MODULE 3: Design Thinking In IT

Design Thinking In IT

Design Thinking to Business Process modelling

Agile in Virtual collaboration environment

Scenario based Prototyping

Understanding IT Industry with an example

Basically, it is necessary to understand what IT industry is.

For example,

Suppose there is a small grocery store, Initially sales rate will be in small scale. As
days passes Demand increases and hence customer flow will also increases, it leads
to increase in cash flow. Since cash flow is more there comes the picture of handling
more accounts and transactions.

Now there is more burden on the owner to handle these many transactions and other
associated works. So, the owner of grocery store thinks of making use of technology
to handle this burden. The owner consults any IT firm to develop a software which
can handle the existing burden well.

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 Design Thinking(human centered design) in General

Philosophy + set of Tools = Solutions for problems

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There is boom in IT industry in last 2 decades. It is important to know how project
management is done in IT industry.

IT Industry mainly works on project management.

Customers approach IT Industry for software development, IT company takes

customer requirements depending on that they starts working in teams to achieve a
specific goal. There comes the picture of project management.

IT adopts Agile methodology from plan stage till launch for project management.

The Agile methodology is a way to manage a project by breaking it up into

several phases. It involves constant collaboration with stakeholders and
continuous improvement at every stage. Once the work begins, teams cycle
through a process of planning, executing, and evaluating. Continuous
collaboration is vital, both with team members and project stakeholders.

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Agile methodologies frameworks:

Agile
A project management methodology characterized by building products using
short cycles of work that allow for rapid production and constant revision.

Kanban
A visual approach to project management where teams create physical
representations of their tasks, often using sticky notes on whiteboards (or
online apps). Tasks are moved through predetermined stages to track
progress and identify common roadblocks.

Scrum
A PM methodology in which a small team is led by a Scrum master, whose
main job is to clear away all obstacles to completing work. Work is done in
short cycles called sprints, but the team meets daily to discuss current tasks
and roadblocks.

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Design thinking and Agile methodology
30-35% or even 50% of the IT projects fail according to research

Agile improves success rate by almost double by promoting better collaboration

and communication, But Agile only provides way to solve problems and how can
one decide which is the right problem to solve. This is where Design thinking plays
a vital role.

Combining both is not an easy task and requires culture shift (new way of thinking
and doing) and one must get accustomed to this cultural shift.

Example: Adopting NEP by colleges under VTU

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Organizations have to allocate right people for the projects, and they should ensure
cultural compatibility between teams and the way Design thinking and Agile
methodology work.

Best practices for combining Design thinking and Agile

methodology
✓ Invest in user research(Empathising)
✓ A clearly defined problem statement(Define)
✓ Build a productive team culture
✓ Optimal use of Design thinking
✓ Design patterns and periodic testing

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 Advantages of Agile Development Method used in software
development in IT Industry
✓ Solutions are Prototyped and Results are verified
✓ Best solutions are accepted
✓ Before approval itself the solutions are experienced by the client
✓ To improve user experience short iterations are possible
✓ Small cross-functional teams
✓ Incremental delivery is possible
✓ Fast feedback helps the designers and developers
✓ Continuous improvement is possible

DESIGN THINKING IN BUSINESS PROCESS MODELLING

➢ A Business / Industry can have number of departments/divisions / processes but

with a common GOAL. Strategy adopted by each could be different.
➢ In order to effectively & efficiently achieve the required GOAL, it is required to
plan the Process & implement the plan judiciously.
➢ These actions are to be monitored periodically so that any short comings could be
identified at the initial stage itself & corrective action implemented.
➢ Earlier days, many were using Organizational efficient packages like Time &
Motion Study(TMS) or Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques.
➢ BPM technique is being followed now, over last few decades.
➢ Business process management (BPM) is a way of breaking down individual
processes into their most basic elements (the tasks and activities being carried out).
BPM shows, clearly and transparently, how a product or service transforms as it
moves through an organization's process sequence, often in near real-time.

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➢ Process models will have communication between stakeholders like Business
analysts, process participants and software architects.
➢ Process models provides shared understanding so that everyone can contribute
knowledge
➢ BPM is Combination of various process related steps like Process mapping,
Process discovery, Process simulation, Process analysis and Process
improvement.

ADVANTAGES OF BPM :

➢ It Align operations with business strategy to achieve ultimate GOAL.

➢ It Improves process communication.
➢ Increase control and consistency
➢ Improve operational efficiencies
➢ Gain competitive advantage by improving the Sales at better price.

As explained earlier, BPM involve:

Step1 : Splitting the entire process into sub-process which are again time-bound.

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MEGA PROCESS Major Processes Sub Processes Activity Task

Step2 : For each apply the Design Thinking Technique.

Plan Design Develop Test Deploy Review Launch

BPM highlights the dependencies and relationships between people, process and
technology, there by revealing the way things are done at an organization, and
compare that with the way things should be done,—and where those elements can
be improved.

In other words, it questions:

What is really happening?
What should have happened?
What are the short comings / problems?
How to over come these?

Above are monitored periodically.

Design thinking also focus on improvement, but takes the end-user or customer
experience as a starting point. Fundamentally, design thinking uses empathy to
understand the way people feel about using a service or product, know where their
frustrations lie, then builds on that knowledge to create improvements, with the
ultimate goal of making customers happy and experiences better and more
fulfilling.

In case, customer receives totally un-wanted product/service at the end, his

frustration level reaches peak. In Short :

✓ Know the customer requirement/frustrations -- Empathy

✓ Consolidate & define the final requirements -- Define
✓ Collect as many ideas as possible & finalize the requirement -- Ideate
✓ Start implementing the finalized requirement -- proto-type
✓ With the proto-type reaady analyze the customer requirement/ frustration --
Review

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✓ Test it with customer. If he is happy, launch it, otherwise repeat the process --
Iterate.

There are five key phases of design thinking:

• There is a challenge: How do I solve it?
• I have learned something: How do I act upon it?
• There is an opportunity: What do I create?
• There is an idea: How do I build upon it?
• I tried something: How do I evolve it?

Design Thinking has cyclical approach, with the practice of ‘design, test, and
iterate’ at its center ie., creating and rapidly deploying prototypes or new ideas,
then testing and reflecting on them, including through fast feedback from
customers. Organizations therefore spend less time and resources on any one idea,
and yet have the capacity to quickly scale up any idea that has merit, and positive
reactions from customers.

Process improvement requires the same approach of identifying a challenge (like an

inefficient process), generating the information needed to understand why the
process is inefficient, implementing a possible solution, then measuring the
effectiveness of that solution over time. Rinse and repeat! Merging the two
disciplines( DT & BPM) essentially means using the insights gained through an
effective BPM framework to feed into the design thinking process, and enhance
customer-facing business processes.

BENEFITS OF DESIGN THINKING AND BPM : Working in tandem (Hand-

in-hand), design thinking & BPM provide following powerful(potentially
lucrative) benefits:

• Competitive advantage, gained through a willingness to innovate, then ‘double-

down’ on ideas that work, and discard ones that don’t—before it become a
liability.
• Moving beyond traditional process maps and case models to more customer-
centric and human-scale products and services

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• Pooling collective ease and enhancing collaboration, through building
multidisciplinary teams to focus on a single problem
• Harnessing natural empathy, leading to a better understanding of the needs and
challenges of customers
• Generating more revenue by ensuring a deeper level of customer satisfaction

NOTE: In Agile methodology, procedure involve splitting the complete process

into sub-process & apply “ Know – Design – Test – Iterate “. Since it involve more
teams, hence more overheads. Cost of the end product may be high. But a satisfied
customer accept this. Hence higher revenue to the company.
In Colleges also AGILE technology is followed. After 1-month class, IA1 is
conducted & performance is reviewed with corrective action of
counseling/mentoring. After another month IA2 is conducted & again performance
is reviewed followed by counseling. Corrective action by way of Assignments/
improvement Test / Revision classes are conducted to prepare the students
prepared ahead of Final Exams.

AGILE IN VIRTUAL COLLABORATION

In the book ‘The Flat World’ The author Thomas Friedman indicates the word
‘FLAT’ with an imaginary impression that, technology and internet has changed the
world so abundantly that in modern times people work remotely not only from a
single geographic location but also across continents with different time zones,
cultures and languages. Author explains flattening as the combination of a personal
computer with fiber optic micro cable, using the internet with the help of a working
software.

Working remote and in a global environment is very common now and has gained
acceptance as a general working norm in last couple of decades.

With in-sourcing, out-sourcing and companies operating in a global environment do

business globally. With the management headquartered at a single location however
do operate with other regions with the use of this technology. This means business
run globally and hence projects within the organizations also path globally.
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Agile methods are very effective in the software industry & hence other industries
also want to pursue its benefits in their businesses. Operating in a global
environment make these frameworks more challenging to operate efficiently.

VIRTUAL (on-line /Work from Home) has many advantages like savings in
Transportation, Food facilities, Rent etc. Different people can work different
locations in the world & work for the same company, same cause, same Goal, same
Target.

Earlier, it was thought that AGILE Technology can not be applied for VIRUAL
works like On-Line Class or Work From Home etc. But with further developments,
it was proved that AGILE technique is better than any other models like Water Fall
method etc.

Due to Pandemic, over last 2-years Teaching is thro’ On-Line for which many APPs
have been developed like ZOOM, Google Meet , Webex etc.

Agile methodology can accept changes anytime and hence collaboration between
collocated teams eases out the agile processes. Besides less time/effort is sufficient
for co-ordination; interaction, development, planning, reviews ( Unlike in Water
Fall method).

Working remote (distributed) is considered very competitive & a fit operating

model. Some companies also provide it as a choice to its employees. Businesses
want to leverage talent round the clock, use the best talent which may not be locally
available, cheap labor by outsourcing to low cost countries, higher productivity and
numerous strategic reasons.

With growing needs of working remote, it is not true that agile methods will not
work for distributed teams. Although few trials will arise, with the help of tools and
techniques moving to a remote working environment is possible

Azhar Khwaja- an eminent scholar in his Paper “Agile Project Management

with Virtual Teams” Published on July 9, 2020: The author undertook a major
project in the organization to implemented an agile management methodology with
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team members located in 4 countries. Important aspects to be considered/ fulfilled
for effective management of distributed team members are as explained below:

ALLOW TRANSPARENCY: As a company/ a lead, establish a transparent

environment. Provide a sense of trust in the team members with the decisions they
make. Organize sessions with them to align these decisions with company goals and
vision. Do not keep responsibilities a secret. Be clear over job functions. Make sure
the outcomes are known to the team members. Gather feedback. Establish open
communication channels.

ESTABLISH A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT : Recognize

potential improvement opportunities and obtain ideas from the team. Listen to
suggestions and rationally take appropriate steps. Agile principle drives continuous
improvement and thus team members are open for improvement opportunities.
Generate calculated experiments to implement improvement initiatives.

COMMUNICATION: Communication is most important in any team. Structure of

communication will determine the output. Practice deep communication at all levels.
Communication need not be only emails, phone calls or meetings, however major
communication happen with the help of ERP tools which help you be agile all the
time.

CONSTRUCTION OF A RHYTHM: There are three things which are absolute

necessary in agile methodology - Transparency, inspection, and adaptation (also
called as the three pillars). It is important to create a tempo which operates around
these pillars of Scrum. This create a self-collaborating team which is a prime
eminence of Agile.

GENERATE A CULTURE OF COURAGE & FLEXIBILITY: Failure is not

bad, but fail fast. Establish an environment for the team to take steps to try out
something new. The idea is to reduce the delay. Detect the failure fast and further
twist your initiatives.

ESTABLISH A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT AND WORK LIFE

BALANCE: Often distributed team end up stretching their normal working hours
which lead to over working than regular hours or working at odd time. Establish

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rules and motivate to follow these principles voluntarily. Plan appropriate and set
expectations accordingly.

VISUALIZE EVERYTHING: Planning of tasks is a tool that provide a visual

interpretation of tasks to be completed. Establish a solution that allows the team
members to view workflows, depict who is working on what, align together be able
to pick the right task of right priority and at a right time. This solution will help you
capture the right problem areas and effectively retrospect them to improve your
processes.

The best example being the COVID-19 Pandemic which taught employers to be
agile and Employers offered flexible time options to employees. Educational
institutions also used Virtual Collaborations in the form of “ON-LINE
CLASSES”.

SCENARIO BASED PROTOTYPING

Design thinking is at its best if tangible prototypes can be used to visualize new
products and services. However, for complex software systems with multiple users
usually such tangible prototypes are not feasible.

To overcome this problem, scenario-based prototyping approach can be proposed for

designing complex software systems that is based on models, both structural and
behavioral models. It help in detail design & notice potential problems before hand.

The approach will support the stepwise and interactive enrichment of the prototype
model, the traceability between the artefacts collected during earlier design phases
and the scenarios. The models provide better design process for the downstream
engineering activities, so that the gap between design and engineering can be
narrowed.
Scenarios describe a sequence of events, illustrating the activities of people in a real-
world setting. The goals are to be realistic, detailed and concise.

USE SCENARIOS: A form of analysis of the interviews and represent what

happens today in real-world settings.

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DESIGN SCENARIOS: Revised versions of use scenarios that illustrate how a new
technology might be used.

EX: Developing an app for IOS or Android and giving it to the customer for
feedback by way of photos (Photoshop, illustrator or any other app) with real
scenarios (push button enabled or directing to the test case).UI experts and User
Experience Experts evaluate the proto-type & after revisions the app is presented in
its original form to the customer.

Types of Prototyping: Rapid

prototyping/throwaway and
Evolutionary prototyping

Rich stories of interaction

Plain text, pictures, sketches,

screenshots, Storyboards

________________ END OF MODULE 3_________________________________

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