Gebruikers betrekken tijdens een kort ontwerptraject

Gebruikers betrekken in de beginfase van het ontwerpproces is op dit moment nog moeilijk. In dit artikel bespreken we de huidige status van het betrekken van gebruikers bij kleine ontwerpbureaus in Nederland. De focus ligt op deze bureaus, omdat deze veel moeilijkheden ondervinden om de gebruiker te betrekken tijdens het ontwerpproces: minste tijd, budget, kennis en mankracht. Aan de andere kant biedt de grootte van deze bureaus ook een aantal voordelen die grote internationale bedrijven niet hebben, bijvoorbeeld de samenhang in visie, mogelijkheid tot focus, en kennis van vaardigheden. Hierdoor zouden er andere methoden nodig kunnen zijn voor kleinere bedrijven dan op dit moment worden gebruikt bij grote internationale bedrijven. In dit artikel werpen we een blik op de huidige praktijk, welke methoden gebruikt worden, welke problemen verrijzen, en het soort informatie dat ontwerpers van gebruikers nodig hebben. Al deze informatie wordt gebruikt als een basis voor verder onderzoek naar methoden voor het betrekken van gebruikers.Product Innovatie ManagementIndustrial Design Engineerin

UCD4SME: Small to Medium-sized Enterprises involving their users and clients for product innovation

An increasing number of Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) starts to realize the opportunities offered by User-centred Design (UCD). The issue is that our understanding of UCD either comes from large companies or is developed in an academic setting, without taking SMEs into account. This research project demonstrates that in order to make use of UCD in the context of SMEs, the strengths of SMEs play an important role (such as project-based development, involvement of different internal stakeholders and existing relations) by adding to the existing way of work and making SMEs aware of the opportunities that users and clients present. This dissertation provides understanding of how product innovation takes place different in SMEs in comparison to large companies and discusses the current state of applying UCD in SMEs. In ten different cases where SMEs were supported by design agencies UCD methods that are rather new and un-established within the SME practice are applied in design projects. These cases demonstrate that all UCD methods can be applied in SMEs, but require a different approach to implement them in the daily practice of SMEs. Furthermore, even though all cases started of with a product oriented design brief, many of the results had wide implications for the organization (such as for maintenance and marketing) and not only dealt with products but also with services. The outcome of my research is an approach that aims to support SMEs in applying UCD for product innovation in their daily practice. This approach is a combination of a design process commonly used by SMEs (based on impulses, work with great flexibility and iterations), and three challenges that are faced by SMEs when dealing with UCD (becoming aware of opportunities as they present themselves, learning to apply UCD methods and using UCD in the daily practice), the elements that enable SMEs to make use of UCD within their practice (an engaged entrepreneur, being supported by a UCD expert and how to use the gathered user insights within the organization) and has varying degrees of learning experiences. The resulting knowledge can be employed to inform and inspire SMES and UCD experts in applying UCD in SMEs in order to design new products that better fit the needs and desires of users and clients. This dissertation discusses the changing role for designers when working with SMEs. Due to their nature, SMEs are closely involved in projects and like to participate actively. Therefore, designers no longer act as provides of design solutions, but also as a coach or facilitator for SMEs in applying UCD.Industrial DesignIndustrial Design Engineerin

From System to Local to System: Design principles to scale for a system in transition

Societal transitions require the activities of multiple stakeholders on different systemic levels. Designers and design researchers are often involved in supporting specific interventions and sometimes in enabling and facilitating entire processes. Practices and literature in ‘co-creation ecosystems’ are a developing field for them to discuss differences and relatedness of micro-, meso- and macro perspectives. Using the case of a three-year multi-stakeholder co-creation project in the retail industry, the paper analyses processes and principles for making an impact in design-led transition projects. A transition process with three phases is constructed and four principles for making an impact at the various levels were found. Comparing findings with the UK Design Council’s ‘Systemic Design Framework’, the paper suggests process adaptations to scale between the local and the sector/national level. It also contributes to a better understanding of systemic design principles such as Leadership, Storytelling and Systems Thinking

Customer Experience Strategy Turned into Hands‐On Actions Through a Design Approach

Customer experience (CX) is a differentiation strategy often chosen by companies. But several aspects can hinder the realization of this strategic change: Existing routines, strong silo thinking among departments, and other circumstances work against the creation of a holistic CX. There is very little guidance in the literature about becoming more customer centric in practice. Within design practice, customer‐centric thinking and working are key aspects. Therefore, this article addresses the question of how a design approach can facilitate a company's change process from the abstract strategic direction of focusing on CX to a way of working in practice. The article is based on a practice‐led case study of an airline company where the first author worked from within the company to test solutions directly in daily practice. We conclude that in order to move from the strategic direction of a CX focus to an applicable proposal, designers can support both top‐down and bottom‐up processes. A trial‐and‐error approach and boundary objects can be useful in finding emotional triggers for employees to reflect about their own rolesOLD Management and Organisatio

Building Design-led Ambidexterity in Big Companies

Organisational ambidexterity is considered a crucial capability for long term firm survival and development. However, adopting and successfully implementing it presents multiple challenges. Furthermore, despite being increasingly popular in the last two decades, the role design can play in achieving it is notably missing from the discussion. This paper analyses the attempts to accelerate the innovation pace of two large international companies in the consumer electronics and healthcare and airline industries. Both attempt to combine design and agile elements in fast-paced environments, while working in multidisciplinary teams early in the NPD process. However, one is guided by designers, the other by people with a background in operational functions. As such, they provide a good foundation to study design’s role and its implications in achieving ambidexterity in two large international companies. The collected insights helped us to define a new form of ambidexterity and devise a model for building ambidextrous organisations through design.OLD Management and Organisatio

Overcoming the Valley of Death: A Design Innovation Perspective

In large organisations, innovation activities are often located in separate departments, centres or studios. These departments aim to produce prototypes of solutions to the problems of operational business owners. However, too often these concepts remain in the prototype stage: they never cross the valley of death to become implemented.A design approach to innovation is presented as a solution to the problem. However, practice shows that teams that use this approach nevertheless encounter this problem due to the larger infrastructure of the organisation they are part of. This research aims to explore which factors contribute to the valley of death for design innovation. Additionally, this paper presents first insights into how design practices help to mitigate this phenomenon.An embedded multiple case study at a large heritage airline is used to study this phenomenon. A thematic analysis of the data finds that organisational design, departmental silo’s and dissimilar innovation strategies contribute to the valley of death. The issues with resource-assignment that result from these factors are displayed. Last, materialization, user-centeredness and holistic problem-framing are indicated as practices that help to mitigate this problem

Designing human-centred organizations

Product Innovation ManagementIndustrial Design Engineerin

The role of the visionary innovator in moving towards innovative organisations

The urgency to innovate for organisational survival has become increasingly recognized, with the result that innovation has conquered a position high on the management agenda. However, the unfamiliarity around innovation pose a challenge for innovation management. No unique solution exists to building a successful innovation approach, such that firms are forced to experiment with innovation approaches. In analysing the innovation approaches of four large international organisations we find that these organisations share an essential common element: the presence of one or more ‘visionary innovators’ who are determined to lead a movement towards organisational change. We present a theoretical framework to illustrate four core characteristics of a visionary innovator, based on empirical evidence. The visionary innovators possesses traits to discover and realise innovations, business and political know-how, the ability to create and share a vision and space to realise that vision. We propose that a visionary innovator determined to spread such a mindset is indispensable to successfully achieve innovation. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-lille-8039372

The organization as a prototype

Some of the most valuable companies in the world accumulated their fortunes as a result of a business model innovation built upon matured technologies. Now the majority of them are investing and shifting their focus to the development of new technologies such as AI, blockchain and genetic editing. If an organization is to remain profitable, it needs to be able to quickly adjust its structure to the rapidly changing context. We contend that a way to do so is to build an organizational structure that is conductive to both generative and evaluative prototypes. We report on our action research with a leading European airline following the transformation of a team of four into a new department, through the lenses of continuous prototyping. We then propose an initial framework that conceptualises organizational prototypes and provides a rational and systematic way of approaching the devising of such. Finally, we outline several directions for further research. https://doi.org/10.33114/adim.2019.07.227 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-lille-8039372

Entrepreneurial universities meet their private partners: Towards a better embedding of the outcomes of cross-sector collaborations

In the past decades, universities’ involvement in socio-economic development, which goes along with their teaching and researching activities, has defined a new role for them in society’s ecosystem. This new role is often referred with the term of “entrepreneurial” university, whose objectives are positive societal, economic and environmental impacts. In order to fulfil such objectives, entrepreneurial universities might engage in cross-sector collaborations with external organisations. Despite the great contributions that cross-sector collaboration can give to the partners involved, the outcome is mostly unfocussed and rarely embedded. This paper explores the outcomeembedding in the cross-sector collaboration between entrepreneurial universities and the private sector. To this end, we provide the case of the collaboration between a Dutch airline company and four Dutch entrepreneurial research and teaching institutions. We aim to uncover hindering andenabling factors to the outcome embedding in order to design an interaction platform, design it together. This platform will be a tool to encourage the outcome embedding, moving from being inspired by to the actual implementation of the cross-sector collaboration. In order to fulfil this goal,this study employs a research through design methodology. This approach is a generative process, where cyclic loops of iterations and evaluations with stakeholders tend to the research goal. The solution is a digital platform, co-created with all stakeholders. This study can inspire practitioners and future research on the problem of unsuccessful cross-sector collaborations, betweenentrepreneurial universities and external organisations, with more emphasis on the value of embedding and translating the outcomes.Marketing and Consumer ResearchOLD Management and Organisatio