Recently, we hosted an amazing webinar on Agile and Design Thinking. Our session was led by two phenomenal panelists: Jane Tudor, Founder and Chief Methodologist at Outpace Consulting, and Catherine Louis, Founder and Agile Coach at CLL-Group.
Blending Agile principles, along with design thinking concepts, are very powerful tools for developing products. Catherine Louis kicked off the webinar with the meaning and history of design thinking. Design Thinking is a nonlinear iterative process, seeking to understand users, to challenge assumptions, to redefine problems, and create innovative solutions. Although design thinking is a hot buzz word right now, it originated in the mid-1950s. From this history lesson, we expanded the definition of design thinking and focused on how the synergy of desirability, feasibility, and viability can result in innovation that benefits the customer.
A deep dive into the five phases of design thinking (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test) revealed that teams are faced with a design challenge that ultimately asks two questions: “Who are we trying to help?” and “What problems do they face?” Teams that focus on these questions while trying to understand the problem and explore solutions have a better chance to hear and feel the voice of the customer, which can lead to more market opportunity.
It’s not enough just to have these exploratory conversations. It’s equally important to apply lean development practices to have a greater chance of achieving business outcomes.
Using models like the double-diamond that help define the five stages of the design thinking, as well as tools like personas, empathy maps, and customer journey maps, are great options for teams to use. In the webinar, our panelist Jane Tudor talked about the blend of design thinking, lean startup, and iterative development.
Double Diamond Model of Thinking
Design Thinking + Lean Startup + Iterative Development
Our panelists cleverly threaded the story of Cari, a single mom of two who was trying to manage work and family through the COVID19 pandemic.
So much knowledge was shared during this webinar that it deserves another review. Here at ezTagile, we believe in the power of this trifecta – design thinking, lean startup, and iterative development. It is a powerful, core concept that we share with our clients.
Be sure to re-listen to our webinar on Agile and Design Thinking. What are your thoughts about these powerful concepts? How have you used these concepts in the past? Drop a comment below and let us know your thoughts!