prepare real solutions

• Show past examples • Be ready to walk

away (with a plan B)
• Show surprising data
• Create a phased
• Visualize the new
proposal
project

Build empathy Reinforce new thinking

• About content, not • Build coalitions

people
• Change the space
• Understand areas of
push back
• Assume their
perceptions have value

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 20

Three topics for today

• Reframing problems
• Point of view
• Elegant systems

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 21

Points of view (or the lack of) can be easy to spot

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 22

Hollywood example - result of an incomplete view of the audience

Movie segmentation:

• Movies must target more than

Old

one quadrant
• Preferences in each quadrant
tend to be stereotypes
• Executives have a “playbook”
that is leveraged to develop
new movies
Under 25

Men Women

Source: “The Cobra” by Tad Friend: the New Yorker

January 2009

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 23

And their evaluation methods often produce false positive
and false negatives

Receive the some of the worst Receive the the best screening score
screening score in history in history

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 24

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 25
ORD example - beyond business and leisure travel

Lots of time

From:
Entertain What do I
me do now? • A global airport for
the 21st century

Unexpected
As planned

To:
• A curated Chicago
Get me experience for the
to my Help! traveler
gate

Little time

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 26

A point of view consists of five elements

1. Who is our primary user?

2. What are their needs and activities?
3. Who is responsible for implementing the solution?
4. Who is the audience for the project deliverables?

A point of view:
• Acts as a North Star, guiding the project
• Helps you make trade offs and decisions
• Does not determine research subjects, but for
whom you are designing
• Can occasionally change if required (and enough
evidence is produced)
• Once agreed to, reduces ambiguity

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 27

Three topics for today

• Reframing problems
• Point of view
• Elegant systems

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 28

What my grandmother thinks is elegant…

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 29

This is elegant

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 30

So is this

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 31

Insights from social science can be elegant

“In public paces, people tend to sit where there

are places to sit.”
- Holly White

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 32

So can insights from physics

e = mc2

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 33

Boats can be elegant

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 34

So can fonts

Helvetica

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 35

What about cars?

Hint: this is the Fleetwood D’Elegance

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 36

Or airlines?

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 37

So, what do we mean?

Smallest number of elements creates the greatest impact

No unnecessary elements

Makes sense as a whole

Urbane

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 38

Forces acting against elegance

Randomness

Elegant
solution

Overly Over
complex simplification

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 39

There are different “types” of elegant

Form / Structure / Logic /

aesthetics system idea

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 40

“Innovation can become parasitic by increasing the complexity
of our lives”

- Jay Doblin

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 41

Denovation: the attempt to simplify or reduce the number of
products without reducing the service performed

© 2009 Jeremy Alexis 42