Transforming Problem-Solving: IAOP’s Design Thinking Experience

 

By: Sandy Frinton, PULSE Editor

IAOP members have embarked on a transformative journey to rethink their approach to problem-solving. At OWS24 in Chicago, design thinking emerged as a powerful tool for developing user-centric results, furthering empowering outsourcing and sourcing professionals.

Before the event, IAOP members were primed to unlock the potential of design thinking through a comprehensive four-part workshop presented by IAOP’s Collaborative Supplier Governance Center of Excellence in partnership with experts and researchers at Sutherland Labs. This dynamic program introduced members to the design thinking methodology and set the stage for a transformative experience.

Read on for a preview of the game-changing insights and skills that will propel IAOP members to new heights of innovation and success.

Design Thinking Interest Sparked at OWS24

Design thinking, a unique and widely adopted approach in various industries, combines human-centered design, technological feasibility, and business objectives to drive creative problem-solving, sparking intrigue and interest among IAOP members.

A session on Transparency in Design Thinking: Fostering Trust in Collaboration at OWS24 in Chicago discussed how design thinking can help organizations identify the correct problems.

OWS attendees were introduced to the concept of design thinking by renowned author Don Norman, who emphasized the importance of identifying the root cause of a problem rather than just addressing its symptoms. He highlighted the need to consider the bigger picture and how all elements are interconnected.

This concept is captured in Albert Einstein's famous quote, “If I had one hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking of the solutions.”

Audrey Cushing, Senior Director of Business Operations and Quality at Vee Healthtek, shared her passion for this approach. She drew from her experience in procurement, where she saw suppliers spend a lot of time and energy developing solutions without fully understanding the problem.

Cushing recounted how suppliers often misinterpret the problem, presenting solutions that didn’t address the issue. This led to frustration and disappointment on both sides. However, she believes that using design thinking can improve relationships and outcomes in outsourcing, leading to more effective solutions, better communication, and increased client satisfaction.

“I fell in love with design thinking because it teaches you to ask better questions before you jump into solutioning. It helps you solve the real problem, not what you think it is,” Cushing said. 

Michael Nacarato, COP, Senior Director, Transamerica, Vice Chair, said design thinking has been highly valuable for his team members who participated in the workshop. He emphasized the approach will be a valuable addition to IAOP membership, as it allows for tangible solutions to specific challenges.

Nacarato noted that design thinking parallels Six Sigma, emphasizing the importance of understanding the customer’s voice. Nacarato shared that everyone who participated found it “tremendously helpful” and plans to continue using design thinking in their organization.

Design thinking also goes back to another concept stressed by OWS keynote speaker Kate Vitasek who spoke in an earlier session about “choosing to trust” from the start of a relationship.

“Design thinking approach is a powerful tool to reset and rebuild trust in relationships that may be struggling,” Nacarato said. “By choosing to trust each other, we can create a foundation for a strong and successful partnership. Our team aimed to develop a fundamental relationship with our partners from the outset before entering into contract negotiations. We wanted to build trust and confidence, ensuring everyone’s best interests aligned.”

Diving Into Design Thinking 101

Leading up to OWS, the workshop conducted by Sutherland Labs kicked off with a quote from Tim Brown, Executive Chair of IDEO. Brown defined design thinking as a “human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”

This quote set the stage for an insightful discussion on how design thinking can revolutionize organizations’ development of products, services, processes, and strategies.

Mark Brady, Senior Research Director at Sutherland, delved into the core principles of design thinking and what sets it apart from traditional problem-solving methods. His presentation explored the fundamental concepts and mindset that underpin this approach, which has been around for over 100 years.

The session highlighted the success of leading firms in leveraging design thinking as a critical differentiator. For example, Apple’s innovative iPod transformed the portable music industry, while Airbnb’s insights-driven approach to vacation rentals transformed the way people experience travel. These examples showcased the power of design thinking in driving business success and creating new markets.

Design Thinking Overview 

Brady presented the following four stages of the design process:

• Discover – Deeply understand the problem space. Diverge to encompass and explore the problem, the audience, and the market.
• Define – Use data to converge on a problem statement through analysis, prioritization, and effective communication.
• Develop – Use the problem statement to ideate and generate possible solutions using techniques like Crazy 8’s, brainstorming, and storyboarding. Prioritize these ideas using effort and value dimensions.
• Deliver – Create prototypes using quick, low-cost methods that can then be evaluated. Learn lessons and iterate to converge on the best solution.

The “double diamond” approach to problem-solving represents the non-linear and iterative process of idea generation and refinement, from identifying a challenge to defining a problem statement, and ultimately arriving at a best solution.

The workshop attendees learned that design thinking requires a group of mindsets that define the approach. These include being human-centered, action-biased, radically collaborative, problem-centered, and process-minded. In this process, ideas are shown and not told, clarity is sought from chaos, evidence is valued over opinion, and small failures are pursued as opportunities for growth.

Brady emphasized the significance of personally experiencing the problem space and empathizing with the users by quoting the former market manager of Procter & Gamble, who said, “If you want to comprehend how a lion hunts, do not visit the zoo. Explore the jungle.”

Over the next few sessions, participants worked in small groups to tackle the challenge of improving transparency between outsourcing buyers and sellers. They completed exercises that mirrored the design thinking stages, using a collaborative approach to generate innovative solutions.

To facilitate this process, the participants utilized Miro, an online workspace that resembles a digital whiteboard. This platform allowed them to share their ideas and engage in a collaborative brainstorming process. They used colorful sticky notes and voting stars to present and prioritize their ideas.

Understanding and Defining User Needs and Challenges

During the session, participants were taught the crucial skill of empathizing with users to accurately define their needs and challenges. The leaders emphasized the significance of user research, which involves exploring the attitudes and behaviors of multiple stakeholder groups to put people at the center of design processes and products. This understanding is necessary to ensure that any solutions designed and implemented meet the needs of those who will use them.

The participants used interviews to capture, distill, and prioritize user problems. This approach ensured that solutions were grounded in the users' experiences. They discovered that good interview questions should be simple, straightforward, and not leading. Interviewers should avoid expressing shock or judgment with responses, respect others’ opinions, practice active listening techniques, and allow participants enough time to think and respond.

The teams created discussion guides, conducted interviews, and made notes on a template that formed a journey map. After analyzing the issues, they used stars to vote on the most significant challenges. This process helped them understand and prioritize their insights.

Ideating Solutions to Problems

In the next session, participants utilized ideation to generate innovative solutions that creatively addressed user needs.

Creating a How Might We (HMW) question is essential for problem-solving. This question helps to better understand the problem at hand. The word "how" implies that we do not have the solution yet, while "might" emphasizes that there may be multiple solutions. The word "we" promotes collaboration and working together towards a common goal.

“If you’re not asking the right question, you’re not going to find the right solutions,” according to Sutherland.

HMW questions are a crucial bridge between the Define and Develop stages within the design thinking double diamond process. They help stimulate brainstorming sessions and encourage the generation of diverse solutions.

The HMW question the groups arrived at was: How might we…lay the foundations for a culture of trust and open communication at the beginning of a partnership?

The IAOP professionals used the following techniques to generate ideas for the HMW problem:

• Crazy Eights – a quick and dirty sketch brainstorming exercise that challenged participants to sketch eight solutions to the HMW problem statement in 8 minutes. “It keeps you on your toes, forces quick thinking, and doesn’t allow time to weed out “bad ideas,” Sutherland leaders shared. 
• The How Wow Now Matrix – a useful tool that employs a 2x2 grid to facilitate critical thinking among participants. This is a creative way to assess different solutions' feasibility and desirability and identify which ideas participants want to progress to the next stage. The matrix categorizes ideas into three categories: "now," representing ideas that are easy to implement; "how," ideas that are difficult to implement; and "wow," solutions that are both impactful and easy to implement.

Turning Ideas into Prototypes

During the final session, the solutions were transformed into quick prototypes, which were then shared with other members to obtain early feedback. Prototyping is crucial since it allows organizations to improve their solutions based on genuine user insights. Sutherland suggested testing prototypes inexpensively, frequently, and early to refine them. The four prototypes were sketching/mapping, drawing a storyboard, creating a simple application or website, and role-playing.