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Review: Digital Transformation using Design Thinking
January 04, 2019 4 Min Read
Review: Digital Transformation using Design Thinking
Lunch and launch event
A progressive group of Regina technology movers and shakers came together to further explore Design Thinking. Hosted by zu, via our “Launch your Digital Transformation using Design Thinking” event CEO Ryan Lejbak sought to introduce new faces and old friends to our expanded strategy team and to help Regina organizations embrace digital transformation. The team – Albert, Chelsey and Zach – briefly covered the why, how and what all followed up with an interview of Krystal Kolodziejak, Director Innovation at FCC. Here’s a recap of their talks.
Intro to Design Thinking - Albert Jame
The presentations were led off by Director of Strategy at zu, Albert Jame. Albert described the state of Design Thinking in the world. Albert looked at why the Design Thinking approach is so powerful, and how it has led to the disruption of many industries. He pointed out how this often involves defining the “magic moment”, which is encourages companies to find the key pain point in the customer journey. The Uber disruption example was explored as being focused on reimagining those crucial few moments around ordering, paying and tipping, while essentially delivering the same car ride and price.
The evolution of digital and the role of design - Zach Perkins
Zach, a UX Lead at zu, looked back over the changes he has experienced in his long career in design, and where things are going. He explains, “digital products and services have become more complex and occupy an increasingly important role in the lives of people. As a result design has had to adapt and evolve the way it works.” And one of the biggest evolution is, disappointingly for some experts out there, that “it’s no longer effective or appropriate to simply “design for users” in prescriptive and assumption based ways.”
Zach goes on to describe the methods of designers are now deeply human centred, collaborative, holistic and experimental. “Human centred means doing research, learning about people’s’ needs, motivations and challenges”, he says. Collaboration requires bringing people with different backgrounds together, but then going past old methods of meeting to achieve new new levels of actual cooperation and communication. These new levels are achieved by way of the methods in the Design Thinking arsenal. “These unfamiliar exercises are often resisted by a few participants at the start of a session, but are then embraced as results become apparent”.
Additionally, Zach claims “we need to zoom out and see how a product, touchpoint, or screen fits into a broader context and journey; to see how hidden people and systems play a role in delivering experiences – this is what we mean when we say “Holistic””.
Zach also discussed the need to for both prototypes and the need to “test solutions before we commit and execute a final product or service to ensure that it does, in fact, address the challenge it hopes to”. Confirmation at this stage also improves the economics of the project, by building the right thing with the allowed budget, instead of seeking additional resources to get on the right track.
He observes that the work is never really done. “As designers move to working on experiences and systems there continues to be the need for execution. Even new, innovative, and tested ideas require excellent follow through to be successful.”
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Tony Zuck
Founding Partner & CFO
Alongside Ryan, Tony began as a strategist and designer, working with some of the earliest versions of today’s software programs — leading the way for zu techies to come. These days, Tony leads zu’s Operations and Financial direction, combining operational excellence with creativity and nimble strategy for both ourselves and our clients.