Why should Product Managers use Design Thinking Thoughtfully?
So, if you’re going to start your product development with a focus on the people you envision your product eventually serving, you need the right framework for this type of creative thinking.
What is Design Thinking?
Design thinking is “a human-centred path to ideate and understand problems” centred around “empathy for the people you’re trying to design a solution for.”
One common and most effective way of the problem-solving framework with empathy is design thinking, as you would possibly know. Its approach is what keeps my interest as a product manager to think early-stage from a different vantage point.
Design thinking framework is a series of steps that product managers can use to validate an idea.
Although the application can be varied, it’s particularly useful when given a large task such as to revamp an end to end experience of a product or create an entirely new product line.
Basically, it adds to empathizing with those who experience a specific problem and exactly defining the problem. Also, design thinking involves the concept of ideating solutions that address the matter, creating prototypes for users to try.
Five steps of applying Design Thinking as a Product Manager.
1. Frame a question. Once you identify problems, it’s time to frame them to solve our customer issues. Set goals to achieve the objectives.
2. Gather inspiration. It’s always good to see things from a new perspective and especially from customers’ point of view. It will help you inspire and brainstorm new ideas.
3. Generate ideas. When it comes to design, everyone should feel free to give ideas that might work. Move beyond when it looks just okay and look for an innovative idea.
4. Make your ideas tangible. Desire to solve customers’ problems and what they are expecting. Ideas are just ideas until they are validated, and building a prototype at this stage would be a great deal.
5. Test to learn. Testing will give you an excellent idea for your next step. Run prototypes through internal teams or externally with customers to see where we stand. If it goes through, it’s time to test them and see what’s working and what isn’t.
Design Thinking to unlock Creative Ideas and Solutions.
There’s a great scene in the movie Dead Poets Society where an unconventional English teacher tries to wake up his bored prep-school students by jumping up onto his desk. Why do such an odd thing?
Because as he explains to the class, “The world looks very different from up here. Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in a different way.”
So, when I find new ways to view the concept, a solution or a target user’s daily workflow, I can uncover new insights and ideas that I simply wouldn’t be able to see by looking through my personal lens.
As a PM, it can be tempting to start a new product’s journey by jumping straight into the analytical and tactical details.
- What features are we going to build?
- How much time do we have?
- Which teams should we assign to what roles?
- How much revenue will we need to generate in year one to call this thing a success?
But once you start design thinking, it will lead you to two fundamental approaches:
1. You’re starting by thinking about the product itself — when you should start with the problem you’re trying to solve.
2. You’re focusing on your organization and your internal needs and goals — when you should focus first on what your user needs and wants.
Make User Research User-Friendly
As a product manager, you’ll likely agree that it isn’t easy to make people participate in your research surveys, and they aren’t always able to provide you with their time.
So, you should start by empathizing with your users while using design thinking. As a result, you begin brainstorming ways to make user research more interesting, fun, and meaningful.
- Be specific & focused on what you’re trying to understand.
- Make the survey practical with the resources you have.
- Make user research more fun and actionable.
- Incentivise your users to participate in user research by rewarding them for their time.
- Pay attention to the design elements so they’re more visually appealing.
Make the User Experience Delightful
We conduct user research and find the pain points, the needs, and the desires. We build dozens of maps, wireframes and visualize the research findings. And then, of course, we find a solution.
But something is missing!
Deep delight is what makes all the sense. It is holistic and is achieved once all user needs are met, including usability, functionality, reliability, and pleasurability.
As a product manager, working towards delighting users with a great experience and solving pain points are key. Test, test, and test. Keep empathy while testing the product repeatedly, focusing on solving the pain point.
- Recognizing the signs of a user experience delights the user.
- Do you see your users smiling while using your product?
- Are they excited or relieved at the thought of buying your product?
- Do your users are excited as the Apple users who stand outside the stores just before the new iPhone is released?
Use User-Friendly Technology
The mobile revolution came with the user experience as the key to success. And now that they’ve caught the issue, business technology is coming along for the ride. Design thinking is something that motivates PM and tech heads to use technology that solves their users’ problems effectively.
For example, if the problem you’re solving is a problem, users may not be able to read the books and find a way to go through their favourite books quickly. You must create an innovative solution or a product like Audible, which helps your user listen to a number of books anytime, anywhere.
So, as a product manager, you will realize it’s not about the technology or product you’re building. Design thinking will help you expertise in understanding the requirements and make your users fall in love with the product.
Empathize with Developers
Okay, so you are thinking of helping designers and how brainstorming can help you achieve the product objective.
No, that’s not the only part a Product Manager should be working on.
By embracing design thinking, be ready to work equally with your engineering team. Not to forget, “Empathy is not just for your users; it is also for your colleagues.”
Empathize with your developers and help them understand the idea and solution a team wants to develop. They are the ones who will be helping you build your product.
Use New Business Models
Once you start doing design thinking, you will know it is a paradigm for creating win-win solutions. It will help you validate the idea, save time and effort, and help brainstorm innovative solutions.
And this is often true for all business stakeholders, like your investors and business analysts, who want to make sure the product could be a commercial success.
A design-led approach to problem-solving might lead you to follow a business model that allows users to pay you easily. But, sometimes, you would like to try a new model.
Various business models, such as subscription-based services and advertising-fee-enabled business models, have become mainstream over the last few years.
Thus, empathize with your users’ wallets and your business stakeholder’s goals to create an excellent solution.
Use Data to Enhance Customer-Centric Metrics.
A customer-centric metrics can be built surrounded by a data-driven culture, which revolves around the needs and wants of your current and potential customers. It may sometimes contrast with product-driven metrics, but it highly depends on the situation and solution you are building.
Design thinking brainstorming motivates you to expertise in user-centric metrics like NPS (Net Promoter Score) or CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Ratings/Score). As a product manager, you must keep an eye on trends and data with plenty of insights that can offer ideas for deal-breaking product features that further delight your customers.
Why does Design Thinking matter to PMs?
Design thinking helps you fill a gap between user wants and user needs.
With the right design thinking approach, a product can be built with a strategy for creative problem-solving. Prioritizing customers’ requirements is above everything else as it helps to engage a person in several opportunities like experimenting and creating a prototype model, gathering feedback and redesigning the product using innovative solutions.
As a Product Manager, there is a need to thoughtfully combine metrics, creativity, and processes to deliver the best optimal product experience.
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Thanks for reading! Please let me know your thoughts on how you are using design thinking to solve a problem in a comment section. Reach out to me on my social media platform linked below and we can talk about anything product. :)
