Design Thinking Application

Here is how I helped pull together a Horizon Europe full proposal in two weeks. (The answer is not AI) It was during COVID and I took a call from an old friend. He wanted me to help with a proposal - due in two weeks. Normally, I would say no, but I did not. It is estimated that it takes more than 400 hours of effort for the Coordinator to develop a full proposal for EU funding. Who has an extra 400 hours to spare? We only had 240 hours in total. Here is what I learned. Good proposals are not about reaching a consensus. They are also not about magically melding text from 10 different authors. How did we do it? Design thinking. Design thinking is a human-centered, iterative approach to innovation that emphasizes: ⤷Empathy, ⤷Problem reframing, ⤷Ideation, ⤷Rapid prototyping, ⤷and Testing. It works as way to accelerate the process. It leverages the collective creativity of a group and, . Prototyping and testing are also great ways to rapidly communicate concepts. By first reframing the problem and then rapidly iterating concepts we were able to get the proposal done on time. The result? The proposal was successful. The experience changed my perspective on what is possible. Want to avoid a 400 hour investment in effort to develop a Horizon Europe Consortium project? Adopt a design thinking approach. 

What if we reimagined the Double Diamond through the lens of Jobs-to-be-Done? 🤔 Product Management is about mastering various methodologies and knowing when to apply them. No single framework fits all scenarios - the key is understanding how different approaches can complement each other to drive better outcomes. I have been learning and practicing the art and science of Innovation through the concepts of JTBD, Human Centered Design, Design Thinking, Customer Driven Innovation, Continuous Discovery, Product Discovery, Lean, etc., I've found these methodologies aren't just related, they're deeply interconnected pieces of the same puzzle. I took the classic double diamond design thinking framework and applied JTBD to it and here is how it looks in my view. While the double diamond model divides the journey into Problem → Solution spaces, the evolved version speaks the language of jobs and outcomes 💎Left Diamond: Transformed from problem-finding to "Jobs & Outcomes" - focusing on understanding what customers are trying to achieve in their contexts. 🌉The Bridge: "Opportunity Statements" replace "Problem Definition" - shifting from fixing issues to unlocking potential. Opportunity Statements are what Tony Ulwick calls "Hidden Growth Opportunities". These statements guide our innovation direction. 💎Right Diamond: Maintains the Design/Develop and Iterate/Deliver phases, but shifts validation focus to measuring how effectively we enable customers to achieve their desired outcomes. This framework moves beyond problem-solution thinking to create value through deep understanding of customer progress and success metrics in the form of jobs and outcomes. Have you integrated different innovation frameworks in your work? What have you learned? Would love to hear your experiences! #innovation #JTBD #designthinking #productdiscovery

🚀 I’ve been loving the chance to dive into design thinking through my Social Impact Hub Fellowship – and it’s really got me reflecting on how these principles can be applied to the development of Individualised Living Arrangements (ILAs) in the NDIS. 🧠 Design thinking is all about starting with the person – understanding their needs, goals, and what a good life looks like from their perspective. It’s about co-design, iteration, and creativity – and that’s exactly what we need more of in disability support, especially when it comes to housing and living. 🏡 Too often, people with disability are forced to fit into systems, instead of the system adapting to fit them. This is especially true when it comes to housing and support arrangements, where outdated models like group homes continue to dominate. ILAs offer a real alternative – a way to break away from cookie-cutter solutions and design supports around what actually works for the person. 💡 To get this right, we need to deeply understand people’s goals, values, and daily realities. That’s where design thinking comes in – it gives us the tools to ask better questions, test new ideas, and co-create solutions that are both innovative and grounded in lived experience. hashtag #SocialImpact hashtag #DesignThinking hashtag #DisabilityRights hashtag #NDIS hashtag #ILAs hashtag #Innovation hashtag #CoDesign hashtag #Inclusion Image Description: A presentation slide titled “Recording of Design Thinking session” features the heading “Design Thinking Tools” with the subheading “There are hundreds of tools for design thinking.” Six icons with tool descriptions are presented across the slide: Understand Perspectives & Develop Personas (icon: red glasses) Empathy research to deeply understand the world view, needs, pain points and opportunities of your users/beneficiaries/customers. Map a Journey or System (icon: map with dotted path) Use mapping tools to visualise how changes, journeys and experiences unfold over time. Develop Future Visions (icon: upward graph with arrow) Use individual and collective imagination to consider possible futures or scenarios. Generate Ideas (icon: lightning bolt) Use creativity and brainstorming tools to bypass ‘evaluative mode’ and generate new and interesting ideas. Refine and Test (icon: funnel) Process large amounts of data and evaluate ideas in a systematic (and collective) way. In the bottom left corner, the logo “Social Impact Lab” appears

Ever tried designing a product your mom said she’d use — but never did?
Yeah. Me too. Welcome to the magical world of entrepreneurship without design thinking. Once, I built an app to help people drink more water.
I thought it was genius.
I sketched it. Built it. Launched it.
I even forced 14 friends to download it. (13 ghosted me. One blocked me.)
Turns out, people don’t want ANOTHER reminder.
They want solutions that actually fit into their lives. Enter: Design Thinking. Instead of assuming what people want, I started asking.
I became a full-time stalker of user needs. (Legal stalking, calm down.)
I empathized. Observed. Prototyped. Tested. Repeated.
Suddenly, my ideas didn’t just look cool — they worked. And speaking of cool ideas that work — let’s talk Ranveer Singh. He didn’t just become a Bollywood star.
He became a walking brand — loud, vibrant, unpredictable.
(And let’s be honest: the man could wear a curtain and still trend on Twitter.) But here’s the genius:
Ranveer understood his audience.
He designed his persona with empathy, not ego.
He gave people something real in a sea of perfect, filtered celebs — and guess what?
The audience didn’t just like it. They owned it. Lesson? * Your idea isn’t the hero. * The user’s problem is. * And your job? Become their Gandalf. (With Ranveer’s wardrobe. Optional, but bold.) So if you're building something — a product, a startup, even a new feature — don’t start with “what can I make?”
Start with “what truly matters to the person I’m designing for?” Design thinking won’t guarantee a unicorn startup.
But it’ll save you from building another product that only your mom pretends to use (and uninstalls quietly). Build with empathy. Brand with intention. Launch like Ranveer on a red carpet — bold, clear, and unforgettable. #DesignThinking #Entrepreneurship #RanveerSinghVibes #UserFirst #LessonsLearned #StartupHumor #InnovationWithEmpathy

🏢 Architects: We all say we’re Design Thinkers, but what strengths do we have as Design Thinkers? Everyone is leveraging Design Thinking to gain an edge: →Tech companies are using it to create user-centric products that dominate the market. 💻 → Healthcare organizations are redesigning patient experiences to improve outcomes and satisfaction. 🏥 → Retail brands are crafting immersive customer journeys that build loyalty and drive sales. 🛍️ → Financial services are simplifying complex processes to enhance client engagement and trust. 💼 → Education systems are reimagining learning environments to foster creativity and critical thinking in students. 🎓 →Governments are engaging citizens in co-creating solutions for more resilient and inclusive communities. 🏛️ But with so many industries using Design Thinking to get ahead, what sets architects apart? Architects use Design Thinking to tackle complex challenges that go beyond designing buildings. We create spaces that respond to the human experience and address real-world problems by leveraging the following strengths: → Empathy-Driven Design: We deeply understand users’ needs, creating spaces that resonate with people—whether co-designing public areas or improving work environments. We don’t just design buildings; we design experiences. ❤️ → Sustainability and Resilience: We develop solutions that reduce environmental impact and boost resilience. From green roofs to climate adaptation, our designs aim to benefit both current and future generations. 🌱 → Community-Centric Solutions: We collaborate with stakeholders to create spaces that reflect community needs—transforming underused areas, designing affordable housing, and enhancing urban connectivity to foster belonging. 🌆 → Human-Centered Innovation: We refine designs through prototyping and testing, integrating new materials and technologies to create functional, inspiring spaces. We push architectural boundaries through constant iteration. 🏗️ → Holistic Thinking: We consider a building’s entire lifecycle, balancing aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability to deliver value at every stage. Our spaces aren’t just built to look good—they’re built to last. 🔄 But it’s not enough to just say we use Design Thinking; we need to communicate clearly how these strengths translate into real-world impact. 👉 What specific value do you bring as a Design Thinker in architecture? _____________________ Hi, 👋🏻 I'm Evelyn Lee, FAIA | NOMA I've been on the client side for over a decade and have spent the last five years in tech, helping create exceptional employee experiences while growing the business. Now, I help architects: ⇒ Think Differently ⇒ Redefine Processes ⇒ Create Opportunities

It’s 2025, and startups are still failing for the same old reason—building products no one actually needs Too much time is spent solving problems that seem important rather than the ones that truly matter to customers. Many founders follow the Lean Startup playbook: come up with an idea, do some customer discovery, and start building. Yet, countless startups get stuck in an endless pivot loop, tweaking their product over and over until they run out of momentum. Most founders start with a solution in mind instead of deeply understanding the problem. They test an idea, gather feedback, and assume validation. But when users don’t behave as expected, the cycle repeats. The way out of this loop is problem discovery first—not testing if the market wants a solution, but identifying a real, urgent problem worth solving. This is where Design Thinking comes in. Instead of focusing on features and pricing, it pushes founders to understand the problem at a deep level, map out key stakeholders, and uncover real opportunities. It might feel like research instead of action. But most entrepreneurs have a bias for building rather than validating. Design Thinking isn’t about slowing down—it’s about making sure there is actual demand before anything is built. Rather than rushing to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), the focus should be on a Minimum Viable Offering (MVO). What’s the simplest thing customers would actually pay for? Sometimes, it’s not even a product—it could be a slide deck, a landing page, or a UI prototype. The goal is to gather real evidence of what customers need and what they are willing to pay for. Startups pivot all the time. But when the problem is deeply rooted, customers will want you to succeed. ↻ Repost to share this with someone who needs to see this.

Meet Jane Marie Chen, who used a design thinking approach to solve a $20B critical problem in rural India, saving the lives of thousands of infants. In rural Nepal and India, high infant mortality rates were alarming due to a lack of affordable and accessible incubators. Hospitals were struggling to provide life-saving warmth for premature and low-birth-weight babies. Jane Marie Chen and her team at Embrace Global saw a need for life-saving care in rural areas that couldn’t be ignored. Driven to make a difference, they turned to design thinking to reimagine a solution that could save lives. They developed an affordable, sleeping bag-like infant warmer called “Embrace infant warmer” that operates without electricity. Using a paraffin-based pouch maintains a steady temperature, ensuring newborns in remote areas can survive. They have saved more than 700,000 lives across 20 countries since its launch in 2011. Now, let’s use the design thinking approach to understand the cultural context: In settings without reliable electricity, traditional incubators are expensive and culturally inaccessible.  Embrace designed a non-electric baby warmer resembling a simple swaddle familiar to mothers.  This easy-to-use solution fits seamlessly into existing caregiving practices, overcoming barriers of cost, complexity, and cultural acceptance. 3 takeaways from this story: - Reframe Problems: Design thinking means redefining challenges to fit real-world needs. - Simple Accessible Solutions: Even a basic, accessible design, like Embrace’s warmer, can drive a life-changing impact. - Empathetic Approach: Understanding cultural context makes innovation sustainable and impactful. Sometimes, the simplest solutions create the biggest impact. Have you encountered any other design thinking solutions that have impacted lives like this? Share them in the comments! #designthinking #Socialinnovation #innovation

When empathy meets design, magic happens. Doug Dietz's story is proof. Discover how he did it. As product managers, we are constantly looking for ways to improve user experiences and create meaningful results. At GE Healthcare, Doug Dietz transformed the MRI experience for paediatric patients, providing a compelling example. The Problem Despite building a cutting-edge MRI scanner, Dietz noticed a young patient's tremendous anxiety while using it. This revealed a key flaw in the machine's design: it did not account for children's emotional needs. The Use of Design Thinking Dietz used design thinking to redesign the MRI experience. 1/ Empathise: He spoke with kids in daycare centres and sought advice from child life experts to understand their viewpoints. 2/ Define: It was shown that 80% of young children needed anaesthesia because they were afraid of the MRI process. 3/ Ideate: To generate creative ideas, a varied team comprising volunteers, hospital employees, and specialists from a nearby children's museum worked together. 4/ Prototype: Developed the "Adventure Series," which turned MRI rooms into spaceships and pirate ships. 5/ Test: The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh piloted the updated experience, which resulted in notable enhancements. The Results ↳Patient satisfaction scores increased by 90% ↳The need for sedation dropped from 80% to 10% ↳Anxiety levels in children decreased, making it easier for them to remain still during procedures ↳The reduced need for anesthesiologists allowed more patients to be scanned each day, improving efficiency and reducing costs The Key Takeaways for Product Managers 1/ Innovation Is Driven by Empathy: A thorough comprehension of user experiences can reveal unmet requirements and stimulate game-changing solutions. 2/ Reframe the problem: Dietz switched from focussing on the machine to developing the complete patient experience. 3/ Holistic Problem-Solving: More thorough solutions result from addressing the user experience's emotional and functional elements. 4/ Collaborative Ideation: Including a range of stakeholders encourages innovation and reveals fresh viewpoints. 5/ Iterative prototyping: Creating and testing prototypes in real-world contexts to validate ideas and inform necessary refinements. 6/ Measurable impact: The redesign enhanced operational effectiveness and patient experience. Doug Dietz's case study highlights how effective design thinking leads to transformative solutions for challenging problems in healthcare and beyond. Dietz and his colleagues developed a solution that not only soothed children's anxieties but also enhanced operational effectiveness and medical results by prioritising empathy and rethinking the entire process. Your Turn: ↳ How have you applied design thinking principles in your projects?  Share your thoughts in the comments below! 👍 LIKE this post, 🔄 REPOST this to your network and follow me, Monica Jasuja

Real Case Study: IBM Design Thinking Transformation (2012-2015) Source: "The Power of Design Thinking in Business Transformation" - Harvard Business Review, 2016   Challenge: - Complex software development processes - Declining user satisfaction - 18-month development cycles   Design Thinking Implementation: 1. Trained 10,000+ employees in design thinking 2. Conducted 1,000+ user empathy interviews 3. Created rapid prototyping framework 4. Established design thinking studios globally   Results: - Development cycles reduced to 6 months - 301% ROI on design thinking investment - 75% reduction in design/development rework - User satisfaction increased by 42%   🗝️ Key Learning: Design thinking shifted focus from feature development to user experience, transforming both process and outcomes. I'm curious what success stories you have seen or experienced with implementing a design thinking transformation? Share below!   #ChangeManagement #DesignThinking #Innovation

𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Digital Transformation is less about technology and more about people and problem-solving. That's why I'm reiterating the critical role of 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴! It provides the human-centred framework. Using this, you can better understand user needs, rapidly prototype, and iterate on solutions that deliver value. Let me give an example of a 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧 that applied Design Thinking to overhaul its patient intake. The team focused on the patient issues caused by lengthy paperwork and fragmented systems. They didn't just digitise forms; they redesigned the entire patient ( user) journey. The result was a unified digital portal that simplified secure pre-uploading of documents and provided clear, step-by-step guidance. This digital transformation reduced patient check-in time 𝙗𝙮 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 50%, decreased administrative errors, and allowed clinical staff to dedicate more time to actual patient care. Design Thinking can be the methodology that helps you turn digital investment into meaningful, empathetic innovation. Any thing else to add? 🎯 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲 & 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹 "🔔" 𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 #innovation #technology #creativity #DigitalTransformation #DesignThinking #LevelUpWithBalpreet