- It's only after you've been through
this build, test, learn cycle with your paper prototype
that you can go on to create the high level plan
for building the product.
The plan you create is incremental.
It's set up to deliver business benefit early in the process
and to add functionality piece by piece
releasing after each new edition.
This lets you test at multiple points
whether you're on track to meet your goals
and whether you really are delivering something
that people will use.
Because the whole team
with people from several different disciplines
were involved in creating the plan,
it's much more likely to be achievable.
IT can say upfront which bits are easy
and which might take either some research
or additional investment.
Research and marketing can say
which items are likely to appeal to customers
and encourage them to use the product.
Operations can work out the impact
that the live system will have on resource usage.
Designers can create a template
and design field for the product
with a good understanding
of what items will be needed later.
So things fit together well,
rather than feeling like they've been bolted on
or squeezed in.
Of course, no plan is ever set in stone.
The beauty of the design thinking process
is that you've got early customer-centric design input
and prototype feedback,
so you can be more confident
that your solutions will be well accepted.
The frequent deliverables
and opportunities to measure progress
against your initial goals
will allow you to do course corrections
through the development and implementation process.
It's likely you can use some of the other things you learn
during the design thinking exercise
to inform your course corrections.
How many projects do you know
that have actually managed to truly meet their stated goals?
With design thinking, because your goals are user-centric
and based on identified pain points and needs,
it's much more like you actually meet your goals,
or that you realize early on
that you need to make course corrections
in order to succeed?