Benefits of Design Thinking

1. Deep empathetic understanding of user needs and desires

   1. Generates results more likely to garner user acceptance
   2. Aligns team member perspectives (specified and agreed what data to pay attention to; shared a frame of reference before starting ideation; common criteria for success)

2. Formation of heterogeneous teams

   1. Builds alignment across differences (learned how teammates viewed the problem;
      brought a shared lexicon and shared meaning)
   2. Builds capacity to solve new problems (formed bonds and provided tools; created
      enduring relationships)
   3. Broadens teams’ access to resources and networks
   4. Enhances member’s willingness to co-create

3. dialogue-based conversations

   1. Seeks to understand rather than argue prior to solutioning
   2. Focuses on surfacing tacit assumptions
   3. Fosters alignment

4. Use of a structured and facilitated process (helps non-designers feel comfortable using a new methodology

   1. Increases psychological safety
   2. Manages cognitive complexity
   3. Enables key stakeholders to contribute even if can’t participate throughout (check-in opportunities)

Design Thinking Outcomes

1. Improves organizational innovation outcomes with higher quality solutions
   1. Ideation based on user-driven design criteria increases likelihood it meets user needs
   2. Diversity of perspectives produces higher order solutions
   3. Broad stakeholder engagement and co-creation allows teams to expand their horizons
2. Reduces innovation risk
   1. Starting with better hypotheses reduces risk
   2. Mitigates risk of biases being introduced into the solutioning
3. Increases implementation success
   1. Builds trust and ownership among implementers
   2. Co-creation is key (“Change is painful when done to you, but powerful when done by
      you.”)
4. Increases organizational adaptability by providing new tools and methods
5. Forms local networks that are beneficial when tackling other challenges down the road

*Based on Exploring the Impact of Design Thinking in Action; Jeanne Liedtka, University of Virginia,
2018

Design Thinking Denver™

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