Design Thinking

What is Design thinking?

Design thinking is not an exclusive right amongst designers. So why call it design thinking?

Design thinking is a method where we seek to understand the user, challenge assumptions and redefine problems in an attempt to identify alternative strategies and solutions which may not necessarily be the ones we considered first.

New solutions have traditionally been developed on the basis of a business idea or a need that the company believes the market has. With design thinking, you turn this approach on its head and develop new solutions based on the actual needs of the end user.

Design thinking as a working method:
The purpose of design thinking is to quickly transform the need into a prototype, so that the idea can be tested on a user group in a short period of time. The aim is improvement based on direct feedback. In this case, you work closely with the end user in the field. The work process is circular and is repeated until the product is good enough for implementation.

There are five elements which define the design thinking process:

1. Empathise: Gain a good understanding of the actual needs of the end user; this will form the foundation for the rest of the development work. Do not fall into the trap of assuming something before you have begun.
2. Define: Define the users' needs and challenges. The insights we obtain will be used to provide a concrete basis for decision-making for further work.
3. Ideate: After we have gained an understanding of the user's actual needs and defined the issues to be solved, we start the processing of developing good ideas and finding smart solutions.
4. Prototype: The aim is to quickly put the ideas into practice to enable further testing and iteration.
5. Test: Once the product has been taken into use, the process of analysing and optimising the product and its functions will continue.

Design thinking is often equated with innovation, as design thinking as a strategy can be used to create innovative products and services based on insights into human behaviour, technology and business opportunities. Design thinking is therefore a concrete method that your company can use to create an innovative business.

Cegal and Design thinking

Cegal delivers solutions based on a thorough understanding of customer needs. Based on the design thinking mindset – thinking innovatively and alternatively – Cegal ensures the rapid testing and validation of ideas in accordance with customer needs. The starting point is always the customers' actual problems and needs, which is why Cegal presents an individual business case and recommends solutions which make the best possible sense for the customer.

On a daily basis, Cegal's product team uses design thinking as regards thinking creatively, experimentally, iteratively and systematically in relation to product and service development, both internally and externally.

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