Optimizing Quality Systems with Design Thinking

8/8/2019 Optimizing Quality Systems with Design Thinking

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Optimizing Quality Systems withDesign Thinking

Michael Plishka, ZenStorming Solutions, LLC



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“Everyone designs who devises courses ofaction aimed at changing existingsituations into preferred ones.”

-Herb Simon

Who Designs?

The good news is that it means that much of what wedo in corporations is actually design. Whether wemake products, provide services or develop quality

systems, we're already in the business of Design.

The bad news is that often we don't design well. It'slike we know the words to a language but we haven'tgotten all the grammar down yet.

The goal is to become design literate.



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“Good design is a catalyst for creating total experiences thattranscend functional benefits alone and delight consumers. It isa catalyst for moving a business from being technology-

centered or product-myopic to one that is more consumer-experience-centered”

-A.G. Lafley, CEO of P&G

Design is More Than Style...

By becoming design literate we become moreeffective at changing and modifying systems andproducts to bring value.

“Good design is a catalyst for creating totalexperiences that transcend functional benefitsalone. It is a catalyst for moving a business frombeing technology-centered or product-myopic toone that is more consumer-experience-centered”

That consumer can be outside the company orwithin the company walls.



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A Detailed Design Process Model...

DefineResearch

IdeatePrototype

ChooseImplement

Learn

One model for the design process follows theseessential steps, though there can often be feedbackloops within it.

Define is the stage in which we state that somethingneeds to be done.Research is the process of learning what the currentsituation is – where the issues are.Ideate is the process of brainstorming solutions.Prototyping is the process of trying out the best of the

ideas.We then Choose the best solution and Implement it.As time progresses we assess the system, we Learn and start the process over again.



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A Simplified Model of Design Thinking

From:Evolution of the Mind: A Case for Design Literacy by Chris Pacione; XVII.2 - March / April, 2010

This model provides additional insights into DT.

Usually understanding is thought of as the result of

observation. This is true, but understanding alsocomes from the process of making something, testingit and seeing what happens. We understand bylooking and by doing/making.



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Learning by Observing AND Making...

Image Courtesy of the BBC

Remember, we're all designers so this processshouldn't be foreign to us. Think back to when youwere making sandcastles using a bucket. At first you

put sand in the bucket and turned it over. It cametogether but not that great. So you compacted thesand into the bucket and then turned it over. Better,but still not the best.

You remember the time you put your hand into themoist sand at the edge of the sandbox and how it took

an impression of your hand. You scoop the moist sandinto the bucket, pat it down, turn it over, and voila!

You built a thing of beauty out of sand!



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“Remember that beauty breeds loyaltywhen it comes to organizational systems.”

-Scott Belsky, Author and Founder of Behance.com

Design Thinking is About Beauty...

Beauty = Elegant, Pleasing

Loyalty = Faithfulness= Compliance!

Yes, beauty.

Why the emphasis on beauty?

Because, as Scott Belsky points out, beautiful systemsbreed loyalty and loyalty equals faithfulness to thesystem, which equals compliance!

We want our systems to be compliant, we want peopleto want to follow them.



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It makes sense

It has balance

It has form

It is clear

It is useful

What Are Some Traits of a Beautiful System?

So what are some traits of a beautiful system?

This is just a partial list, and I'm sure you could comeup with other definitions.

It makes sense, it has balance, it has form, is clearand it's useful. These are just a few traits, but we allknow that ...



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Subjectiveness of Beauty...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or in the case ofsystem design, beauty is in the eyes of every person ineach department who is touched by the system.

So the challenge becomes, how do we meeteveryone's needs? How do we design and developsystems that everyone, including regulatory bodies likethe FDA, see as beautiful?



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The Beginnings of a Beautiful System...

It's human centered – not system

centered. A beautiful system existsfor you, not vice-versa.

It starts with the premise of asking,“What is possible?”

It asks “Why are we doing this?”

It is an extension of your brand, itreflects who you are and what you

do.

It fosters conversation andconversation leads to understandingof yourselves, your customers, your

systems and your goals.

We start with a focus on people.

At its core, a properly designed system will be human centered – notsystem centered. A beautiful system exists for you, not vice-versa.

How many times have we felt at the mercy of our systems? (That's asure sign that things aren't right). And, when the system stressespeople, there's a temptation towards non-compliance.

So, start with the premise of asking, “What is possible?” not “weneed to fix xyz.” To answer that question look to the people, theculture, and the technology available.

Ask, “why are we doing this?”

The system is an extension of your brand, it reflects who you are andwhat you do. The output of your system should reflect who you areas a company.

The system fosters conversation and conversation leads tounderstanding of yourselves, your customers, your systems and yourgoals.



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The Beginnings of a Beautiful System...

It's human centered – notsystem centered. A beautifulsystem exists for you, not vice-

versa.

It starts with the premise ofasking, “What is possible?”

It asks “Why are we doingthis?”

It is an extension of your brand,it reflects who you are and

what you do.

It fosters conversation andconversation leads to

understanding of yourselves,

your customers, your systemsand your goals.

Design Thinking Design Thinking isn't about isn't about solving problems solving problems as much as it is as much as it is about exploring about exploring possible possible

solutions solutions

Design thinking is less about solving problems andmore about exploring possible solutions. It's aboutcoming together to make dreams reality, to inspire and

build to meet the needs of everyone that the systemwill touch, including regulatory bodies.

It's not about one person or one group's idea of asystem foisted upon the entire company.

So what tools are needed?

Let's return to our diagram from earlier.



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What Basic Skills Are Needed?

From: Evolution of the Mind: A Case for Design Literacy by Chris Pacione;XVII.2 - March / April, 2010

For purposes of designing systems, I've highlightedsome of the key tools that could be used. On theLook side we have things like interviews, task

analyses, questionnaires and usability testing.

On the Make side we have things like storyboarding,ideation, prototyping, persona development,sketching, and stakeholder mapping.

While these specific tools are extremely helpful at

helping us understand what our system needs to be,we can further simplify this approach and boil thedesign of systems down two fundamental skills: Byusing these two skills, you will be well on your way tobeing design literate and using design thinking. Theyare:



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What TWO Basic Skills Needed for DesigningQuality Systems?

Image Sources: http://blogs.intland.com/main/entry/15 and M.C. Escher

Collaboration and Drawing

Collaboration is essential to making sure that all the pieces of the puzzle in the systemare looked at. A puzzle that's missing pieces is interesting in that by nature it drawsattention to those pieces that are missing. With systems, auditors and those that useyour systems, find the gaps with little effort. Each person expects a certain pictureand pain, friction, frustration are all indicators of missing pieces in the puzzle. Withoutall the pieces in the puzzle present, the system, and your people, suffer. It isabsolutely essential that representatives from every group being touched by thesystem be a part of the process of developing the system. Their input needs to betaken seriously. Systems should not be cobbled together by one person who floats itout to everyone. For it to be designed it needs to be a collaborative effort.

Drawing is essential to diagramming and communication. We don't have to be able tosketch like Leonardo da Vinci, but we need to feel comfortable with making pictures,with making our problems and solutions visible to others. Our brains engage withpictures differently than they do words. Look at the two pictures on this slide, They'reprovocative. They mean more than words.. Simple Pictures, even stick figures, willoften convey problems more effectively than a 10 page report. Tools like Visio aregreat, but if we really want the magic to happen, we need to feel comfortable withmarkers and pencils in our hands. I can't stress how much more powerful design canbe when everyone is collaborating on a giant piece of paper or a white board asopposed to reading emails..



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What's the Difference?

RegStrategy

Reqmt's

SystemDev

Roll-out

SystemUse

Typical Process Design Thinking Process

How is this different from what is usually done? The typical process on the upper left starts with thestatement of what the regulatory strategy is. Therequirements are determined and a system is created,written and disseminated. While there is someinteraction during the process development phasebetween departments, it is not always intentional andcollaborative.

When processes are finally penned they are rolled out,used and perhaps modified at yearly or semi-annualreviews.

The Design Thinking process, on the other hand,brings advantages through more robust needsdetermination, accelerated learning using visualization,

hands on experimenting, and quick prototyping.



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How Does it Map?

Design Thinking Process

The Define and Research Phases Include:

Constraints Set by Regulatory Bodies Understanding Needs of Various Departments Empathy for Those in Various Depts.

The Ideate, Prototype and Choose PhasesInclude:

Synthesis of Define and Research Phases Hands on Collaboration and Development Small Scale Testing/Dry Runs of Various Solutions Group Ownership of Processes

In other words, as opposed to the typical processthat includes requirements and perhaps some ofthe various needs, Design Thinking will include

an empathic appreciation of what variousdepartments and team members go through.

In addition, the process will contain multipleiterations and testing of processes in acollaborative manner before roll out takes place.This creates communal ownership and agreement

of the usability of the system.

The result is a beautiful, more elegant, and usefulsystem. This system will be more usefulimmediately at launch and usually there will befewer changes after launch.



through doing.

Processes then become living, vibrant and interactive; beautiful,useful and perhaps even innovative.



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Contact Information

Michael PlishkaZenStorming Solutions, LLCPO Box 6158Lindenhurst, IL 60046

[email protected]: callmeplishTwitter: @Plish

Optimizing Quality Systems with Design Thinking

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