From manufacturers to technology companies, today’s marketplace calls for every company to be a high-tech company. The evolution of e-commerce, mobile, cloud, and robots combined with rising wages and skilled labor scarcity has greatly contributed to technology becoming a prevalent part of the modern business model. As mobile device popularity increases, digital experiences are more important than ever for your customers. Design and user experience now play a much deeper role in the successful integration of technology into business. The proliferation of mobile devices and the need for presenting complex information on a small screen have accentuated the importance of design & Design Thinking in every software application. Design Thinking benefits organizations by  innovating and simplifying the business processes involved by understanding the end user needs. According to a 2016 Gartner Research Circle survey of enterprise mobile app development, mobile-first app design and development remains elusive to more than two-thirds of companies undertaking mobile development. Companies such as Airbnb, Hyatt have implemented Design Thinking and created value for themselves solving real problems.

So, What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is about achieving a deeper understanding of your users, of the products and services, and uncovering valuable insights.

Design thinking is a paradigm shift in solving problems and innovating. Your customers are not just looking for a product or a service, but also expecting amazing experiences along with them. It’s about helping users get things done in the most effortless way possible.  Whether it is a software tool, a check-in process at a hotel, a landing page of a marketing campaign, or optimizing the sale process, design thinking enables you to transform your organization.

Design extends to how a customer experiences service or even how a government serves its citizens. For IT Teams, design is about achieving the full potential of software applications. Understanding the methodology and stages of Design Thinking, IT executives can simplify their customer’s digital experiences.

New apps developed by enterprise IT have not fared much better in terms of transforming business processes. Many simply repurpose web-based content and features or are just not intuitive to use. – Gartner

Business Benefits of Design Thinking–

Design thinking bestows your organization to focus more on problem finding and less on the problem- solving leading to a bounty of innovative ideas. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) released a report in 2005 titled “Why Software Fails.” The report notes that up to 15% of IT projects are abandoned and developers spend approximately 50% of their time on rework.

By embracing Design Thinking, enterprises can improve their businesses. Some of the benefits of Design Thinking are-

Acute problem identification

Frequent complaints we hear from our customers are that there are way too many priorities, and software projects have no clear idea on the ROI. In order to avoid this, embrace design thinking. The design thinking process does not assume the problem as given. Instead, you are asking intelligent questions of the user and ensuring that the correct problems are being addressed with a clear focus.

Innovation

When cross-disciplinary teams collaborate to solve a problem, they tackle the problem from different perspectives leading to an innovative solution. In order to innovate, it is necessary to learn what your people’s needs are. At the intersection of people’s needs, technological feasibility, and business viability, design thinking empowers you to create innovation opportunities.

Higher Profits & Shareholder Value

Design Management Institute, in its study on design thinking, discovered that design oriented firms such as Starbucks, Steelcase, and Walt Disney outperformed S&P index by 224% over a 10-year period from 2002.

“Design thinking helps you seek a balance between intuition and analytics, between exploration and exploitation, between reliability and validity, and between art and science” – Roger Martin

Command Brand Loyalty

Design oriented companies with a true understanding of their customers preferences, tastes, hobbies, and culture are commanding a strong customer loyalty. It is a well-known fact that emphasis on design was a significant factor in Apple’s success. Enterprise IT teams have a great opportunity to improve the design of these products and turn customers and users into loyal fans.

Streamline Business processes

With insights and feedback learned from users during design thinking sessions, you have an opportunity to eliminate manual steps and automate possible steps. One of Propel Apps clients, a wholesale distributor, transformed its reverse logistics business process by embracing design thinking.

Know how design thinking process works and insights from companies such as Airbnb, Hyatt that implemented Design Thinking in the Whitepaper – IT Executive’s Guide to Design Thinking, a guide on  written by Raj Peddisetty, Enterprise Architect for Propel Apps.