© istockphoto.com/DrAfter123

Design thinking in innovation management

Focusing on the customer

We live in an increasingly complex world. Trends like digitalization and globalization are transforming the way we live, learn and work. Businesses are also coming under growing pressure to change, and need to find ways of managing this complexity effectively. Design thinking can help. Prof. Dr. Esin Bozyazi, Professor of Sustainable Entrepreneurship at IU International University of Applied Sciences and Head of the Steinbeis Consulting Center for Business Models of the Future, explains how design thinking can be implemented in practice.

Design thinking is a systematic approach that can be used in collaborative teams to develop innovative, life-centered solutions to complex problems in every area of our lives – with people at the center.

How it all started…

Johannes Rosbach recently obtained a distance learning bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management – Industry 4.0 from the IU International University of Applied Sciences. While pursuing his studies, he was also employed as a product manager at leading welding technology firm EWM GmbH. One of the various aspects that it was important to address in his approach to this role was to bring an even stronger customer focus to the company’s innovation strategy. The aim was to identify and solve customers’ real problems and develop innovative ideas to meet their needs. Although EWM already had an in-house innovation process, this often began with an existing idea. The important idea generation and problem-solving stages were thus overlooked. He therefore resolved to implement design thinking in the product and innovation management processes as a method for coming up with ideas and solving problems from a user- and customer-centric perspective. Rosbach developed a concrete implementation of this idea for his bachelor’s thesis. His supervisor was Esin Bozyazi, whose expertise in the fields of innovation and design thinking together with her “creativity in business” motto provided invaluable insights for the project.

From theory to practice

The main question addressed in the bachelor’s thesis was “How can design thinking be implemented in product and innovation management in order to come up with ideas and solve problems from a customer- and user-centric perspective?”. In this context, design thinking is understood to be a methodological, creative process that can become a mindset if certain success factors and principles are observed. Various relevant areas were analyzed. “Innovation management and the innovation strategy are an integral part of the product management process at EWM. As the interface between all the organizational units, product management plays a central role in interdisciplinary design thinking. Change management that involves the affected individuals is crucial when making changes to the organization. The objective of change management is to bring the business into a particular state. It is therefore important to include employees in the change processes”, explains Rosbach.

The first step was to develop a theoretical design thinking model that drew on different methods from various sources and adapted them to EWM’s specific circumstances. Guidelines for applying the model in practice were then drawn up and piloted in a workshop. A multidisciplinary team comprising six representative members of different departments and levels of the company hierarchy tested the guidelines and developed an innovative prototype that confirmed their usefulness in a practical setting. Based on these findings, the following recommendations were formulated for EWM with the aim of embedding design thinking as a fundamental mindset within the business:

  • Continuous adaptation and improvement: Regular design thinking workshops should be held to evaluate and review guidelines and methods and adapt them to the business’s changing needs and requirements.
  • Overarching customer focus: As well as applying to individual activities and processes, the focus on customers and users should also apply to the overarching company strategy, constituting a key objective for all employees. Support from senior executives and management is crucial in this context.
  • Promotion of design thinking: Successful design thinking projects should be communicated internally in order to inspire and encourage more employees to participate in and actively help to establish such projects.
  • Break down silos and establish open, creative workspaces: Agile, interdisciplinary project teams should be established in order to break down silos within the business and modernize rigid communication channels. The flexibility and creativity facilitated by open workspaces significantly strengthens this interdisciplinary collaboration.

The experience and insights gained from this project will help to drive forward and optimize EWM’s innnovation process. Moreover, the methodology employed in this case study is not confined to innovation management – it can also be applied to other organizational units, and indeed to other companies.

Steinbeis expertise for SMEs

This is where the Steinbeis Consulting Center for Business Models of the Future comes in, especially Steinbeis expert Esin Bozyazi. “The results of this practical project provide valuable guidance for introducing design thinking processes in small and medium-sized enterprises. Businesses can also implement the individual process steps separately”, she concludes. Through its Sustainable Business Transformation program, the Steinbeis Enterprise helps businesses to introduce and implement design thinking and other innovation methods, and to transform their business models for a sustainable future.

Contact

Prof. Dr. Esin Bozyazi (author)
Steinbeis Entrepreneur
Steinbeis Consulting Center Business Models of the Future (Stuttgart)

Professor of Sustainable Entrepreneurship
IU International University of Applied Sciences (Erfurt)

Johannes Rosbach (author)

Sabine Pur (author)

227256-08