Confessions of a Design Thinker: Buzzwords, Battles and Brainstorms

In a landscape where innovation is the heartbeat of success, the role of design in product development has never been more critical. This session aimed to unravel the mysteries of Design Thinking and illuminate its undeniable value as an effective (if not occasionally controversial) tool for impactful product development. Led by Mark Congiusta, VP of UX and Design at WorkFusion and certified Design Thinking facilitator, we navigated through the strategies of Design Thinking, using real-world examples to shed light on how it can be a catalyst for transformative organizational customer-centricity.

Among the topics covered:
• Demystifying Design Thinking: Understanding the fundamentals without jargon and exploring the human-centric core of the methodology.
• From Problem to Possibility: Turning challenges into opportunities through empathetic problem-solving.
• Collaborative Innovation: Breaking down silos and unlocking the collective intelligence of diverse teams.
• Measuring Success Beyond Metrics: Defining success in terms of user satisfaction and engagement.
• Case Studies and Success Stories: Examining real-world examples of Design Thinking in action.

1. Confessions of a Design Thinker:
Buzzwords, Battles and Brainstorms
Mark Congiusta
January 31, 2024

2. Mark Congiusta
VP, UX and Design
WorkFusion

6. https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/02/09/1067821/design-thinking-retrospective-what-went-wrong/

8. What Does Design Thinking Do Exactly?
Helps a group of people:
•Align on the most important problem(s) to solve
•Generate lots of ideas and solutions
•Test whether those ideas are any good

9. Brainstorming vs Design Thinking
Brainstorming
Unstructured
Problem accepted as given
Undemocratic
Wide ranging
Untested
Lack of ownership
Quick and dirty
Design Thinking
Process driven
Problem definition is key
Consensus building
Focused
Verified results
Accountability
Structured and repeatable

13. Who are the most creative people you know?

18. This is a medical device

19. This is a healing device

23. The Importance of Framing a Problem Correctly
VSDesign a vaseDesign a way
to enjoy flowers

24. The Importance of Framing a Problem Correctly
VSNormalize layer 3
and layer 7 policy
orchestration
Customers know
intuitively how to write
policies and know
exactly what happens
when they deploy

32. Prototypes: Iterate, Iterate, Iterate

39. Design Thinking Without Validation Is a Mistake
VS

40. Customer Questions12345
Was it clear how to find the best Digital Worker for each
use case?✓✓❌✓✓
Were they able to find the Digital Worker configuration
screen? ✓✓✓❌✓
Was it clear how the performance metrics worked?❌✓❌✓✓
Did the troubleshooting workflow resolve the open issues?❌❌✓❌❌
Were the successfully able to deploy their Digital Worker?❌❌✓✓✓

41. An Efficient Failure
An Epic Win
A Flawed Success

43. Design ThinkingDesign SprintingVS

44. Design Sprints
https://www.gv.com/sprint/

45. Learn Quickly
Validate Early
Reduce Risk

46. Stakes Are High
You Are Stuck
Time Is Short
*No puppies were harmed in the making of this presentation

47. Who’s Invited?
Cross functional
…and diverse

48. The Decider

49. Ruthless Facilitator(s)

50. To Recap…
•Make sure you’re ready for it
•If at first you don’t succeed…
•Start small and scale
•Solve the right problem
•Everyone’s opinion matters
•Involve your customers

53. Thanks!
[email protected]