“How can young adults be supported in their administrative tasks?” This design challenge was brought to this Infometis creative workshop by three Master's students from HSR Continuing Education ( MAS HCID ). Together with a Requirements Engineer from Helsana and two Agile Leaders from Infometis, they used the Design Thinking method, moderated by Patrick Steiger, to develop an innovative solution for specific problems faced by young adults in just one day.
The goal was to introduce participants to the Design Thinking method by allowing them to experience firsthand how a question that might initially seem dry and difficult was transformed into a relevant problem by the end of the day, leading to the development of a creative solution, which was then visualized and validated with real stakeholders. On the other hand, the workshop also aimed to provide the three clients with a comprehensive kick-off to their eight-month master's thesis by allowing them to complete an entire user-centered design iteration.
DEDICATED DEVELOPMENT OF THE USER JOURNEY MAP (TIME-BOXED)
One of the outstanding aspects of Design Thinking is the inclusion of users. It doesn't cultivate theoretical creativity, but rather engages with real-world stakeholders and develops relevant, reality-based solutions. The goal of a Design Thinking iteration (a complete microcycle) is not to create a groundbreaking solution that can be implemented immediately and revolutionize the world. Instead, it's about finding an innovative solution to a problem (one that certainly has the potential to revolutionize the world) and learning from it. The result is then presented to users and tested with them. The aim of the iteration is therefore to learn what works and what needs further improvement.
TEST WITH REAL USERS – GET DIRECT FEEDBACK
In the evening, after nine intense hours of brainstorming, the design team could look back on a successful day. "We were impressed that we had developed a high-quality result that we could test," one of the students reported. Another said that after lunch, he wasn't even sure if a usable result would emerge. The groan zone proved difficult to break through in this workshop as well. Thanks to the application of proven techniques, such as focusing on the problem statement (one sentence), the 6-3-5 creativity method, and the idea brief, the highly motivated team managed to design a paper prototype in the limited time available. This prototype was so concrete and detailed that a complete walkthrough of the test scenario devised by the team could be successfully conducted with the three user representatives, who had traveled back that evening specifically for the workshop.
