Process design with design thinking - simply different, simply successful
Process design with design thinking - simply different, simply successful
Design thinking can save your process design! Why a rescue is often necessary, I will gladly reveal to you with a small interactive review of your own process design history:
Have you ever aligned processes? Talked to the various stakeholders from start to finish, reconciled the different requirements, then implemented them in the tool, held training sessions, experienced all the madness yourself and implemented everything - and was it successful? Was the effort worth it in your eyes? And how long did it take from the first interview to successful implementation?
If you're like many others, you won't want to say the answer right now. So today, let's talk about how you can make process design more efficient and successful.
Why rethink process design?
From my experience as a process consultant, I can reveal: Yes, traditional process design takes what feels like forever. Somewhere, a new stakeholder always appears who has wishes and needs. Requirements are often diametrically opposed. And no matter what decision you make in the end as a process owner, you don't really make anyone happy. This leads to deadlocked situations and provides a breeding ground for failed process design that benefits no one and takes an incredibly long time to implement.
Therefore, think process design differently for a change. Especially in the agile world, which requires faster and faster adaptations, we have to look at things from a different perspective. It is indisputable that processes are important and correct. This realization should also be present in an agile environment. Without processes, without clearly coordinated responsibilities, without rules, there is no speed.
But how can a good process be achieved quickly and in a coordinated manner? How can this also take place within a manageable time frame? That's where we bring a new player into the game: design thinking.
Design thinking as a catalyst
Design thinking is already being used in many areas. Is this a good idea for process design, too? I think so.
I admit that the approach with Design Thinking can seem a bit strange. After all, it works in a completely different way than the classic approach. In process design, you usually start with the definition of the process and string together a few activities. The problem is the level of detail, because as you think and discuss, more and more special cases or new steps come up that need to be considered. The result is a complex and difficult process that is hardly controllable, but still does not meet the requirements.
Design Think ing consistently thinks of the development process in terms of "What is really - well, really - important?" and can thus be a real eye-opener.
Here's how it works: In a workshop, stakeholders are brought together in one room. The selection of participants is determined by the various user groups and their requirements for the process. Within a week, the participants then diverge and converge from the high flux level, the vision of the process, further and further into the details.
Diverging means identifying the various stakeholders by means of personas, for example, and recognizing their various requirements. In convergence, on the other hand, these personas and requirements are then brought together again and consolidated with the help of the value proposition canvas or user story mapping, for example. In this way, design thinking repeatedly works its way from the bigger picture to the details and back again.
The result is a process prototype that supports the set goals and maps the important requirements of the organization.
Accelerate process design and get started immediately
After five days, there it is, almost as if by magic - and in a consensus that would take a lot of energy, time and nerves without design thinking: the process prototype of our dreams. And yes, it contains what is really important. The process covers the structures that are needed and avoids excessive attention to detail. Even the requirements for a tool implementation are more or less fixed, so that implementation can be started quickly afterwards.
Of course, the entire organization still has to be made fit afterwards. A design thinking workshop can't replace training, targeted communication and the whole shebang. But with the prototype, you can start quickly and get things rolling much faster.
If you would like to try out process design with design thinking yourself - feel free to contact us! We will support you in developing your process prototype. Feel free to contact us for a non-binding initial consultation!
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