IT Sideways, Malaysia: Cognizant’s Digital Transformation and User Experience Experts Make a Case for Businesses to Embrace and Integrate Design Thinking Throughout Their Organization

“Instead of approaching a new product or service creation by defining a set of requirements, many companies are seeking first to understand the human needs behind the product or service, to develop an overall experience,” write Cognizant Digital Works’ Theo Forbath, Global Vice President of Digital Transformation, and Kipp Lynch, Assistant Vice President of UX Research and Design. Excerpts:

“This approach ― often called ‘design thinking’ ― is based on developing a thorough understanding of what the user goals are from multiple viewpoints ― emotional, psychological and behavioral. Design thinking is a mindset that draws on the interaction of all these components.

Successful design thinking incorporates the following principles that work best when used iteratively and in combination with one another.

1. Users interact with the mock-ups, simulations and sketches and provide feedback. This is an iterative and continuous process rather than a formal event that occurs when a prototype or design is complete.

2. Rather than develop a full robust prototype, the team creates mock-ups, simulations and process sketches as a quick way to convey the overall concept to users―the look, feel and functionality of the experience.

3. The team translates the insights gleaned through direct customer research, and uses visual ideation techniques, such as sticky notes, to promote creativity, solve problems and generate new ideas.

4. The team interacts directly with and observes how users behave, with the goal of deeply understanding what they want or need on multiple levels, including emotionally, psychologically and functionally.

Today, user experience design delves much more deeply into creating an entire experience that meets users’ unacknowledged ― and often unarticulated ― needs, and mirrors how we straddle both the digital and physical worlds.

While there is a long road to travel between today’s capabilities and the emerging vision of the future, businesses should get started now on the journey to embrace and integrate design thinking throughout their organization.”

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