Design Thinking for Entrepreneurship

Intellectual Output 4 GUIDE Design Thinking for Entrepreneurship

CDTMOOC project INTELLECTUAL OUTPUT 4 GUIDE Design Thinking for Entrepreneurship

Authors: ArtSquareLab | Luxembourg

SuccubusInteractiveLtd |Nantes, France

UniversityofTurku | Turku, Finland

Euro-net | Potenza, Italy

MiðstöðsímenntunaráSuðurnesjum |Reykjanesbæ, Iceland

“CDTMOOC“ project: approved by the European Commission under the programme “Erasmus+ –KA2 – Strategic Partnership for Higher Education” Project no. 2019-1-FI01-KA203-060718

“This project is funded by the European Commission. This publication only reflects the views of the author. The Commission/National Agencies cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein”.

Content Introduction 4

Chapter 1 6

Design Thinking Introduction: What is Design Thinking ? 6

1.1 Definition 6

1.2. Designer’s Mindset 8

1.3 Design Thinking Process 9

1.4 Two ways of thinking: divergent and convergent thinking 12

Chapter 2 14

Application of Methodology in Entrepreneurship. Design Thinking for Entrepreneurs 14

2.1 Context: how Design Thinking makes entrepreneurs’ life easier 14

2.2. Skills to survive in VUCA world 14

2.3. Trends and Entrepreneurship 16

2.6 Design Thinking in Entrepreneurship: From idea to the first client 19

2.6.1. Clarifying and challenging your idea for a business 20

2.6.2. You have an idea, what’s next? 21

2.6.3. Generating business ideas 22

2.6.4. Testing your business idea- Fake it till you make it 23

2.6.5. Gaining your first clients 24

2.6.6. On-going, customer centric business 24

Summary: Benefits of Design Thinking for Entrepreneurs 25

Chapter 3. Tools, templates and other methodologies 26

3.1. Research/ Understanding Tools 26

3.2. Ideation/Co-creation Tools 37

3.3. Prototyping and Validating Ideas 39

Chapter 4. Design Thinking in Europe: Cases in Education and Entrepreneurial Context 45

EURO-NET, Italy 45

UTU, Finland 47

SUCCUBUS, France 50

MSS, ICELAND 53

Art Square Lab, Luxembourg 57

Additional Resources 60

Bibliography 61

Introduction

About this GUIDE

This guide is a FREE Open Education Resource(OER), that includes videos, web links and tools about Design Thinking for entrepreneurship.

It describes the methodology and provides a practical point of view with successful cases, tools and materials.

The guide is designed to be used by:

Actual Students: To enrich and update their knowledge base with a topic not usually included in academic courses.

Future Students: To attract students to the Higher Education (HE) systemby providing for free, innovative methodologies using a gamified approach.

Former Students: To update their knowledge base with fresh perspectives using an innovative methodology to help create successful enterprises.

Start-uppers, business sector actors, accelerators, incubators and all SMEs: Those interested in new perspectives and approaches that have been proven useful to the adaptability and survival of enterprises.

About: DESIGN THINKING

DesignThinkingreferstothecreativestrategiesdesignersuseduringtheprocessofdesigning.

It hasalsobeendeveloped asanapproachto resolve issuesoutside ofthe professionaldesign practice, such as in business and social contexts. Unlike analytical thinking, Design Thinking includes “building up” ideas, with few or no limits during the brainstorming phase. This helps reduce the fear of failure in the participants and encourages input and participation from a wide variety of sources during the ideation phase.

The basic principles are:

The human rule - This states that all design activities are ultimately social in nature, and any social innovation will bring us back to the human centric point of view.

The ambiguity rule - This states design thinkers must preserve ambiguity by experimenting at the limits of their knowledge and ability, enabling freedom to see things differently.

The redesign rule - All design is re-design. This comes as a result of changing technology and social circumstances but previously solved, unchanged human needs.

The tangibility rule - The concept that making ideas tangible, always facilitates communication and allows designers to treat prototypes as communication media.

+ Designers bring their methods into the business by either taking part themselves in the business process or training business people to use design methods.

+ Designersachieve innovativeoutputsorproductswhen usingDT methodology

About: INNOVATION

Tim Brown, CEO at IDEO and expert in Design Thinking, explains that historically designers were onlyintroducedin the last steps of aproductdevelopment process. This meant focusing theirattentiononimprovingthelookandfunctionalityofproducts,insteadof lookingforhigh impact outcomes on the world and society. Design was a tool of consumerism, to make products more attractive, easier to use and more marketable. In recent years, designers developedspecificmethodsandtoolstodeliverproductsandservices,andbusinessesstarted to realise the potential of design as a competitive asset. Consequently, designers now bring theirmethodsintoabusinesseitherbytakingpartthemselvesintheearlierstagesofbusiness processes or training business people to use design methods and build business thinking capabilities. Design Thinking, as the perfect balance between desirability, technical feasibility and economic viability helps organisations to be more innovative, better differentiate their offering, and bring their products and services to the market faster.

About: EXPECTED IMPACT AND TRANSFERABILITY POTENTIAL

The impact and transferability potential is expected to be substantial thanks to the access of the guide (through an Open MOOC).

Another element of impact to consider is connected to the availability of the guide in five different national languages (English, Finnish, Italian, French and Icelandic). The number of comparable guides in other languages besides English is small. This was an added challenge to the transferability potential, as there was a need to invent novel terminology in some of the languages.

Design Thinking Introduction: What is Design Thinking ?

1.1 Definition

Among many definitions of Design Thinking, two deserve special attention. One, from AmericandesigncompanyIDEOsaying that“Design Thinkingisaprocessfor creativeproblem solving” and the second, from the School of Design Thinking at Hasso Plattner Institute, that opens the definition a bit wider: "Design Thinking is a systematic, human-centered approach to solving complex problems within all aspects of life" (Hasso Plattner Institute, 2020).

Aholisticapproach

Let’s start with solving problems in “all aspects of life”. Indeed for those unfamiliar with Design Thinking, the very first question is: What problems can I use it for? Is it for a specific domain, industry or business? The answer is that the Design Thinking framework works best with solving “wicked problems” from any of these domains, that address large groups of people and are ripe for disruptive solutions. Solutions that arise from this process have the potential to completely change the way the project was perceived until now.

As Tim Brown says in his book Change by Design1 “What we need are new choices - new productsthatbalancethe needsof individualsandofsocietyasawhole;newideasthattackle the global challenges of health, poverty and education; new strategies that result in differences that matter and a sense of purpose that engages everyone affected by them. It is hard to imagine a time when the challenges we faced so vastly exceeded the creative resources we have brought to bear on them.”

When dealing with a complex problem in business, education, government or non profit, it is necessary to draw on the larger context and understand the big picture. It is extremely important to understand multiple perspectives: stakeholders, users, and the relationships between them as well as any other parameters that might concern them. This “bird’s eye view” allows for a deeper understanding of the core problem in its entirety, mitigating the risk before investing time, money and human resources into solutions. Of course that means that when applying Design Thinking within larger structures, it is necessary to unify multiple perspectives and look beyond the silo, communicate with other departments and create transversal teams.

Ahumanapproach

The core of Design Thinking is its human-centred orientation2. Solving the problem means correlating ittothe needs of aparticularuser,beneficiary, participant, citizen, client… Ineach of these cases, clearly, a human perspective. In place of numbers (‘How many people like coffeemorethantea?’)itfocusesonreasonsforthesituation(‘Whydotheylikecoffee?What coffee experience can they describe?’).

In reality, it is necessary to dedicate time and space for “anthropological” curiosity. That is, being curious about human needs, behaviours and the way they take decisions. It also means refraining from assumptions, building empathy by asking the right open questions, observing, getting into meaningful interaction in order to have a better understanding of their life situations. Developing questions based on curiosity rather than jumping in with ready answers ensures that the solutions will be specific to the needs of the users.

In this aspect, Design Thinking is no different from other kinds of “design”. It has to answer the needs of the user or it is not functional, not adapted to the human centric needs. In the same way a furniture designer observes how people are using and sitting on the chair: what position they choose, where do they keep their legs and elbows, what position makes them tired or painful. In the same way, a product or service designer... an entrepreneur needs to observe the behaviour of his or her clients. As youcan see, user research isan integral part of the new product or service!

When Albert Einstein was asked: “If you have one hour to save the world, how would you spend that hour?” He replied, “I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and then five minutes solving it”.

Acreativeapproach

Last but not least: creativity matters. It is not understood as the ability to create “pretty” drawings or having a graphic design talent. Rather, it is understood as creative courage, the ability to get onboard with a process in which the solution is not known from the beginning. Could this also be defined as innovation? Creativity matters, but far too often, creativity is associated with quantity - the number of ideas produced, multiplied content, or the number of post-its on the table. It is rightfully associated through the qualitative lense of divergent thinking: a non- linear, free flowing way of thinking3 .

2 https://designthinking.ideo.com/

3https://divergentthinking.design/why-divergentthinking#:~:text=Divergent%20thinking%20is%20a%20creative,will%20be%20questioned%20or%20dismissed

The Design Thinking process shows that in conjunction with divergent thinking, convergent thinking is also an important skill. This is achieved by analysing, selecting and taking decisions about what to do with the chosen ideas, next.

1.2. Designer’s Mindset

ThereisnoDesignThinkingprocesswithoutthepropermindset.Andyes,itispossibletotrain for this. It is in fact, part of exercising our creative muscles. The IDEO Design Kit4 suggests to consider the following principles- useful for entrepreneurs:

● Haveconfidenceincreativity,yours and others

As mentioned above, let’s practice being creative as individuals and teams. When looking at creativity from angles different from the “arty talent”, it’s possible to discover various skills and opportunities that together, compose the perfect creative process. Since the Design Thinking process is a kind of “dance” between divergent and convergent thinking, it is essential to compose teams of players who have mastered those attitudes. Divergence is explorative - being open to ideas, brainstorming and multiplying content, while convergence is analytical- synthesising the resources and deciding on conclusions or insights that are deemed useful for the next level.

● Whenindoubt,buildit

As for entrepreneurs, it is very useful to describe ideas in written form, by building slides or withpitches.Humansareveryverbal!Whataboutgoingforanalternativeoptionandbuilding prototypes? Sketches, models and mock-ups would all effectively present ideas in a visual way. Using our hands and imagination allows for a better expression of the idea, sharing it with the team members or other stakeholders and also, most important, receiving direct feedback. Often as entrepreneurs, we might have several options on the table and not really a clear path to which one would be the most functional, viable or desired by the customers. Building a quick visual model would prevent us from making assumptions and producing products or services that aren’t tested (or wanted?).

● Learn frommistakes

And what if the feedback shows that we are about to make a mistake or we just did it? As long as we are able to learn from it, it can work in our favour. It’s true that as entrepreneurs, we feel thepressuretobe successful, webelieve it couldonlyattractmoresuccess, right?But what if… what if honestlydemonstrating lessons learned (and applying them in the next step) would be more convincing? Yes, learning is valuable!

In this sense, being a design thinker is a bit similar to being a scientist. There is no knowledge without assumptions and hypotheses, we are not able to predict the performance of our product just by imagining it. This is why experimentation is important and, in turn, brings lessons and conclusions that build our entrepreneurial experience.

● Listen

Ifwewererequiredtoprepare10commandmentsfordesigningresponsibleservices,thefirst one would definitely be about listening. To the users, clients, citizens, beneficiaries... As design thinking is part ofhuman-centred design, this element of listening is the foundation of the discipline and is called empathy.

Listening is essential to collect data during the discovery phase (e.g. running interviews with the users), while generating ideas (e.g. organising co-creation sessions with employees or customers or potential customers) or for getting feedback (e.g. during A/B testing phase of your solution in which the user tests two different versions of the product).

● Acceptthe uncertainty

Far too often, we want to innovate but only if we are sure of the result at the end of the creative process. Isn’t that a contradiction? Yes it is. Practising tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty is one of several future skills and we need to understand itspotential. The Design Thinking process helps us practice it. The more experienced we are with design tools, the more trust we have in the results that will arrive as part of the solution. This is connected to thefactthat thereisnot just one idea-there are multipleideas.There isnot justone solutionthere are multiple prototypes that need to be tested, rather than simply assumed.

● Keepon trying,iterate!

Andagain,whatifthefeedbackshowsthatweareonthewrongtrack?Thisisgreat!Receiving this feedbackearlyenoughpreventsus from investingtoomanyresourcesintoaproductthat won’t succeed in the market. Thanks to feedback, we can spot the functional aspects or touchpoints in the customer journeythat do not work and need tobe corrected or improved. Iterations are an essential part of the development of the product.

1.3 Design Thinking Process

Therearemanyvariantsof theDesignThinkingprocessinusetoday,andtheyeachhavefrom three to seven phases, stages, or modes.Regardless, all variations of Design Thinking are very similar. Here, we will focus on the five-stage model proposed by the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, which is also known as d.school. We have chosen d.school’s approach because they are at the forefront of applying and teaching Design Thinking.

In order to understand the global picture, we might look at the design thinking process presented in the form of the double diamond. Why not two circles or two triangles? The diamond shape is essential, as it reflects two various dynamics that alternate in the process of design thinking: exploration (divergence) and synthesis (convergence).

In divergent phases we explore, brainstorm, and collect data. Those team members who feel at ease with inventing new ideas feel very comfortable in this stage. It’s a bit like gathering ingredients before making a cake.

In converging phases, we stop multiplication and start analysis and synthesis. We cluster similarities, group elements, organise them and afterwards start dragging first conclusions. Again, the team members who see the patterns are champions of that phase, while natural born creators have a short break :) Continuing with our culinary analogy, this is the moment where various smallcookies are created withthe ingredientsgiven(and some are leftbehind, perhaps for the next cake!).

As divergent and convergent processes are repeated twice, therefore the diamond is double. But the focus is different. First, we work on the problem and only during the second stage do we jump into the solution. This is very important, far too often we try to come up with the solution immediately, without really looking at what the problem is. So, if a car is a solution, what is the problem - mobility from A to B. If a toaster is a solution, what is the problemheating bread.

The five phases of Design Thinking, are as follows:5

● Empathise: Understand whose problem are you solving

The Design Thinking process is useful only when the problem is identified. But whose problem? This is where we need to define the user. For example, we have realised that our employees struggle withcertain procedures or access to the online platform that theyshould useintheireverydaywork.Orperhapstheyhaveaproblemreachingtheofficewiththepublic transport.

In the first steps, our task is to understand that problem, deconstruct it or map it. There is no other way than connecting to the target audience that is directly concerned: understanding their pains and needs; habits theydeveloped and the barriers they need to face. Interviewing peopleandobservingtheirwayofdealingwiththeproblematicsituationsprovidesthedesign thinker with the precious insights, answers to question: why.

● Define – your user’s needs and their problem

Collecting the data is one thing but analysing it is another task. Collected pieces of data are just the ingredients, like a detective we must make sense of them, build links between them, all the while taking care that nothing is overlooked or left behind.

We need a structured approach to name the main findings and turn them into so-called insights - a kind of breakthrough, an in-depth understanding of user behaviour. It might be easier if we corroborate the human stories collected with the interviews and observations and if possible, find the red thread between them. Again, using tools like affinity diagrams, empathy maps and the user journeys nourishes our understanding and helps to define the real problem that our focus users face.

● Ideate – generating ideas for creative solutions

Understanding the problem and the reality the user is facing, helps to formulate the challenges using How Might We questions generates. There is a certain magic happening here, if the user research phase is done properly, the ideas will come to mind quickly.As they say,thebestwaytofindagoodideaistohavemanyideas!Asinpreviousphasesofthedesign thinking process, this is where we often get stuck as individualism therefore the team collaborationisveryprecious.Itallows“attacking”thechallengefromdifferentangles,points of view and activating the resources that we might not think about in an individual setting.

Byusingvarious techniques ofbrainstorming,brainwritingandstorytellingweaimatquantity rather than quality, challenging the way we thought in the past. In the end we want to innovate, right?

● Prototype – bringing ideas to reality

“Never show up to a meeting without a prototype.” says Simon Sinek6. So, what advantage might a prototype bring to the discussion? After generating ideas (many of them!) it’s time to testtheminreality.But,testingrequiresinteractionwiththesolution.Thisiswhyvisualisation (sketch, storyboard, drawings) or materialisation (mock-up, model done with Lego bricks, walk-through) are very practical examples for prototypes. Their main task is to validate or invalidate the idea, and eventually improve it. This is why very often the prototypes are fast and simple representations of an idea and can be reshaped and corrected. They are far from being perfect!

● Test – let your users interact with the prototyped solution

Testing ideas goes much further than asking for verbal feedback. We need to see how our users interact with the new solution! This is why we use prototypes. We want to show them to people, ideallythose challenged withtheproblem we tryto solve, andwe encouragethem to interact with the prototype. Theirfeedbackis precious, withit we’llbe able tosee if we are on the right track, or if we need to further research to redefine the problem we identified at the beginning. Thankstothe feedbackwe might also opt for other solutions that will be more usable or that will create a better customer experience.

It is important to note that the Design Thinking stages do not have to be implemented in a sequentialway.If forexampleduring the testingphase wewillseethat ourprototypes donot answer the needs of the users, we go back to the ideation phase again. This “going back and forth” is inherent to the process, it is called “iteration”.

1.4 Two ways of thinking: divergent and convergent thinking

Far too often we associate creativity with the ability to produce new ideas and come up with thesolutionsinaninstant.Forthedesignthinkingprocesstowork,though,wemustalternate between two ways of thinking and acting. First, divergent thinking - opens new possibilities, is exploratory, flexible, non-linear. It might be called improv or, the “Yes, and…” way of thinking.

The second, convergentthinking -is the action of structuring,evaluatingand selecting among the possibilities that arise. It is more what we would call critical thinking, more analytical and referring to the facts. It would be more of a “Yes, but…” way of thinking, where we try to make sense out of data that we have at our disposal.

It is the alternating between both thinking styles that generates creativity. The divergent mode expands the space, the vision we have of things. It generates new data that changes our perspective, fills the holes in our knowledge and completes the map of the problem we

6

Thinking. Thinking like a Designer” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vvfi3wZ9pg

are investigating.The convergent mode instead, contractsthat spaceinorder tobring out the most important elements and illuminate more concrete choices.

Now, understanding those twotypes of thinking can help you and your team membersbetter understand their capabilities. Among your colleagues it might be easy to recognise who is more the "Yes, and..." type and who is more of a "Yes, but..." type. You can also reflect on your own ”style”.

More importantly, a clear definition of the stages in the design thinking process (e.g. it's divergent thinking time!) might help the team to focus on either exploration of new ideas or analysis and selection of ideas. For example, when in the define phase and we notice the team struggling, we can advocate patience until they are on familiar ground. Switching to thinking modes that are not within their comfort zone helps expand their capabilities.

Awareness of this dynamic helps maintain a certain discipline while innovating, which in turn allows for better use of the team capabilities and team communication. Creative craziness on a solid foundation!

Chapter

Application of Methodology in Entrepreneurship. Design Thinking for Entrepreneurs

2.1 Context: how Design Thinking makes entrepreneurs’ life easier

By now it might be clear how entrepreneurs benefit from the Design Thinking methodology: Its process, mindset and tool box enlarge chances of the companies to innovate on their offerings, products and services.

We should not underestimate what is often considered a positive side effect of the process: the skills acquired by entrepreneurs as individuals and in teams. Now, this is particularly important when it comes to future skills. They can be connected to trends in the labour market, influence of technology and digitalisation and the ability to respond to rapid societal and economic changes (for example unexpected, unpredictable events with huge consequences like the recent pandemic - called by some the “black swan event”).

2.2. Skills to survive in VUCA world

The COVID-19 crisis clearly shows that being agile and open to changes is a conceivable requisite for business in the so-called “VUCA world”. VUCA stands for: volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Those four words were first introduced in conjunction with each other by the U.S. Army War College in 1987 to describe the effects of the end of the Cold War. They are equally valid now, when the world economy is shaken in this so-called “black swan event”.

Businesses today find themselves operating in a VUCA world - where volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity dominate. In practice, it means that traditional project management practises cannot sufficiently predict the rapid change of elements of strategic plans, like competition, cost structure, supply chains or customer expectations.

This should be a wake up call to entrepreneurs regarding the new set of skills they should acquire to be able to manage their ventures. Most of these skills can be developed while practising Design Thinking. Let’s have a look at the most important:

1. Collaboration above all:between the team members, with the stakeholders and even co-creation with the clients. Bringing together divergent and convergent thinking

“specialists” and orchestrating the process of working together contributes to innovative solutions being brought to market

2. Flexibility in adapting the products and services to the customer needs, or even changing the business model if necessary. It is not possible to change from one day to the next, though, and this is why “iterations” (repeat the process) and pivots (change the main focus of the business to adapt to the current needs of the customers) are essential too. They should not be perceived as failing or a waste of time any more!

3. Curiosity towards the clients and their changing realities, absolutely, but also towards emerging trends (see next chapter). Curiosity, that is, understanding the customer and responding to their needs is the key to success in the VUCA world. Perhaps it is not surprising, but there are many companies that are still afraid to ask their customers what works well, and what doesn’t. In a world of change, where there is a lot of uncertainty, we have an opportunity to learn through experience. Checking whether our idea or product meets customer expectations with more confidence. What’s important is that we don’t do it only once, but in all stages of the design process.

4. Experimentation- beinginnovativeanddeliveringnewvalue,it’snecessarytotrynew solutions, which may not always work. To reduce costs, try to test your solution with potential customers as early as possible. It’s also important to include a trend analysis in the design process to see how the world is changing and what the directions are of this change. After these steps, you have to decide if your solution is compatible with the future, what changescan occur and howtheywill affect your business.By keeping an eyeonwhatishappeningintheworld andexchanginginformation, youwill beable to react quickly to changes and even be a step ahead

5. Bob Johansen from Institute for the Future7 lists the following elements as necessary to navigate the current complexity:

Vision - We have to find a way to function in the VUCA world. Clear vision, values and mission would helpus.Not aplan for the next 10years, instead, moredirections and values which will guide us through the change.

Understanding- We do not need anymore specialists, who know deeply their own subject, we need more T-shaped people, who are specialists in their topic/ subject but also have a strong general knowledge as well. Look, search, and be inspired! Use different sources of knowledge, learn from different people, try to combine all of these into something that feeds inspiration.Remember that Google only provides you with “filtered” search results….

Agility - This will help you navigate a world based on experiments and continued learning. The best way to practice it is to make a hypothesis and then test it. Instead of building “ready” products and services that need time investment, create prototypes and validate them,learn fromthefeedbackyoureceive.Agilityisalsoyourwillingnesstomakemistakes, being imperfect and open to criticism. The “permanent beta approach” is already a normalised way to build digital solutions like apps, and it’s applied during the product design process in companies like Patagonia. They don’t create new sport clothing without testing and say:

“Testing is an integral part of the Patagonia industrial design process, and it needs to be included in every part of this process. It involves testing competitors’ products; “quick and dirty” testing of new ideas to see if they are worth pursuing; fabric testing; “living?” with a new product to judge how hot the sales would be; testing production samples for function and durability and so on; and test marketing product to see if people will buy it”8

2.3. Trends and Entrepreneurship

Trends primarily indicatea generaldirection in which fluctuating behaviours might be leaning towards. Our awareness of what is happening around us and what changes are taking place influence company products and services. Awareness of changing directions and knowledge about them also help entrepreneurs make strategic decisions. Real innovation includes changing the culture of the organisation, maybe by taking a different perspective on business andunderstandingthatnoteverythingisbasedpurelyonrationalthinking.Trendsarearesult of manycoinciding phenomenathattakeplaceintheworld-onpolitical,economic andsocial levels. Thinking aboutthe future isnot wishfulthinking! Byaskingthe question"What willthe future look like?” we are able to better understand the causes and mechanisms behind change in a particular direction. Design Thinking, with its customer centricity and (especially) user-research tools allows understanding of customer needs and wants NOW. More tools might be needed to develop insights about the future, though. This is where Futures Thinking can be helpful for entrepreneurs eager to develop new skills that help them identify signals, change, global trends AND find a link between them and their business.

2.4. Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in Business

As the main actors in climate change, both as victims and oppressors, we can’t seem to stop behaving as if we are a family that enjoys picnicing on train tracks. Despite alarming signs about environmental and social disasters, far too often business goes on as usual.

Current environmental and societal challenges make it clear: business and societal values must unite. Large and small enterprises have begun to align their products and services with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the global goals set in 2015 by the UN to achieve a better and sustainable future for people and the planet. Other entrepreneurs build, from scratch, enterprises where profit comes in tandem with social impact. It is important to underline that it is possible to merge both elements!

TheDesignThinkingtoolslistedbelowcanhelpyou,asasocialentrepreneur,focusonsocietal benefits and run your business. This is not just a strategic decision, it’s also a choice that your customers make, especially when we are talking about millennials or Generation Z. The researchshowsthatthese generationsstayfaithfultothebrands that share theirvalues. That trend has been confirmed especially during Covid-19 when those customers followed and supportedespeciallypurpose-drivenbrands(Deloitte,2021 GlobalMarketingTrendsReport).

So where is the impact of business needed most? The list is as long as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the UN which offer: an ambitious but urgent agenda to combine People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships (5P) to “achieve a better and sustainable future for all”. This is not only about societal impact, but also about environmental and economical ones. It is very important for entrepreneurs to understand that societal value is not only a “nice-to-have” but a necessity and a common responsibility. It’s referred to as an “outside-in” look atthe business: Societaland environmentalneeds represent hugeunserved market opportunities but could represent huge economic costs if not addressed correctly. Focusing on creating a shared value for societycreates businessopportunities for companies. Unlike philanthropy, the outside-in look and shared values do not minimise the effects of business on society, but rather, maximises the competitive value of solving social problems for new customers and markets9 .

Acting responsibly, entrepreneurs can create new value in several fields such as:

Health Care and the Ageing Population: The Covid-19 crisis put in stark relief the need for innovative solutions in health care services that use connectivity, robotics, data analytics and also smart “human” solutions for prevention and treatments. These reasons are why personalised solutions are needed as well as smart ideas adapted to the users needs.

Education and Learning: Covid-19 underlined the need for digital learning, training for teachers, new media utilisation, in-community learning as well as other aspects that need to be improved. What will learning in the future look like? Education technology(ed-tech) solutions combinetechnology with educationalpractises and focus largelyon peer-education online, where young people share their knowledge between each other.

Urbanisation: On one side of the coin, we hear about smart cities whose connected services allow more safety, speed and efficiency. On the flip side, there are large civic movements like the Transition Network that change the “community”landscape by creating “slow life” services that bring people together. Covid-19 made inhabitants aware of special connections that are possible to be shared with their closest neighbours, and local small businesses. What business opportunity is being created here?

Environmental Sustainability: Scroll down the web page of your favourite brand and check their awareness about their carbon footprint, suppliers, production processes, circularity of raw materials, reparability, etc. If this is non-existent will you still trust their contribution to the shared-value? It is time for “WE” now, use it in your business, solve real problems.

Casestudy:VEJAsneakers

Veja is a French company, producer of sneakers with a strong focus on transparency, fair trade andsocialandenvironmentalresponsibility.Itcollaborates incredibly closely withthe factory that produces its sneakers to ensure the best work practices. Its motto is: ‘Standing up with one foot in design and with the other one in social responsibility.’

Veja sources natural rubber directly from Seringueiro communities in the Amazon rainforest tosave on water, energyand harmful emissions. Besides that it collaborates only with those factories in Brazil that respect human rights, it also follows fair trade rules: Cottonandrubberarepurchaseddirectly fromtheproducersinBrazilandPeru,withwhom VEJA signs a 1-year contract and pre-finances their cotton harvest as much as 40%. That means that organic cotton is bought one year before it is transformed into sneakers.

https://project.veja-store.com/

2.5 Design Thinking inside organisations: Why agility matters

One of the key aspects that will allow an organisation to navigate the VUCA world is agility, and this is only possible in a team that works together, shares information and is close to its customer and market. As this organisational change will not happen overnight, Design Thinking is offering a helping hand in the way work is organised and how the team members relate to each other.

Agility means something more than flexibility, it means building the product or services in small pieces and reacting to change and critical customer feedback. Unfortunately, in many, usually large companies, not everyone has access to feedback from the customer. It often getslostindifferentdepartments.Thankstomultidisciplinaryteams,you candecidetogether in which direction you want to develop and how this affects various departments of your company. It seems to be difficult and time consuming, but it’s beneficial for the company in the long run.

The key to being agile isan organisational culture focused on collaboration, experimentation, and learning by experience. Design Thinking tools help agile teams create certain habits, including customer centricity, user research, visualisation and others. Some of these helpful tools are described in chapter 4.

The skills that are certainly worth developing in a team, are:

- Ability to solve problems creatively

Ability to learn quickly from feedback

Empathy with the clients and the employees

- Understanding and recognizing opportunities in a crisis (resilience)

Anti-fragility: being aware of various future scenarios

This cannot be provided by a robot - you need real people with their “arsenal” of skills and competences, mentioned in previous chapters.

2.6 Design Thinking in Entrepreneurship: From idea to the first client

Afterthis large portionof theory, let’s havea look at your businessideaand how Design Thinkingcanhelpyou…

An idea that looks so promising and motivates you to start immediately with its development. Or maybe you have already decided to incorporate the business? Wait, it isworth validatingtheideafirst!Innextchapterswewillfollowdevelopmentoftheidea to businesswithDesignThinking.

Let’slookatanentrepreneurialroadmapcomposed ofmultiplesteps.Solidifyingthebusiness idea and model starts long before the actual formalities of registering the enterprise. Many entrepreneurs are so in love with their ideas they have trouble seeing any critique early enough and end up building the business based on assumptions. The more solid a business idea, the more chances that business will become successful and sustainable. A Design Thinking mindset and itstools help entrepreneurs structure the creation of their venture and

ensure a fit between the product/service and the market. How? Because it has an impact on these three elements: viability (business), feasibility (for technology) and desirability (for the client).

2.6.1. Clarifying and challenging your idea for a business

The best businesses and ideas are not created between the four walls of the office, but are inspired by the needs of people. If you feel that you would like to start your own business, but you don't have a specific idea, take a walk, browse the net. What are people struggling with? You needtoapplydivergentthinking in thismoment,that is totalk, observe and collect yourqualitativedata.Ifthereisanyareaoflifethatyouareparticularlyinterestedin,dosome deskresearch,seewhatalreadyexistsinthemarket,seehowpeoplearesolvingthatproblem so far. Do the existing solutions meet their expectations? Do not be afraid to ask, people love to share their experience and especially their opinions. Remember, the more interviews you can conduct, the more complete your knowledge will be.

In Design Thinking we often talk about triangulation of data, gathering data from (minimum) three sources is more reliable than one. Plan to use different methods, for example, besides interviews, you can use observation, desk research or even ask your potential clients about

habits they have by keeping e.g. a photo diary for a period of one week. Collect knowledge from different sources! The key skill is empathy and it’s been proven that empathy, like creativity, can be developed with practice, not to mention it’s one of the key skills of the future. By researching and asking “why”, you will understand people and their needs better and thus be able to propose better solutions! In part 4, you can explore more about the tools you can use in your search for more data about potential business areas.

CulturalProbes- caseArt SquareLab

During a project for the food industry, we asked a group of people to provide us with information about their food habits: what they eat, when they eat and with whom, when they eat in restaurants and when they prepare their own meals. During the interviews, many people pointed out that the quality of food, the nutritional value is very important to them! In a word, it should be healthy! One day, as part of our survey, we asked users to take a picture of the trash (garbage) can in their homes. Interestingly, many garbage bins contained packaging made of frozen products or ready-made canned meals!

This was very valuable information for us, it allowed us to inquire a bit deeper into why, despite their intention to eat healthy, they face situations where they don’t succeed in following this intention. What are those “emergency” situations? Trying to understand the needs of our users and to understand situations in which they are reaching for less healthy solutions, like ready-made meals.

2.6.2. You have an idea, what’s next?

Have you gathered a lot of information and don't know what to do with it now? If you feel overloaded and do not know what to do, it’s time to structure your knowledge using convergent thinking. You may need a research wall for this. Put all gathered information in an accessible place, trying to be as visual as possible. Do not be afraid to make changes and add or subtract data. Ideally it should be a very dynamic board, you can use sticky notes, pictures and stickers to achieve this. The major element on the board is a ‘map’ of a specific problem. Prepare a mind map by clusteringthevisibleorgraphicrepresentationsoftheissuestogether(thisprocesshelpsyour brain remember later on!). Consider whois experiencing this problem (what groups of users), what aspects of the problem(s) appear for them and what solutions they have employed up to this point.

After setting up your problem map, in the second step, you need to focus on the question ‘Who is mostly concerned with this problem?' To explore this, build the Persona model: your customer-to-be with his/her habits, preferences, and experiences. At this level, it is essential to identify the needs of your users. ‘How do I do that?’ you might ask. A list of Non violent

communicationneeds10 can help you map the needs of your persona, and it is an interesting tool to use to get at your clients level and better understand them. For example, sometimes we assume that our clients might need a new luxury product, let’s say a watch. But is it really a new watch that they need or rather they’re trying to fulfil a different need such as belonging, being seen or appreciated? Here is where naming the needs come into play and how this activity can re-frame a lot of your assumptions. When you have your research ready, it's time to connect the dots! Check if you have enough information. If not, identify what questions still need to be answered and target people who might provide you with the missing information.

Finally, take a step back, it’s important to look at the board from a distance to see what disturbing or surprising questions appear. Name the main challenges that have arisen using the ‘How Might We…’ question format. Formulating the challenges as a question allows you to keep them open and intriguing. The opportunity that is hidden in the question also invites us into ideation later on.

At this stage you might have that “designer-goosebumps” feeling. A sense that you’ve discoveredsomethingyouwerenotawareofbefore,somethingyoucankeepworkingfurther on. Actually, you found gold!

2.6.3. Generating business ideas

One way to generate ideas is to organise a co-creation session. Invite people who best represent the profile of your personas. Make them acquainted with the challenge and make sure thatyouwelcomealltheideas,alsothosethatseemimpossibleforyou (atthemoment).

Part of ideation is to build on the ideas of others so the pieces that might seem not relevant at the beginning, can serve you later on.

Another way to find new ideas is cross-industrial research. Check out how other industries meet similar needs of their clients: car producers (automotive industry), hospitals (health sector), schools (education), designers and producers of sport clothes, etc. For example: ‘How would IKEA solve the problem of your potential customer?’ ‘What can we learn from their business model?’ ‘Are their insights applicable to our problem?’ This is likely how the concept of self-service machines like “ATMs” for fresh bread was invented by bakeries in France.

BusinessIdeas: CasefromArtsquareLab

During our work with One-Stop-Shop for House of Entrepreneurship we asked ourselves

the question: ‘What other service offers people the opportunity to meet professionals in order to ask specific questions, on a regular basis?’ We thought about hospitals or other healthservices and whatmechanismstheyputinplacetooptimisetheir customer services. What can we learn from their shortcomings?

If you already have a few ideas, see which one impacts potential users in the best way and is at the same time, the most feasible. You can use the scale tool (importance vs feasibility) that will help you visualise your options and better prioritise the ideas to be developed further.

2.6.4. Testing your business idea- Fake it till you make it

You might have heard that 7 out of 10 business ideas fail. You probably don’t want yours to be one of them. One way to prevent it is by building a culture of experimentation in the company you work for (or your own). By allowing teams to build a prototype or perhaps even two different versions of a product/service that you will be able to show them to potential users and validate the assumptions you had about it.

Remember, the prototype should be simple, made of basic materials. Don't spend too much energy on its production. The main goal of this project is to validate the idea to see if your solution meets user expectations and if you can improve it. Feedback is the most valuable thing you can get! Ask, watch… don't justify yourselves, just thank your testers for their honesty. Record the feedback in order for it to be shared later with your team. This will allow you to refine your idea in the next iteration of the offering and reduce the number of assumptions as well as build on the experience of your potential users, and not on your imagination.

Last but not least, experimentation helps you decide if you need to pivot or persevere with your business idea. Pivoting would mean to change the course: target customer, product/service offering or even a business model. Do not panic! Thanks to Design Thinking divergent phases of the research and ideation, you can always get back to the material collected there. Treat it as a reservoir of ideas that can help you change the route but still stay relevant to customer needs. One of the legendary pivots is connected to Twitter. The company started as a podcast service but after facing clear competition from Apple, they decided topivot andsearchforanother offering.GroupSMS was born and, as they say, the rest is history!

The current Covid-19 crisis challenged many entrepreneurs to change or add to the original course of their business. For example, AirBnB now offers online classes in almost every subject. This is entrepreneurship!

2.6.5. Gaining your first clients

Involvingendusersintheprocessofco-creatingyourproductorservicesensuresyourmarket fit, but also allows you to identify the channels you might best approach your clients. Visualising and understanding the touch points while on their customerjourney is important for you and your team to achieve a better definition for the offer, including the marketing strategy you will use. Do not copy the competitors, come up with a message that is authentic and unique, and use the knowledge you collected during the user research phase.

2.6.6. On-going, customer centric business

Ensuring customerengagement optimises opportunities that keep your solution (product or service) in tune with their changing needs. Yes, we need to keep in mind that besides your offering (product/service), the clients use a variety of solutions in their life: digital banking, digital shopping, car sharing, food cooperatives in their city. You need to keep up with the trends and check how your solution fits their big picture.

Paradoxically, the most popular way to measure satisfaction is with an NPS (Net Promoter Score) that, while giving you the knowledge of how well your product answers the needs of the clients, does not refer to WHY. This is why the Design Thinking practice of holding cocreation sessions completes the big picture. You might even organise such a session “in context”, for example, when theyenter your webpage or cafe.The customers will appreciate being asked their opinion and you might also use incentives to thank them for their opinions.

Summary: Benefits of Design Thinking for Entrepreneurs

Building a successful business nowadays, more than ever before, means staying customer centric. Considering customers as partners in the development of products and services ensures that your venture is: based in reality, innovative and competitive. Design Thinking methodology offers a structured approach to innovation.

● Design Thinking can help your business detect and demonstrate your competitive advantage so that you can standout from other companies. It is a strategic element!

● The Design Thinking process can help you track and measure your progress and outcomes. It also allows you to evaluate feedback from various entrepreneurial activities.

● Design thinking allows you, as an entrepreneur, to follow different thinking styles and explore open-ended options to come up with an actionable solution.

● It engages your team in divergent and convergent thinking and therefore improves understanding of their work and communication.

● It integrates all members of your team into the process of staying closer to the customer.

● Using Design Thinking helps your organisation be closer to your users and the market, react quicker to changes and adapt to them. Very important in these uncertain times (Covid-19 we’re looking at you)!

Chapter 3. Tools, templates and other methodologies

3.1. Research/ Understanding Tools

● StakeholdersMap

A stakeholder map enables you to visually represent the people/organisations/ institutions that influence your product, project or idea and how they are connected (with you and with each other). It helps your team collaborate on: what the ecosystem looks like or is, what the importance of particular stakeholders are, and the influences they have on one another.

● Empathy Map

An Empathy map allows you to gather data about the customer. It is split into 4 quadrants (Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels) with the user in the middle and provides insight on who the user is as a whole. It is a great tool for sharing knowledge with the team in a simple way as well as understanding what data might still be missing.

● Persona

Personas are fictional representations of your customer and will help you understand your user needs and behaviours. The tool itself allows the team to empathise with various aspects of the customers, make a distinction between them and their needs and generate more specific ideas that will serve the persona’s needs.

A Proto-persona is a summary of the assumptions about the customer, to be confirmed or correctedduringthe user research(e.g. observations, interviews,focus groups). This is where you usually start: gathering assumptions inone templateallowsyoutounderstand where the gaps are or where youhave disagreements with your team members.It is the perfectstarting point to get out and ask the customers for their truth :)

● InterviewGrid

Conducting interviewswith customers is anessential part of user research and in ordertonot waste their time, you should prepare the interviews thoroughly. Planning the interview grid will help clarify the areas you want to explore and will enable interesting and focused conversation about the main problems customers face. Usually, on location you can request a 30-45 min interview in person, for example in the restaurant if we question the user about his/her food habits, or by using video conferencing if necessary. It’s important to create comfortable conditions and avoid rushing so that the conversation isn’t superficial and the body language can be considered. Interviews can be recorded (if agreed on by the customer) in order for you to capture all the important details and use them afterwards for building a persona.

Example of an interview greed:

1. Welcome 2. Collection of demographic data

3. Tell your story. Why are we here?

4. Explain your problem and challenges:

5. Getting to Know the Opinions

6. Concluding the interview

7. Documentation of results

● 5Whys

The ‘Five Whys’ is a great method to use during interviews. It helps you get to the core of a person's values,beliefs and motivations.During the interview, you start with broad questions (e.g. why do you change your smartphone every year?) and progress into deeper ones using “why” (e.g. why it is important for you to follow the newest technology?) to understand the motivations of your interviewee. This is a great method if you would like to understand the roots of a problem and understand its emotional and human aspects. Using this method you will be able to better understand users and their needs, which in turn will allow you to create a more tailored challenge. It also makes the conversation much more intimate and engaging.

Source: Art Square Lab

● Observation Grid

Talking with users is great, you might also notice supplemental information while observing their behaviour and body language. For example, observing how patients find their way around a hospital. ‘Do they follow signs?’ ‘Do they ask other people for directions when they get lost?’ ‘At what points exactly do they get lost?’ Preparing an observation grid will allow you to focus on the areas important for your research without getting distracted by other information that will catch your eye! The grid allows you to record observed elements and keep track of them. We use the AEIOU framework that defines the ‘5’ areas to observe:

Activities

Environments

Interactions

Objects

The observation grid might be more detailed if we need to confirm or double some data that was not clarified during the interviews.

● CulturalProbes

In order to understand the challenges our users face everyday we might ask them to register their experiences in the form of a diary. Cultural Probes usually take the form of small kits with several tasks included that are offeredto the clients to complete. The tasks are designed to record particular aspects of a user's life in an ethnographic way. For example: recording daily food habits by taking pictures of meals or snacks, noting the exact time of meals, etc. Collecting qualitative data with culture probes allows us to compare it to data collected by the interviews or observations (so called data triangulation)11

● CardSorting

This is a great exercise that can help you discover needs, fears,and motivations of your users.

By sorting cards with different pictures and words, you can ask why they have arranged the cards in that particularorder.This will allow you to collect information about what matters to the users and why. It’s also a great exercise to help start a conversation or support the interviewee in sharing his/her point of view, values, etc.

The Card Sorting exerciseisa waytostartaconversationaboutwhattheusersvalueandwhy. Asking them to rank a deck of cards, with words and images, in order of preference will give you important insight into what really matters to them…

11 Photo source: https://medium.com/@catherinelegros/designing-cultural-probes-31f2c62b9dcf

● PopularMedia Search/Onlineethnographyresearch

Scanningsocial mediahelps yourealise what yourcustomersvalue inyourindustry,how they talk or write about it and what their narrative is about a particular product or service. It can be a starting point for the next steps of user-research. It is essential to hear the opinions of customers posted on various media platforms, to compare them to what you hear during interviews. For example you might realise that the information provided is very different prompting you to ask the question: why? 13

12

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/423745/dixit

13 Source: https://www.tripadvisor.fr/Restaurant_Review-g190356-d5020801-Reviews-Pizza_HutLuxembourg_City.html

● Customer JourneyMap

A customer journey map allows you to see your service/product from the perspective of the user.This journeybeginswith pre-service actions or behaviours, raising awareness, getting to know about your product and service, using it and up until they stop using your product or service.

This tool can help you map the whole process and see what’s missing or should be improved. Based on the customer journey, you get more understanding of how your clients and users perceive your product/service on each touchpoint.

Thebestwaytobuildthejourneyistostartinthemiddle,whentheclientisusingyour service or product (conversion) and later add the steps that happen before and after. For example, how did the client find your product (acquisition)? At what point does the client usually end therelationshipwithyour service?Whatstepsdoyou performtokeeptheclient?(retention). Thisprocesswillalsohelpyoulookfornewwaystokeepyourclientsforlonger,orunderstand why they don’t want to use your products or services anymore. 14

● Research Wall

The research wall is a method that helps you to identify patterns, share your research and insights with your team as well as bring common understanding. To imagine it, think about your job as if you were a detective. Trying to collect all needed information and later, finding patterns and creating maps. After putting all the information on the board (quotes, pictures, data from your research), cluster it into specific categories or create a mind map. This is also a great start for the second round of research (deep research). Based on the data collected, you can add personas, journey maps, user stories, etc. to your research wall. This will help you understand problems and challenges and create (change/update) design challenges. Check your initial assumption, is it still unclear? Maybe you have contractionary information you need to check.

● Definingtherightproblem

The main point of user research is to find and understand what kind of challenges our users have. What isthe “rightproblem” that wehave tosolve?Of course, after researching you will probably have more than one challenge on the list. It means you will have to take time to prioritise the challenges and check which one is the most important and urgent. How to define the challenge? “How Might We …” (HMW questions) are a great method to formulate challengesforideationand furtherwork.The mainpointisto reframeyour insights into opportunities. The more HMW questions relate to the needs of the user, the higher the probability to find targeted solutions later on in the process.

Thanks to reframing the challenge/statement into a question, you will be able to search for different solutions and ideas on how to solve those problems. Good “How Might We…” questions don’t suggest one solution, but inspire you to look for a broad spectrum of ideas. Of course it can’t be too wild and unrealistic: in order to have a real impact you must beware that too broad an HMW statement makes the question unrealistic to solve.15

Source of picture: Art Square

3.2. Ideation/Co-creation Tools

● Brainstorming/Brainwriting

The term ‘brainstorming’ comes from the book Applied Imagination (1967) by Alex Faickney Osborn.Today,formanypeople,brainstormingisconsideredoverrated,oftenmisunderstood and has also earned infamous reviews. Osborn has drawn attention to two important aspects of brainstorming, the first being to postpone the evaluation and the second to focus on quantity rather than specific ideas.

Osborn goes on to suggest a few principles that will help you conduct an effective brainstorming session:

1. Quantity over quality. Create, as a group, as many ideas as possible. With as many ideas as possible, it will be easier to choose and create new, valuable ideas.

2. Encourage participants to add ideas, build their ideas on those of others, change the ideas of other group members and add different variations.

3. Encourage participants to add even "stupid" or wild ideas. Perhaps at first the group might be hesitant but it may inspire others to add new solutions

4. And the most crucial rule: In the first part of brainstorming we don't judge ideas, participants should focus on creating new ideas and not on defending and translating them. Thisanalysiswillcomeinthenextpartofbrainstorming,duringtheevaluation, afteryouhave a lot of ideas.

● 10 x10(means10variationsofoneidea)

So you come up with an idea that looks like THE IDEA. But you can develop it to it’s biggest potential! As a group, create 10 variations of theidea, you can add or change some elements as needed. Think what you can do to make this idea even better. This exercise can be done after selectioning the best idea. It will help you with ideation and how you can improve or build new ideas based on the chosen one.

● Crazy8

Another exercise which can help you generate more ideas, and see things from another perspective is Crazy 8. Divide A4 paper page into8 spaces. Draw (ordescribe), in each square, one idea: solution of the problem. For each drawing, you have 1 minute. To stimulate ideation, for each space you should prepare 8 questions. For example :

How would your mother solve this problem?

How would your government solve it?

How would Google solve it?

How would IKEA solve it?

GUIDE

● Importance/FeasibilityMatrix

This exercise will help you validate your ideas, check what is possible to do (feasibility), and which one idea will have the biggest positive impact on your user (= will solve his/her problem). The most feasible ideas with the highest impact should be the one you should prototype, test and validate with users. 16

● Conceptposter

To solidify your idea, make it visual. You can do this by making a concept poster. The main concept of thisprototype is toprovidegeneral information about your idea in a clear way. It’s important to keep in mind that your poster should include information about your idea, how it will work, for whom it’s designed and what is the unique value of your service.

16 https://app.mural.co/template/94238f11-00b5-42c7-8374-b3dd7c7c0b76/ae150568-42bf46cc-b205-2f4ba1bdb4ca

3.3. Prototyping and Validating Ideas

● Sketch

Sketching is the one of the easiest ways to create simple prototypes to explain your idea. It’s a basic representation of your concept, which you can further develop. It can be very helpful during the first phase of building prototypes as an initial visualisation of the idea. Just grab a pen and paper and start drawing what you have in mind!

● Cardboardprototyping

Prototypes made from cardboard and paper are one of the easiest ways to recreate objects, which you can test and validate.It could be a product, or aphysical part of the services. Often it’s the first and most low-fi (low-fidelity) prototype that you can test with the audience and quickly improve or change. With this kind of prototype, it’s easier to collect honest feedback, because people see that it’s a “work in progress” and they aren’t afraid to change or add something. They can see that you’re still developing it, and you didn’t spend too much time on it. It’s low-fi aspect also makes it easier to receive “constructive” criticism, because you know the prototype can quickly be changed to adapt to user needs. Build a simple prototype, which will allow you to test the most important features of your product and service. Let people play with it, use it. Another value to building your idea in this way is a common understanding of the idea within the team. Often, on the conceptual level we imagine our ideainaspecificway,bybuildingacardboardprototypeyou canagreeonhowitreallyshould look and function17

● Wireframes

Wireframes are used to prototype an application or a website. By creating wireframes you focus mostly on structure and flow, not the visual aspects. It consists of a layout that represents all the most important functions and flows. This layout allows you to better understand the website or application in relation to user journeys. Using low-fi wireframes allow you to test your idea with users at an earlystage of the project and implement changes quickly. Where does the user get stuck? What are the obstacles? What is missing? The prototype of the wireframe should be flexible to get changed18 .

● Storyboard

Storyboarding is a sequence of actions in which the user of your service or product follows. By dividing the whole service into steps, you can more easily understand the flow a user follows and find potential weak points of the service. After this you can decide which parts of the service are crucial and are in need of testing19 .

● RolePlay

Role playing can be used as a successful prototype for a service. You can invite users to “use” your service by acting it out, allowing you to record it. Thanks to this “role playing” everyone can better understand how the service could work. It’s also a great opportunity to collect feedback from the users, while they are playing. You can encourage them to think out loud andexplainwhattheyaredoingandwhyaswellaswhytheyarestuckwhileusingtheservice, what was not clear, confusing.

3.4. Testing

Plan what you want to test before you take off with the testing. Is the test addressing some part of the service, a product, maybe just some key functionality? Remember that it’s best to test the riskiest part of your service, one that is also important for operation. Don’t be afraid to choose that which you are least sure of. Thanks to the sincere feedback of your potential users, you will be able to quickly improve your prototype. The testing session is intended to allow you to detect all the shortcomings of your product and service as well as its good aspects.20

1. Testingyourprototype:

Building your prototype will allow you to test your key hypotheses. It’s important that your users can interact with the prototype. This interaction will give you a better understanding of what’s clear and what is not.

Create atesting planthat askswhat you wanttotest and with whom. Whatquestions areyou seeking answers to? What method are you going to choose to test your theory?Here you will find some ideas for the testing methods:

Concepttesting

For testing low- fidelity prototypes, concept tests are a great method. To begin, take your drawings (of the service or digital product) and present them to potential users. Be open to feedback and ideas. Ask them how they will use it?What functions are the most important to them? What would they skip? You can ask how, till now, they solved the problem, what kind of tools have they used and why? This will allow you to see if you should develop a new idea, change it or maybe skip it entirely, without investing too much time and resources.

TestingA/B

If you develop a prototype, but aren’t sure about some aspects or elements, you can do what’s calledA/Btesting.To dothispreparetwo variations ofthe prototype andcomparethe results. This will help you discover which version is better, or maybe, after creating multiple versions, create a compilation of the most successful.21

Firstclicktesting

When you are developing apps or websites, this type of testing can allow you to see where users click and how they move through the app or website. While testing, you can ask participants to “think out loud”, which will allow you to better understand their way of thinking. Remember to note down/record the findings. You can also prepare some tasks for your participants and see how they solve them (e.g. find concrete information, create an account, etc). It is important not to correct their way of thinking but to learn from their journey through your prototype.

photo: Art Square Lab

FOR

Note down all information and observations. This is what will be used for analysis and comparison with the results of other test sessions. After each session, try to record the conclusions and observations immediately and don’t lose them later.

At the end of the testing phase, collect all results and analyse them. It’s best to share your observations with other team members or people who were involved in the project and testing. Have you paid attention to the same aspects or maybe something completely different?

Chapter 4. Design Thinking in Europe: Cases in Education and Entrepreneurial Context

The ideal way to explain the opportunities Design Thinking brings to organisations and companies is by looking at concrete examples of its application. Below, we’ve listed select examples from Luxembourg, Italy, France, Iceland and Finland.

EURO-NET, Italy

Case #1ineducation

Title

Erasmus+ Project “Future Skills for the Third Sector”

Place Europe (10 countries): Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Bulgaria, United Kingdom, Romania, Latvia, Hungary, Poland and Italy

Organization/Institution

Description

European Partnership of the project “Future Skills for the Third Sector”

The Future Skills for the Third Sector (FUTUR3) project’s goal was to help third-sector employers (associations, NGOs, foundations etc.), employees and educational institutions, training specific professionals understand and identify future skills needs in the field and to prepare for them. We focused particularly on volunteering professionals, such as volunteer managers.

The FUTUR3 project worked to increase understanding on its issues both at a European level, by organizing a benchmarking process,and atthelocaland individuallevel by developing a peer learning model for volunteer managers.

The project activities include:

- A scenario model to understand the future landscape of the sector. Under this model the future is shaped by digitalisation,growinginequalities,loosecommunities,the status quo, or a combination of these.

-A benchmarking process to collect information about the educational and professional paths as well as future skills needs of volunteer managers in 10 countries.

-A peer learning model, tested locally by over 100 volunteer managers. The model is based on Design Thinking and aims to give third-sector professionals the tools to address future skills needs. Published in 10 languages, the model uses the benchmarking results, and is improved according to participant’s feedback.

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

The use of the peer learning model, based on the concept of Design Thinking, helps users identify their future needs and skills by taking ownership of tasks, initiating problem solving,andmostimportantlysticking withthesetasksand problems until they have come to a satisfactory conclusion.

The benefits for third-sector workers and employers (associations, NGOs, foundations etc.) are evident thanks to the approach involving a large number of stakeholders (500 third-sector employees) for the survey and an intensive Design Thinking approach.This was used to build up and test a peer learning model at the local level with over 100 volunteer managers.

Linktowww

Tools,materials,videos

Case #2inentrepreneurship

Title

www.futur3skills.eu/futur3skills/index.php

Link to the peer learning model in 10 languages: http://www.futur3skills.eu/futur3skills/index.php/results

Several cases of Design Thinking for business

Place Italy

Organization/Institution

3M, Tetra Pak, MSC Cruises, SISAL

Description Design Thinking was applied in several contexts, in Italy, to transform organizations by placing people at the centre, with a special focus on customers. Following are some examples of Design Thinking implementation:

● 3M: A multinational conglomerate corporation operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, US health care, and consumer goods. In the last year, therehasbeenatransition from atechnology push focused on products, to a customer insight approachthatnowdrivestheprocessaswellasthe innovation of knowing the customer and his/her needs

● Tetra Pak: Is a multinational food packaging and processing sub-company. The transition process involves an evolution from product centric practices to consumer centric approaches. The process involves the top managers from several businesses and also their consumers.

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

● MSC Cruises: This global cruise line operates worldwide and has designed its biggest cruise ship, the Meraviglia, with an innovative and consumer centric approach. After long research, surveys and tests involving both the staff and the consumers, Meraviglia became the first smart ship with 16.000 connection points, 700 digital spots, 358 SmartScreensetc.Theaimwastogivepersonalized experiences to the customers, support the planning and booking of different experiences, and to enjoy a unique experience.

Incredible benefits in terms of customer satisfaction. The products and services offered are in line with the user’s experience and point of view.

Linktowww https://www.zerounoweb.it/cioinnovation/metodologie/design-thinking-definizioneesempi/

UTU, Finland

Case #1 in education

Title Design-thinking approach through architecture

Place Helsinki, Finland Greece, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Thailand

Organization/Institution Arkki International

Description

What Arkki’s mission is to empower children and youth with the mostessentialskills forbecoming innovativeinfluencersof the future.

ArkkiprogramrepresentsFinland’score values:education, equality, participation, creativity and innovation. Arkki programmes have been developed in Arkki Finland since 1993 and Arkki ‘Curriculum’ was approved by the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2008 and follows the national system called “National Core Curriculum for the Advanced Syllabus for Basic Education in Architecture”. Arkki is present in 7 countries and actively collaborates with Finland and internationally with local governments, companies, and organizations such as UNICEF to make children’s voices better heard all over the world.

Recently Arkki has been selected as a finalist for the WISE 2020 Awards for its impactful and innovative approach to

education, it has won UNICEF CFCI2019 Inspire Award in the category “Meaningful Child Participation” and has made it to the prestigious HundrED 2020 Global Collection as one of the leading and most inspiring innovations in education that are changing the face of K12 education today.

How Arkki aims to provide children with new capacities, means, and media to influence the creation of our future environment, no matter what their occupation will be. The Arkki program and pedagogical approach enhance creativity and innovation skills by constantly engaging the pupils in design thinking processes through project based challenges.ArkkiInternationalprovidescreativeeducation to 4-19-year-old kids using architecture and design projects to integrate different STEM subjects, using the STEAM approach, where architecture is the “A” instead of the arts. Architecture is perfect for integrating STEM subjects, humanities, and social sciences, due to its multidisciplinary nature. The architecture enables multidisciplinary project work. Arkki uses the following methods to foster creativity: phenomenal learning, experiential learning, creative problem solving, multisensory learning, design-thinking and a joy of learning in order to build innovation skills. Innovation skills can be defined in this case as: creativity, complex problem solving, empathy and collaboration, communication, curiosity and motivation, influence and participation, cultural and social awareness.

As an example, Arkki Finland works frequently with the Helsinki City Planning office for its urban planning and design projects. Most notably, Arkki students have helped design and plan the 32-hectare “Hernesaari” peninsula area tobecome achild-friendlyresidentialareaofHelsinki. They also participated in designing the Save the Children Headquarters in Helsinki, and many other projects.

Pupils are in charge of their learning. Students have developed innovative skills necessary to enter the future job market. Students come up with new and useful ideas. Raising interest in architecture and its applicability. Students take ownership of their learning. Children are encouraged to think.

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

Case #2inentrepreneurship

Title Happiness creates success

Place Tampere, Finland

Organization/Institution Framery Oy

Description

In 2010, around ahundred employees were working in the same open office space. Two of them, including the current CEO, who was also one of Framery’s founders, was affected by their boss speaking constantly on his phone with a headset. It was very hard to concentrate on anything. They asked their boss to isolate while making his calls. He replied “Well, buy me a phone booth”. The problem was that there weren’t any on the market so the only alternative was to make one.

Framery is a pioneer and leading company in manufacturing and developing soundproof private spaces and pods that enable and reinforce happiness in workplaces. Framery was founded in 2010, and its products help solve noise and privacy issues in dozens of the world's leading brands' offices, including Microsoft, SAP, Puma and Deloitte.

Based on consumer’s feedback, they were able to acknowledge that the first booth was neither good looking nor particularly soundproof. Nevertheless, they believed there was a market need and after further research, identified many workplaces that suffered from the same problem with no solution available.

They decided to improve their initial product, using the Design Thinking methodology. They spent years in development: analyzing customer feedback and conducting rigorous trial and error. The 6th generation phone booth or pod finally resulted in a functional, silent place to work with great acoustics and silent ventilation, the Framery O.

At first, it was challenging to sell them. Framery Oy then switched from a product-centric approach to a more customer-centric approach. The company organized a workshop to collect user experiences and used storytelling

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

as a way to increase brand awareness. As soon as people began to realize that by using the Framery O their office culture was quickly transformed, news began to travel. Having companies such as Microsoft, SAP and Deloitte buy and love them reinforced their popularity.

Framery Oy’s mission is to make the world a happier place with products that alleviate the negative impacts of an open office floor plan.

Victim of its success, Framery Oy realized that their booth was offering ahybrid solutiontoopen-spaces and is on the cutting edge to revolutionize the use of work spaces. The company is constantly improving its products by adding electronic and augmented reality features.

Today, the Framery O is the world’s bestselling pod. In 2019, Framery 2Q won the Silver Award in the office products category at the International Design Awards (IDA), and was the winner in the 2019/2020 GOOD DESIGN Awards office products category. They were also a finalist for the 2019 Architectural Record Products of the Year and a Best of NeoCon Silver Award.

Developed a product based on customer’s feedback. Understood the needs of customers by improving sound, privacy and air circulation.

Helped Framery Oy to move the focus of office space design further into the future. Encouraged new perspectives for future development directions.

Challenged the open-space working and distance working culture.

https://www.frameryacoustics.com/en/company/ourstory/

SUCCUBUS,

Description

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

“Challengers de Possibles" is a project targeting teachers and students in vocational schools. Teachers are trained and equipped to guide their students in the creation and implementation of projects.

To build their project, the students utilize a five-step methodology inspired by Design Thinking:

1. Start project

2. Identify the challenge

3. Imagine the solutions,

4. Prototype and implement

5. Reflect and share These steps help students identify needs in their environment (city, high school, community) and create an adequate solution. This project allows them to be actors in their education.

Teachers, while engaging their classes will have: a pedagogical toolkit, specific train-the-trainer sessions, virtual classes support, hotline support, and a final experience sharing session with other colleagues.

Thisprojecthasbeenimplementedforthefirsttimeduring the school year 2019/2020 in Rennes district, in Bretagne.

It is currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

● Students develop valuable soft skills to help them enter the labour market such as: independency, team spirit, the initiative spirit etc.

● Better atmosphere in the class

● Higher motivation

● It also has an impact on the teacher’s attitude toward their students: they are more trustful, and believe in their abilities.

https://syn-lab.fr/en/?projetclef=batisseurs-de-possibles

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBvMAzl3laG1q4BUThD2pA

Description

RTE is a subsidiary of EDF (Electricité de France), which manages 105,000km of power lines and employs almost 9,000 people.

RTE wished to improve its working methods, in particular by dematerializing the management of certain paper documents, in the context of power plants. In order to avoid a top down approach, imposing a predefined IT solution, a Design Thinking(DT) process has been implemented. Preceded by a user researchphase(4 plants visited, conducting interviews and a quantitative questionnaire), the DT methodology made it possible to focus on solutions adapted to specific needs and technical constraints.

During DT days it was possible to: finalize personas based on field data, identify the main pain points to be resolved, clarify the added value of digital supports, map the experience, challenge potential solutions and co-design the main screens of the applications to be developed. The mock-ups built and finalized were then submitted to a panel of users in order to collect their feedback before moving on to the IT development stage (measures of usability and acceptability).

Co-designed mock-up

Interactive mock-up

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

Final design

● Identification and prioritization of pain points relating to current processes needing to be improved.

● Guided change management, ensuring acceptability of the provided innovations, avoiding solutions pushed by the main stakeholders in the past (disappointments, reluctance, time and money wasted in unuseful and unaccepted projects, etc.)

● Raised awareness among stakeholders of the importance of user experience (UX) and user centred design, for example better empathy with final users and understanding of their needs.

● Provided the IT team with high quality mock-ups, co-designed and already approved by the final users, allowing a quick and cost-effective development process.

MSS, ICELAND Case #1ineducation

Title

The Box – Design thinking

Place Reykjavík Iceland

Organization/Institution

The University of Reykjavík - SA Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise

Ministry of Education, Science and Culture The Icelandic Upper Secondary Student Union (SÍF)

Description

The University of Reykjavík holds a competition for students in Colleges with support from the SA Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise. In each school, there is a maximum of three teams. They are getting projects from the University and companies and they are required to use design and creative thinking to find the best solutions. The students record the process on video and send it to the University along with reports from the teachers. The University then chooses teams from schools from all over the country to come to Reykjavík and compete again, but now with the other selected schools.

The teams are given eight projects and have limited time to solve them.

The teams are often composed of students from different disciplines in school who have to work together and practice using the different knowledge and strengths of each other to be able to win.

Example of projects:

● Construction of cranes in a work area. The crane must be strong and tested.

● Using 34 puzzles to make insects in 3D.

● Building as tall a tower as possible from chocolate. To besuccessful, students haveto use Design Thinking and work together as a team. Theaimofthecompetitionistopromoteandraiseinterest in technology, technical studies and jobs in the industry, sinceinIcelandthereisasignificantshortageoftechnically educated people.

Linktowww

Tools,materials,videos

StudentsarepracticingDesignThinkingandlearningtouse each other's strengths as well as working in teams. They get insight into the projects and activities of various companies in the business world. The name of the competition is “The Box” but the goal is to push the students to think outside the box.

https://www.ru.is/boxid/um-keppnina/

Video from the competition: https://www.ru.is/boxid/eldri-keppnir/keppnin-2014/

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

Case #2inentrepreneurship

Title

Unparalleled automation in fish factories.

Place Iceland Organization/Institution Marel

Vísir - Fish factory

Einhamar - Fish factory

Description

Collaboration in innovation between technology companies and the fishing industry. The fishing industry requires a large number of people to processfishproducts,this meansqualityand traceabilityis veryimportantaswellasthequantityoffishasluxuryfood on expensive product categories.

One day the white fish department of Marel got this question from a supervisor in a fish factory, “Is it possible to design machines that can clean and cut the fish fillets as this is the most difficult and costly job in the fish factory requiring a lot of manpower?”.

Flexicut is a machine that Marel designed as a solution and is producing for larger fish companies. The machine is cutting the fish fillets exactly as the customer wants and has sensors that even takes care of bones and worms. In fact, the whole fish goes to a machine at one end and finishes, in the packing, ready to export the same day. The technology created takes care of production and registration requirements, while robots take care of the packaging and weighing. Finally, staff manages the

Students in “The box”

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

inspection stage and makes sure that the machines work correctly.

Marel has been working on developing the Flexicut machine and sensor for a long time, and have improved the equipment to a high standard of precision. From the idea (of having machines manage this specific job) to the solutions they have now there has been a lot of cooperation with the industry.

Automation in fish factories is important to ensure quality and traceability of fish products. Italsoincreasedrevenues,stabilityandhigherefficiency. It brings companies more profit, simplifies jobs of the staff and provides more jobs for staff who have technical education.

More efficiency is also good for the environment and is a factor in responsible fishing.

Linktowww

https://marel.com/en/products/flexicut

Flexicut from Marel the new system. The job of cleaning the fish is the past in many companies.

Title ING Loan Simulator

Place Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Belgium

Organization/Institution ING Bank

Description

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

The ING Group (ING) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. A few years ago ING decided to make a major effort in innovation as the new direction felt that, to stay relevant for their customers, they had to make their business evolve faster. In ING’s view, innovation was not about gadgets or new technology, but rather in managing to create a different set of customer experiences. PACE was born: a combination of Design Thinking, Lean Startup and Scrum Agile.

PACEisacombinationofDesignThinking,LeanStartupand Agile Scrum. It is an iterative 5-steps process: discover, problem fit, solution fit, market fit and scaling.

It is used to achieve a 3Cs strategy: customers, culture and connection.

PACE is disseminated into the entire ING group for 54,000 employees, in 40 countries and thanks to its 3 innovation labs in Amsterdam, London and Singapore, chief innovation officers, its Service Design academy and Experiment Design academy as well as boot camps and coaches.

Pace isused at ING Luxembourgsuccessfullyasasimulator for mortgage and consumer loan examples to prove it.

Thanks to PACE, ING is able to focus on what it calls “The three Cs: Customers, Culture, and Connection.” Design ThinkingisusedinordertoachievethefirstC,“Customer”. The idea is to create only something really useful for customers, something that meets their needs. For the banking group, innovation has to happen in close relationship to the customer with the most important thing being the separation of assumptions and opinions regarding what customers want and need, from facts. The empathybroughtbyDesignThinkingallowsthemtodefine

the customer’s real problems and solutions, as these can only truly be validated with the customer. In order to do this, an innovative “Culture” (the second C) is needed.This is achieved by communicating the strategy to employees through workshops, boot camps, academies, chief innovation officers as well as through dedicated coaches whotravelaroundtothedifferentcountries.Thankstothis organization, every team in the group speaks the same language and becomes self-sufficient. In addition, inputs and data are collected from all teams. The third C is for “Connection” which is achieved through partnerships, equityinvestments andspecialized branches inFintech.All in all, PACE aims towards: a constant improvement of products and processes, at empowering people and achieving collaborative innovation. In addition, it aims at reducing the waste of scarce resources. In addition to Design Thinking, the Lean Startup methodology brings its culture of experimentation for testing assumptions quickly, diminishing risks, time and cost.

Link to www https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3FRA9iA7FE

Case #2ineducation

Title

The Mini- Companies

Place Luxembourg

Organization/Institution

Description

Jonk Entrepreneurs/Art Square Lab

The Young Entrepreneurs is part of a Luxembourgish international competition run by young entrepreneurs in many European countries. The students of local schools are invited to develop their business ideas and receive coaching by successful entrepreneurs in their countries. Usually,theystarttheprojectwithbasicideasandworkon development of pitch, business model and the “MVP”. For two years Art Square Lab offered the Creativity Camp to these students. The Creativitycamp is a Design Thinking workshop at the very beginning of the project in which the teams had a chance to apply the first two phases of the Design Thinking to their fledgling ideas. The workshop

Benefits (what has changed thanks to this project and for whom)

helps them to better understand the user problem and make sure that user research is conducted with potential clients.

The in-depth workshop focused on user research and allowed the participants to get to know the tools that are useful for creation of a better customer experience as well as a better understanding of their value proposition. The tools can be used in further design elements of their venture as well as other stages of business development.

Linktowww https://jonk-entrepreneuren.lu/en/program/the-minienterprises/

Additional Resources

Programmes we recommend:

MURAL - https://www.mural.co

MIRO - https://miro.com

SPRINTBASE - https://sprintbase.io

SHAPE BY IDEO - https://www.innovationtraining.org/what-is-shape-ideos-latest-innovationtool/

SMAPPLY - https://apply.surveymonkey.com/

MARVELAPP - https://marvelapp.com

This Is Service Design Doing

https://www.thisisservicedesigndoing.com

Bibliography

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Martin L.R. (2009). The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage

Knapp J., Kowitz B., Zeratsky J. (2016). How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Lewrick M. , Patrick Link, et al.(2020). The DesignThinking Toolbox: A Guide to Mastering the Most Popular and Valuable Innovation Methods

Stickdorn M., Lawrence A., Schneider J., Hormess M. (2018). This Is Service Design Doing: Applying Service Design Thinking in the Real World

Verganti, R., & Norman, D. (2014). Incremental Change and Radical Innovation: Design research versus technology and meaning change

Brown, T. (2009). Change by design. New York: Harper Collins

Kelley D., Kelley T. (2013) Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us

All The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm by Tom Kelley

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Cross N. (2011). Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work

Johnson S. (2010). Where Good Ideas Come From – The Natural Story of Innovation

Ries E. (2011). The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

GUIDE DESIGNTHINKING FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Liedtka J., Ogilvie T., Brozenske R. (2013) The Designing for Growth Field Book

Dragt E. (2017) How to research trends: Move beyond Trend watching tokickstart Innovation

Mason H., Mattin D., Luthy M. Dumitrescu D. (2015). Trend Driven Innovation

Bennett K.B., Liedtka J., King A., (2013). Solving Problems with Design Thinking: Ten Stories of What Works

This project is funded bythe European Commission.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission/National Agencies cannot be heldresponsiblefor any use which may be made of the informationcontained therein.

The “GUIDE Design Thinking for entrepreneurship” has been developed under Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnershipfor Higher Education Project “CDTMOOC” (Project no. 2019-1-FI01-KA203-060718) and it is licensed under a Creative Commons.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.