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Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
 How to use design thinking to convert a need into a demand October 10, 2009
Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas)
28 out of 32 found this review helpful
I recently read two books (this one written with Barry Katz and Roger Martin's The Design of Business) and am reading a third (Neil Sheehan's A Fiery Peace in a Cold War) in which major organizational transformations are accomplished by those who understand the power of design thinking, help their colleagues to do so, and then together, take an approach, Tim Brown suggests, "that is powerful, effective, and broadly accessible, that can be integrated into all aspects of business and society, and that individuals and teams can use to generate breakthrough ideas that are implemented and that therefore have high impact. Design thinking, the subject of this book, offers just such an approach." He goes on to acknowledge, "I was trained as an industrial designer, but it took me a long time to realize the difference between [begin italics] being [end italics] and [begin italics] thinking like [end italics] a designer. That strikes me as a critically important distinction. Brown views the power of design "not as a link in a chain but as the hub of a wheel"...not as a stage in a process but as a center of gravity, as a gravitational/centrifugal force, with involvement at all levels and in all areas of operation. "Design is now too important to be left to designers."
Brown carefully organizes his material with two Parts. First, he introduces a set of principles for design thinking that be applied by almost anyone in any organization, whatever its size and nature may be. He involves his reader in a journey through the important stages of thinking. He provides a framework that he hopes will help the reader identify the principles and practices that make for great design thinking. He focuses on design thinking as applied to business and examines a number of the most innovative companies in the world, such as his own firm, IDEO, as well as Bank of America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Google, Intel, Kaiser Permanente, Mattel, Mayo Clinic, Pixar, Procter & Gamble, and Shimano. Each of these companies has established a culture within which there is a constant generation of ideas. After rigorous evaluation according to criteria that are most appropriate for the given context, and frame-of-reference, the focus of most promising ideas shifts from problem to project. This requires articulation of a clear goal at the outset. Design thinking "creates natural deadlines that impose discipline and [provide] an opportunity to review progress, make midcourse corrections, and redirect future activity. The clarity, direction, and limits of a well-defined project are vital to sustaining a high level of creative energy."
Where to begin a project? Brown recommends first formulating the brief that can allow for serendipity, unpredictability, and "the capricious whims of fate," then assembling the project team, selecting those who have multidisciplinary capabilities, are not risk averse, are what Roger Martin characterizes as "integrative thinkers," welcome collaboration, and thrive on challenges. The importance of design thinking to this process cannot be exaggerated. It starts with divergence, expanding the range of options rather than limit them; it balances the perspectives of users and is what I could call "beneficiary-centric"; helps to accelerate time to first prototype (a subject to which Brown devotes a great deal of attention, notably on Pages 87-108); "shares the inspiration" within internal knowledge networks; accommodates the reality that there are no silver bullets for innovation, only "silver buckshot"; allocate resources to accommodate fast-paced, unruly, and disruptive innovation initiatives; and enables creative innovators "to bridge the chasm between thinking and doing because they [are] passionately committed to the [common] goal of a better life and a better world around them."
Here in Dallas, we have a Farmer's Market near the downtown area at which several vendors offer slices of fresh fruit so that people can sample for taste. In that spirit, here are two brief excerpts from Brown's lively and eloquent narrative:
On an approach to innovation that consists of a "judicious blend" of bottom-up experimentation and guidance from above: "The rules for this approach are as simple to state as they are challenging to apply:
1. The best ideas emerge when the whole organizational ecosystem - not just its designers and engineers and certainly not just management has room to experiment.
[Note: In 1924, William L. McKnight, then CEO of 3M observed, "If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need." That is especially true of those who participate in brainstorming sessions. ]
2. Those most exposed to changing externalities (new technology, shifting customer base, strategic threats or opportunities) are the ones best placed to respond and most motivated to do so.
3. Ideas should not be favored based on who creates them. (Repeat aloud.)
4. Ideas that create a buzz should be favored. Indeed, ideas should gain a vocal following, however small, before being given organizational support.
5. The `gardening' skills of senior leadership should be used to tend, prune, and harvest ideas. MBAs call this `risk tolerance.' I call it the top-down bit.
6. An overarching purpose should be articulated so that the organization has a sense of direction and innovators don't feel the need for constant supervision."
On brainstorming: "Brainstorming, ironically, is a structured way of breaking out of structure. It takes practice...[All organizations have their own rules] that lay out the playing field within which a team of players can perform at high levels...At IDEO we have dedicated rooms for our brainstorming sessions and the rules are literally written on the walls: Defer judgment. Encourage wild ideas. Stay focused on the topic. The most important of them, I would argue, is `Build on the ideas of others.' It's right up there with `Thou shalt not kill' and `Honor thy father and thy mother,' as it ensures that every participant is invested in the last idea put forward and has the chance to move it along."
Recall a previous reference to the "journey" on which Brown invites his reader to embark. "There are useful starting points and helpful landmarks along the way, but the continuum of innovation is best thought of as a system, of overlapping spaces rather than a sequence of orderly steps." As Brown makes crystal clear, the reason for the iterative, non-linear nature of the journey "is not that design thinkers are disorganized or undisciplined but that design thinking is fundamentally an exploratory process; it will invariably make unexpected discoveries along the way, and it would be foolish not to find out where they lead."
Bon voyage!
An Invitation And Tutorial On Design Thinking And Action September 18, 2009
Ira Laefsky (Philadelphia, PA)
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
Several books and many articles have been written about the business practices and design accomplishments of the iconic Industrial Design firm IDEO. But, this most recent text instructs and invites the reader to participate in Design Thinking and Problem Solving. Beginning with a mind map to supplement the table of contents Tim Brown escorts the reader in a multi-threaded adventure in the sometimes systematic, sometimes serendipitous world of design based problem solving; including methods for brainstorming, visualization and prototyping in a variety of environments. He demonstrates and invites the reader to share the methods of thinking and acting which have resulted in true innovation not only in product form and function, but in new experiences in hospitals, amusement parks and in life-saving design and engineering efforts for the Third World. Other books illustrate the design process and share the beautiful results achieved by Product Design and Development professionals, but aside from this book and Henry Dreyfuss' "Designing for People" which is so influential it was reprinted after half a century no other text shows the reader how to think and act as designer; a skill so necessary in solving the complex problems of modern life.
I highly recommend this short text, not only to the artist, or engineer but to all concerned citizens who hope to make a contribution in solving the problems of their own life and those of a global society.
--Ira Laefsky
Information Technology and HCI Consultant
Great introduction to what Design Thinking is & can do September 18, 2009
Eric D. Brown (Dallas, TX)
18 out of 23 found this review helpful
I was lucky enough to get a pre-release copy of this book...and I'm glad I did.
Don't be taken in by some of the other reviews. There are others that are bashing the book because it doesn't tell the reader much 'how to implement' Design Thinking and spends much of its time promoting IDEO.
I disagree wholeheartedly with those comments. While this book does promote IDEO's rich history and successes, the book does a great deal to introduce the concept of Design Thinking to the reader. If you're a long-time practitioner of design thinking, this book may not be for you...if you aren't, this book is perfect.
According to this book, Design Thinking is the interplay of people and product/process. When you use a design thinking approach you take the entire environment into consideration when designing a process or product. Rather than take a look at a few possibilities for a design of a bike (in the case of the Shimano bike story in the book) and build a bike, the design thinker looks at the broader picture and environment to few new choices and possibilities.
If you have an interest in Design Thinking or just want to know more about the topic, get this book now. If you're an academic who wants to see case studies of design thinking in action that show success and failure, perhaps this isn't the book for you.
Design thinking makes innovation accessible and applicable September 1, 2009
M. McDonald (Chicago, IL United States)
12 out of 17 found this review helpful
When you think of a book about design, you tend to think that it is more about art and form rather than function and process. This book presents a new way of management thinking and problem solving centered on human interaction, innovation, information and insight. Change by Design by Tim Brown the CEO of IDEO is anything but simply one of the best books I have read in the past year.
Highly recommended for executives and anyone looking to understand a fresh approach to innovation, user generated content, brainstorming and problem solving. There are many books about what innovation is, this is one of the few books that discusses how to go from need to solution.
It is rare that an accomplished executive shares how they think in a way that is readily understandable and that you can take up and apply yourself. This book provides the tools to inject design thinking into your thinking but only if you have an open mind and are willing to see the limitations of current techniques and approaches.
Brown's central argument is that we need new ways of thinking and approaches to the problems we face as individuals, companies and society. Rather than relying on technology alone to address these problems, Brown concentrates on what he calls a third way of thinking - Design Thinking.
Design thinking is a non-linear approach to problem solving that integrates what is desirable from a human point of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable by seeing a patterns in the environment and taking a human centered approach to engage people and address problems.
The book is a discussion of the design thinking philosophy rather than a prescription - which is good as it allows you to see how you would apply this way of thinking to your situation.
The book is divided into two parts. The first part of the book discuses the how aspects of design thinking. These chapters concentrate on the approaches, tools and techniques used to create comprehensive, human centered, economically viable innovation and solutions. These chapters also present these tools in the context of changes in society, technology, commerce and the environment so you can see how design thinking works.
The second part of the book discusses how design thinking applies to corporations, society, the need for global solutions and the future. These last four chapters place design thinking in context and illustrate that context with multiple examples and short case studies.
STRENGTHS
Brown applies design thinking to some of the more perplexing challenges facing business executives. There is much more to innovation than just new ideas and this book discusses how design thinking can be applied to including:
* Engineering Experiences (the experience economy),
* The transformation of products into services,
* Engaging customers and suppliers in the design and development process
* Recognizing the potential of social computing and Web 2.0 technologies
* Collaboration
That may sound like a lot for a 240-page book, but brown covers these topics individual and yet in an integrative way that shows the value of design thinking.
The book is comprehensive recognizing not only the need to design, but also the role of human centered design, change management, a new view on marketing and customer participation.
The book sheds new light on the role and power of innovation techniques like brainstorming and prototyping.
The discussion of how to involve people in the design process, how do design the experience and engage user-generated content was particularly powerful as this is a challenge for every enterprise, product or service.
CHALLENGES
The book mentions examples of where design thinking was applied to new solutions but it does not go into depth about how that thinking produced a different solution than traditional approaches. That is a particular challenge for readers who need a recipe for innovation, however this issue can be overcome with a little reflection and some web searching on the examples.
This is not a business book, so people expecting a business explanation and structure will find the book different. That is part of the whole point of design thinking - to think different and this book helps illustrate that.
Overall, highly recommended and it's a book that I will read again in about a month to pick up new insights as I learn more. This is one book that is already underlined and markets up and I am sure it will be part of core library that I will refer to in the future.
having convinced industry of the use of design, a designer wonders what to do next October 8, 2009
Patrick Regan (Northampton, MA USA)
The first part of Change by Design provides a high level introduction to the process of design with concrete examples of these processes interspersed throughout. All of these examples come from industry, particularly, clients of IDEO, the company that the author is the CEO of. I felt that the concepts, as presented, were easy to understand and became all the more clear when coupled with the examples mentioned above. The author's enthusiasm for the usefulness of design is infectious. I felt eager to try out the concepts presented such as: creating prototypes, freeing oneself from stereotypical thinking by doing research on the needs of the community being designed for, telling stories, and finally play acting the part of the consumer. The next part of the book the author wonders where the design process can be brought to next. He finds the coupling of entrepreneurship and design to be especially fruitful. He mentions, for example, Aravind, which offers health care to people in India at an affordable price. Everything Aravind does is designed to decrease cost without diminishing the quality of care. The author emphasizes that these efforts are not charity, rather, they are full fledged, profit making companies. What makes them stand out though is their emphasize on improving quality of life through entrepreneurship coupled with design. I feel that the combination of the authors' enthusiasm for his work, clear presentation of ideas, ample examples and focus on what could be the future of design made this book a very enlightening read and I enthusiastically recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about the tenets of, and future of, the design process.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
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