ABS206: Evaluating the Impact of Design Thinking on Business

This essay provides an analysis of the impact of design thinking on business operations, highlighting its role as a competitive advantage. It emphasizes the shift from business-centric engineering solutions to customer-centric approaches, using examples like Airbnb and "the good kitchen" to illustrate the practical application and benefits of design thinking. The essay further discusses the importance of collaboration, understanding the end-user, and the iterative nature of the design thinking process, while also addressing potential challenges and offering strategies for effective implementation. It concludes that design thinking is a valuable approach for businesses to innovate, improve customer experiences, and develop new opportunities.

Design Thinking for
Business

Table of Contents
INTRDOUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................1
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................2

INTRODUCTION
Design thinking is useful for businesses to effectively identify, understand and address the
issues that plague the businesses and their customers. It depicts the values and effective solutions
over the suitable procedure and uniqueness over the traditions. Design thinking is an iterative
process in which people seek to properly understand the user, challenge assumptions and
redefine issues for having suitable attempt to analyse the alternative solutions and strategies
which is not instantly apparent with beginning level of understanding (Klenner, Gemser and
Karpen, 2021). Design is traditional perspective of as the effective part of creative team include
the artists and art directors who leads to create branding factors like logos and print
advertisements. Design thinking is useful for people to observe and develop the empathy with the
target user. It is the effective process of questioning the issues, assumptions and implications.
The report leads to cover prominent impact of design thinking within the business operations as
it is identified as the design thinking which is analysed as the competitive advantage among the
businesses.
MAIN BODY
Impact of design thinking in a business
Design thinking is an effective approach for the creative problem solving which is broadly
recognised as the useful and valuable course to human-centred product innovation. As it is
termed as the methodology, philosophy and effective culture for design thinking that is broadly
recognised for achieving the effective purpose and business goals. Design thinking leads to shift
its focus from the business centric engineering solution to the customer centric solution by
putting the context in an effective manner and regular involvement with people for determining
the issues to solve (Schraven and et. al., 2021). Designers have several of tools and ways in
regard of ascertaining issues by conducting research, explore use cases and ideate solutions in
regard of finding the best path.
Design thinking is the powerful tool for the companies while putting it into the practice
by taking the example of Airbnb, as per the published article “How design thinking transformed
Airbnb from failing start up to the billion-dollar business” represents that how the famed start-up
went from $200 a week profit to the “Unicorn” in present times (8 Great Design Thinking
Examples, 2019). From this, it has been analysed that design thinking is the effective part of
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Airbnb’s success as through this, they are able to develop the culture of experimentation like it
was only the factor when they permit themselves to experiment with non-scalable changes to the
business organisations.
In order to become successful, the innovation process need to deliver suitable things superior
solutions, lower risks and costs of change. Design thinking in a way of executing or designing of
new products which is based on human centred philosophy. It is the suitable way of designing
that put emphasis on effective solutions and accordingly that reflect on the suitable issues.
Design thinking is being taught in the top educational institutions across the world. For this, it is
identified that good design is collaborative in nature as it leads to draw inspiration from
everywhere that include prominent surroundings and culture by asking for the feedback from the
whole team (Gaynor, Dempsey and White, 2018). Design thinking is the strategy that leads to
proposes the same type of ideas for having suitable approach to all the challenges of the business.
In regard of this, collaboration means involving with the people with several perspectives and
potentially develop new ideas to the issues.
By taking the example of “the good kitchen” as through the design thinking process, it is
easy to find better ways to serve the community that can have profound effects on the lives of
members. Like in 2007, Denmark had around 125,000 elderly citizens who relies on government
sponsored meals. Hatch and bloom called by the Municipality of Holstebro in regard of
designing the improved and new meal delivery services for their citizens. They come up with
fruition services with effective quality, more freedom of meal choice and flexibility for chefs and
other employees who are responsible for cooking and delivering them (5 Game-Changing
Examples of Design Thinking (and What We Can Learn from Them), 2021). With the help of
notable actions, hatch and bloom took the decision to interview and prototype with both chefs
and consumers. They also found the suitable things in which meal recipients were desiring was
same and more dignified service with great variety of food options (Randhawa and et. al., 2021).
After listening to the suitable concerns, hearing pain points and testing out new options, hatch
and bloom found ways to keep both their customers and employees happy and healthy.
Furthermore, another benefit of design thinking is that it leads to put emphasis on the end
user by developing the new technology or new project management process by defining who is
using the business solution is key to understand that exactly how to develop effective things on
time (Carlgren and BenMahmoud‐Jouini, 2021). For instance, when the executives thinking for
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their employees benefits and perks as they cannot think of it from operations or financial factors
like most of the executive in business situations. Further, designers also use the pitching for their
work to marketers who turn it down or request the suitable changes for whatever the reason is. It
is the effective kind of benefit which is being taken by businesses in several ways.
For this, facing most the challenges can be stressful for the whole organisation as the
changing in re-structuring can be more stressful by having the design thinking mind-set can
effectively remind that both the businesses and persons have suitable solution by which they can
help them and also focus on how find them on effective basis (Lorusso, Lee and Worden, 2021).
Design thinking can also feel chaotic for most of businesses particularly for those who used to
think on traditional basis considering the process by focusing on different methods. It is
important to analyse that there are five phases that include, several stages or modes as people
needs to have to follow any particular order and also occur it in parallel and repetitive manner.
“Design thinking is the intention to enhance of products by having an effective analysis and
understanding that how the users can interact with products and investigating the overall
conditions in which they operate their things”. In order to generate process people will help us to
develop ideas that reflect the genuine constraints and facets for the specific issues. The design
process leads to include the number the number of different groups of individuals in several
departments due to this, developing, organising, categorising and problem solutions can become
quite difficult (Hennessey and Mueller, 2020). For this, the effective way for keeping the design
process on track and properly organising the core ideas for using the design thinking approach.
Thinking like the designer can effectively transform the way for organisations to develop
products and services for having effective strategies and processes. If organisations lead to bring
things in collective manner can bring things in most desirable way from the human viewpoint by
which the technological feasible an also the economical viable by which they can effectively
transform their businesses. Design thinking can also give an effectively given an opportunity to
people who are not properly trained as the designers to suitably use creative tools in order to
handle the range of challenges. Design thinking give an opportunity to take a look at the issues
from the complete and different viewpoint (Loderer and Kock, 2021).
Further, by taking an example of UberEats, the design team of UberEats is constantly
accessing the design thinking principles to fuse modern, state of art technology with proper
fundamental act of enjoying meal. The major thing that really stands out regarding the design
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team of UberEats is their adherence to design thinking process. Here, people seek to put
emphasis with their experience which they execute during the program named “Walkabout” the
quarterly event where the designers of UberEats sent to city in regard of learning for their
transportation infrastructure, delivery and restaurant sector including food culture. Besides from
this, designers of UberEats, the immersive design technique iterate quick and innovate in
constant manner (5 Game-Changing Examples of Design Thinking (and What We Can Learn
from Them), 2021). They also participate in rapid manner for testing in which designers are
prototyping and interviewing with people who are using the product on frequent manner like
meal recipients, delivery drivers and restaurant workers.
The process of design thinking allows people to look at the effective issue for the company
to use things in creative manner. The overall process that will include some serious
brainstorming and the proper formulation of the fresh ideas that can expand the knowledge of
learner (Park, Oh and Park, 2018). By offering the design thinking approach to effectively use as
the professionals are capable enough to collaborate with another to get their effective feedback.
Design thinking include prototyping all the products at this stage that will go by several rounds
of customer feedback and testing for the assured quality. Design thinking is the process that goes
by several evaluations as the process does not stop even when the deliverable is complete
(Stackowiak and Kelly, 2020). The design thinking effectively improve their overall
understanding of customers as that will be able to figure out the suitable factors like which tools
should be useful and close the weak gaps in the deliverable and so forth.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it has been analysed that businesses needs to closely look for
having effective realisation that the lines among products and services considering user
environments are blurring. For this, if the organisation can bring out the integrated customer
experiences that will open up the effective opportunities to develop the new businesses with the
help of design thinking. Design thinking takes the different approach for analysing the hidden
requirements by having the innovator live the experience of customers. Design thinking is not
just the trend that will fade away in the month as it will definitely gain some serious traction and
not just in product companies.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Carlgren, L. and BenMahmoud‐Jouini, S., 2021. When cultures collide: What can we learn from
frictions in the implementation of design thinking?. Journal of Product Innovation
Management.
Gaynor, L., Dempsey, H. and White, P.J., 2018. How design thinking offers strategic value to
micro-enterprises.
Hennessey, E. and Mueller, J., 2020. Teaching and Learning Design Thinking (DT): How Do
Educators See DT Fitting into the Classroom?. Canadian Journal of Education, 43(2),
pp.499-521.
Klenner, N.F., Gemser, G. and Karpen, I.O., 2021. Entrepreneurial ways of designing and
designerly ways of entrepreneuring: Exploring the relationship between design thinking
and effectuation theory. Journal of Product Innovation Management.
Loderer, M. and Kock, A., 2021. The Influence of Design Thinking on Open
Innovation. International Journal of Innovation Management, 25(10), p.2140001.
Lorusso, L., Lee, J.H. and Worden, E.A., 2021. Design Thinking for Healthcare: Transliterating
the Creative Problem-Solving Method Into Architectural Practice. HERD: Health
Environments Research & Design Journal, 14(2), pp.16-29.
Park, S.H., Oh, S.H. and Park, S.H., 2018. Design Thinking Methodology for Social Innovation
using Big Data and Qualitative Research. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing
and Entrepreneurship, 13(4), pp.169-181.
Randhawa, K and et. al., 2021. Design thinking implementation for innovation: An organization's
journey to ambidexterity. Journal of Product Innovation Management.
Schraven, D.F.J and et. al., 2021. Design to market thinking: exploring the merits of strategic
niche management in design thinking. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management,
pp.1-18.
Stackowiak, R. and Kelly, T., 2020. Design Thinking in Software and AI Projects: Proving Ideas
Through Rapid Prototyping. Berkeley: Apress.
Online
5 Game-Changing Examples of Design Thinking (and What We Can Learn from Them). 2021.
[Online] Available through https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/design-
thinking-examples/
8 Great Design Thinking Examples. 2019. [Online] Available through
https://voltagecontrol.com/blog/8-great-design-thinking-examples/
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