All great innovators and creatives have their own recipe for reaching inspiration. Geniuses such as Einstein, Dalí, Edison, Jobs or Bezos approach the creative process more as a routine than as a moment of sudden inspiration.

TOPIC: Innovation and Entrepreneurship
FORMAT: 4-hour Workshop
DIFFICULTY: Intermediate

What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is a practical method for generating innovation. Based on creative problem-solving techniques, it is applied to the design of products and services. It originated in the 1970s in the United States and was applied by Stanford University to the world of consumer products and design in the mid-1980s, coinciding with the boom of Silicon Valley.

What is Design Thinking used for?

The major advance of Design Thinking is the incorporation of human psychology into the design process. Previously, when applying the scientific method, the emotional dimension was excluded.

It could be said that it is a method that incorporates the human side and, for this reason, is very effective for generating innovation among large groups of users. Examples of Design Thinking include:

• The first Apple mouse, designed by IDEO, inspired by the ball of a roll-on deodorant.
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation machines that provide spoken usage instructions.

The boom of Design Thinking is not based on being fashionable, but on the fact that… it really works! Major companies such as IBM, Salesforce, Capital One, Cisco, Panasonic, and many others train their innovation departments in these types of techniques that generate real innovation.

Objectives

By the end of this subject, students are expected to be able to:

• Understand the phases of the Design Thinking methodology as a method of innovation in products and services.
• Understand and evaluate whether the principles of Design Thinking are correctly applied in practical cases:
  • User interviews and design insights.
  • Ideation and group creativity tools.
  • Iterative validation processes with customer testing.
• Learn the following tools for analysing customer needs:
  • User Persona
  • Customer Journey
  • Stakeholder Map
• Learn the following tools for analysing the business/service and its business model:
  • Business model analysis using the Canvas methodology.
  • Competitor analysis using the Sector Canvas Model to detect opportunities.
• Learn and practice group ideation tools, such as brainstorming, to maximise results.
• Deliver a presentation of the final proposal for business model innovation using the “prototyping by acting” resources from the Design Thinking methodology.
• Use the Feedback matrix to collect customer evaluations after presenting the prototype, assess results and design the next design iteration.

Methodology

The Design Thinking methodology brings together multidisciplinary profiles in order to generate innovation as a group. By solving challenges, the team learns how to face and solve new problems together, whether in corporate communication or in a new production line.

As a result, the team becomes more cohesive and gains confidence to take on increasingly ambitious challenges.

The Design Thinking module will be delivered in a 4-hour in-person class. Students will study the topics corresponding to the module’s content and complete the exercises and practical cases proposed during the session.

Programme

SESSION 1: Introduction to Design Thinking

• Design Thinking: methodology, phases and principles
• In-depth interviews
• Canvas methodology as a method for analysing the business model and identifying competitive advantages in the sector

SESSION 2: Group Ideation

• Group innovation methods
• Presentation of innovation proposals
• Evaluation of projects and proposals for improvement in the next iteration