Have you ever participated in a service design workshop where you have been asked to generate thoughts to overcome customer challenges while obtaining a particular service? You would see a wide range of sticky notes containing ideas that are deemed a huge step forward by their authors. However, in reality, the ultimate solution might be an aggregate of just about all thoughts generated.
SO HOW CAN WE SEE THE TRUTH?
Experienced facilitators are keen on using “a Hybrid Model of Ideation & Iteration” to build the best solution that fits customers` needs.
Ideation is about generating and gathering new ideas and exploring design alternatives. However, iteration is the technique of incrementally enhancing, testing, and evaluating those ideas through non-stop feedback loops. Iteration is meant to turn these ideas into comprehensive solutions. By merging these two concepts, we can achieve the best solution which should be the output of multiple sources of inputs from all related stakeholders. Below are the approaches followed during “Ideation & Iteration” sessions.
- Generate ideas using any appropriate ideation technique (i.e. Brainstorming, Mind Mapping, Brainwriting, etc)
- Start a public and interactive discussions with the group members, considering the knowledge, experience, and skills they possess to test and categorize the ideas generated.
- Identify the risks/consequences and benefits of each solution
- Utilize the “Value/Impact Matrix” which also known as the “Quadrant analysis” to test the feasibility of each solution.
- Prototype your “Quick win” solutions using any prototyping method, such as storyboarding.
- Draft the “To-Be Journey Map” primarily based on the chosen solutions.
- Meet together with your internal/external partners as well as your customers from the different segments and personas identified to test the feasibility of the new solution.
- Get management buy-in using real facts and figures to build a case that would help you present the objectives that would be achieved from the solutions inclusive of main measures and KPIs such as the predicted growth in customers’ satisfaction, the predicted decrease in customers’ effort, and the predicted financial savings from imposing the new solution.
- Create an action plan and handover the new design to the implementation team.
- Conduct periodic meetings with the design team and the implementation team to follow up and test the new solution internally and with customers.
Just remember! The steps stated above are not linear and entail divergence, convergence and multiple iterations, so make sure that you go back as a team and align your solution with the comments, feedback, and remarks you collect.