A GUIDE FOR DESIGN THINKING IN ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN A LARGE GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION.

1. A GUIDE FOR DESIGN
THINKING IN
ORGANISATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
PROJECTS IN A LARGE
GOVERNMENT
ORGANISATION.
By: Maureen
Warikandwa
21015725

2. Introduction
Organisational development(OD) isthe fundamentalwayanorganisationbringstogetherdiverse
functionstodesign, implement, andsustainbusiness-focusedinterventionswithpeople atitscentre
(Chowdry,2019). DesignThinking(DT) isahuman-centredapproachthatencouragesorganisations
to focuson theirpeople and create betterproducts,services,andinternalprocesses.Hence,the DT
framework canbecome fundamental to approachingorganisational development projects.A DT
approach becomesideal forODprojectsasit seekstounderstandthe user,challenge assumptions,
and redefineproblemstofindalternative strategiesandsolutions.
Design thinkingcan helpthe OD Practitioner:
 Clearly understandthe unfulfilled needsof people
inthe organisation tobe created.
 Reduce the risk of launchingnew ideas,products,
services andprocesses.
 Create complete innovative solutions andnotjust
incremental solutionstoODproblems.
 Learn and repeatthe processsolution faster.
Remembertoinclude the relevantteamsfora
collaborative approach.
AIM
The aim of thisinstructable ison
howto have a designthinking
approach to OD projects.AsanOD
practitioner,use thisstep-by-step
guide whendealingwithOD
projectsfora large government
organisation.

3. The principles of the design thinking process.
Experimentation
and iteration
Designthinkingisaniterative processthatbuilds,refines,andimprovesa
project.The iterative processisessentialforleanmethodologiesand
Agile projectmanagement.Note:anyteamcan use an iterative method,
not justAgile ones.Learnmore aboutthe iterative processhere.
User-centricity
and empathy
Designthinkinginvolvesfindingsolutionsinresponse tohumanneeds
and userfeedback. "People,nottechnology,are the driversof
innovation." Animportantpartof DT is seeingandfeelingthe world
fromthe users’ perspective.
Note:The DT approachemphasisesgainingempathybywalkinginthe
shoesof the user whichisincontrast to the AppreciativeEnquiry
approach whichisalsowidelyusedin Organisationaldevelopment.
Appreciativeenquiryuses conversation asatool to engage withpeople
by emphasisingappreciation andpositively acknowledgingwhatis
happeningorwhatmightoccur in the organisation.
Collaboration
Designthinkingaimstopool variousperspectivesandideas,which
resultsininnovation.Designthinkingencouragesdiverseandversatile
collaborationbetweenteamsthatmaynot usually worktogether.
Ideation Designthinkingaimstogetsolutionsbygeneratingasmanyideasand
potential solutionsaspossible.Therefore,the ideationstepisto
encourage asmany ideasaspossible ratherthanthe qualityof the ideas.
Ideationis a core designthinkingprincipleandastepin the
designthinkingprocess.
A bias towards
action
It isimportantto note that the DT processis a hands-onapproachto
problem-solvingpromotingactionratherthandiscussion.Thisisidealas
it resolvesone of the hindrancesof the successof ODprojects.The
projectteammust notassume theyknow whatpeople thinkorfeel.DT
encouragesthe ODprojectteamto get out there andengage withpeople
face-to-face.Insteadof talkingaboutpotential solutions.
To learnmore aboutdesignthinkingprinciples, see Whatisdesignthinkingandhow dowe
applyit?

4. The Design Thinking (DT) Process
Important: The diagram below shows the design thinking process sequentially; however,
the process is not linear. At each stage in the process, the OD practitioner is likely to
make discoveries that require going back to repeat a previous step.
Lewrick,M., Link,P.,& Leifer,L.(2018). The DesignThinkingPlaybook:MindfulDigital
Transformationof Teams,Products,Services,BusinessesandEcosystems.Pg.58
ThisIDEU podcast providesanoverview of the designthinkingprocess
The belowsteps asummary of informationderivedfrom The Design Thinking Playbook.
Step 1: Understand
At the initial stage of the project, the OD practitioner needsto
recognise the problemanddefine the problemstatement. First,
clarifywhatproblemtype it is.Most problemsinthe ODspace
are ill-definedproblems,remediedwithmore thanjustone
correct solution,andthe searchforsuch a solutioncantake place
inquite differentways. Wickedproblemsinthe ODspace are
issuesthatare notclearlydefined.Designthinkinghelpsmake
wickedproblems understandableandallow the ODpractitioner
to proceed iteratively byfirstfindingpartial solutionsforapartial
problem,thengainingfurtherunderstandingof the problemand
addingmore solutionelementsuntil the problemissolved.
Chowdry (2019) recommendsdedicatingenough time andenergy
to define asuitable problemdefinition. Readmore onhow to
define ODproblems.

5. A design thinking solution can only come
about if the design team has understood the
problem.
How: To frame the problemstatement,focus on the user's
needsrather than the business.Elementsof a good
problemstatementare that it is human-centred,broad
enoughfor creativity,yetspecificenough to provide
guidance and direction. To expandthe problemstatement,
ask the questionof "Why?"To narrow downalternative
solutions,ithelpstoask "How?"
Practical Example:An exampleof a good problemstatement is,"The ministry wantsemployees to
be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle while working in the office", this places emphasiseson the
user in contrast to "The ministry aims to keep employees healthy and happy to boostretention."
Draw up a structureddesignbrief sothatthe projectteamand stakeholders understand
the startingpoint. Here is an example of adesignbrief.
Step 2: Observe
This step includesengagingwithand observing the target audience.
How: Collectinformationthroughideaboards,vision
boards,dailystoriesbasedonphotos,mindmaps,mood
pictures,andphotosof life situationsandpeople.Use the
informationtocreate andrevise personasandbuild
empathyforthe user.
Read more on how to buildempathywiththe user.
Practical Example:If the projectaimsto address theissue of employeehealth.The OD Practitioner
can takea step to send out an anonymoussurvey foremployeesto complete.Theprojectteamcan
also do userinterviews withemployeesto determinehow they feel aboutretention within the
organisation.
Create personasforwhomthe projectteamthinksthisproblemwillsolve andthen
observe togainunderstanding. Use empathymappingtounderstand the user.
Why? This step aimsto paint a
clear picture of the end-users,what
challengestheyface, and their
needsand expectations.
Why: The problemstatement
describesthe specificchallenge the
OD practitioner will manage.It
providesguidance on conducting
the designprocess and the goal by
keepingthe user at the forefront.

6. Step 3: Define Point of View (POV)
The point of view stage aims to collect,structure,andweighall insights forthe
OD practitionerto findthe relevant approachtothe project.Inaddition,ithelps
to identify any contradictions thatarise anddetermine the prioritiesforthe
nextstepinthe project.
How: Lookat the situationfrom differentpoints
of view anddefine the focusforthe nextiteration.
Use the 9-window tool toexplore whathappens
before andafterthe use of the productand what
ishappeninginthe system.
Present the needs not in the form of
a list but as a daisy map.
Practical Example:The Interaction Design
Foundation suggests using thefollowing formatfor
the POV [User. . . (descriptive)] needs[need. . .
(verb)] because[insight... (compelling)]
Step 4: Ideate
Now that the project team has a clear problemstatementin mind,knows
the end-user,andhas narrowed to an approach, the team aimsto
develop as many ideasand potential solutionsas possible.
Remember to focus on the number of ideas rather than
quality, as this cultivates innovation!
How: Afterthe ideation,bundlethe
ideasintoclustersandstructure them.
Then, please selectthe mostimportant
ideasor clusters, refinethem, and
documentthem.
Selectthe ideasaccordingtothe
persona'sneeds oractual use.
Work with concept maps, mind
maps and systems map Pg 104
For ideationtechniques,
checkout this IDEO video
Why: Going through the variousapproaches
enablesthe OD practitioner to findthe
importantneedsandpatternsof users,
includingthose thatwere undiscoveredupto
thisstage of the process.*. For OD projects,
carry out this stepas it providesreassurance
and confidence that the projectteam is
pursuinga relevantapproach.Inaddition,it
allows the projectteamto adjustwhen there
isa needfora change in direction forthe
project.
Why:This phase gets the projectteam thinkingoutsidethe
box and lookingatnewangles. *Some OD projects fail to
take off when theydo not alignwith the organisations'
vision.Therefore,the ODprojectteammustconsiderthe
organisation'svisionandaskthe followingquestions.
 What are the organisations'culture andvalues?
 Whichdefined growthareas are part of the
strategy?
 What isthe businesscase andwhatis the
minimumyieldexpected?
 What are the customerneedsandtrends thatthe
publicservice iscurrentlyadvocating for?

7. Step 5: Prototype
In OD,the prototype phase seemstogounnoticed, withsolutionsbeing
implementedfirstwithouttestingwhetherthe ideaworks. Prototypingisan
essential elementof designthinking.Itencouragesustotestfunctionsand
solutions,in conjunctionwiththe desire tolearnfromusershow toimprove
an offeronan ongoingbasis.For prototypingtosucceed, projectmembers
mustkeepan openmindsoan ideacan be changedor discarded
How: When creating the prototypes, referback to the
problemstatementandthe personascreated toprecisely
know what they represent,then test. Examplesof
prototypescouldinclude sketching,storytelling/story
writing,storyboardsandthe use of videosandphotos.
Practical Example: One of the suggestionsin the ideation
step is to provide sport options.To prototypethis idea, the
project team would need to organise sport optionsfor
employees to choose from.
Step 6: Test
The OD project team can test the prototypeson real or representative
users in thisstep.
How: The OD projectteam will needto run user testingsessions and
observe the target users usingthe prototype. The project team can also
gather verbal feedback. Duringthe testingstage, the findingsfrom
observations resultin changes to the prototype design or come up with
a differentidea. Itresults in going back to state the new idea usingthe
POV and going through the followingsteps.
Practical Example: The organisation can test the lunchtime
sport optionsfor three monthsto see how employees
respond.From observation,if the employees indicate they
enjoy the lunchtime sport options butdo not regularly attend
lessons as the organisation has no onsite showers. Based on
this feedback, the OD project team can movethe sport
options to after workhours.
Why: Testing allowsthe OD project
team to receive valuable feedback
by seeingwhere the prototype
works well and any areas of
improvement.The user feedback
enableschanges and improvements
before the solutionrollsout
organisationwide.
Why: The prototyping stepallows
the OD project team to create a
product/service or process tested
on real users. It is vital to carry out
this stepas it maintainsa user-
centric approach which iskey to
the DT approach.