Design Thinking for Industry 4.0
History of design thinking:
Design thinking began in the 1960s, blending American industrial design with Scandinavian cooperative design. Buckminster Fuller’s design science at MIT emphasized systematic problem-solving with interdisciplinary teams, while Scandinavia focused on participatory design, involving users in the process to create inclusive solutions. The 1970s and 80s brought the concept of "wicked problems" by Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber, and contributions from Herbert Simon and Victor Papanek, who championed socially responsible and human-centered design. In the 90s, service design emerged, expanding the focus from just products to interactions and systems. The formation of IDEO in 1991 and its promotion of human-centered design techniques popularized design thinking further. Over the years, it has been widely adopted in business and education as a critical framework for innovation, emphasizing collaboration, empathy, and iterative development to tackle complex challenges effectively. Today, design thinking is a cornerstone in creating user-centered solutions across various fields.
What is design thinking?
Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that focuses on understanding users' needs, fostering creative solutions, and iteratively testing and refining ideas. It involves a series of steps: empathizing with users to gain deep insights into their experiences and challenges; defining the core problem to frame the right questions; ideating by brainstorming a wide range of possible solutions; prototyping by creating tangible models or simulations of the best ideas; and testing these prototypes with real users to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments. This human-centered methodology encourages collaboration across diverse disciplines, blending analytical and intuitive thinking to address complex problems holistically. By prioritizing empathy, experimentation, and continuous learning, design thinking aims to create innovative and effective solutions that resonate with users and address their real-world needs.
Relation to Industry 4.0:
Design thinking is a perfect match for the Industry 4.0 revolution we're living through right now. Industry 4.0 is all about using advanced tech like IoT, AI, and big data to transform how we work and live. Design thinking brings a human-centered approach to this revolution, ensuring these technologies actually meet user needs. Operationally, it helps create user-friendly interfaces and streamline processes based on real user feedback. Strategically, it fosters collaboration across different disciplines, ensuring that innovations are not just tech-driven but also aligned with human experiences. Technically, design thinking encourages iterative development and prototyping, leading to more effective and adaptable solutions. By embedding design thinking into Industry 4.0, companies can drive smarter, more efficient, and human-centric innovations. According to a 2022 Hasso Plattner Insitute Study, Since 2015, design thinking has grown by 46% in IT departments and 92% in Operations & Manufacturing. This growth is attributed to its role in addressing complex challenges such as automation and digital transformation, facilitating the development of new products and services that are closely aligned with customer needs and technological advancements
Main components of design thinking
Empathize: Understand the needs, emotions, motivations, and context of the end-users or customers. By putting yourself in their shoes, you can gain insights into their experiences and identify the real problems they face.
Define: Clearly articulate the problem statement. This involves synthesizing the information and insights gathered during the empathize stage to define the users' needs and challenges. A well-defined problem statement helps guide the ideation process and ensures that the focus remains on addressing the users' pain points.
Ideate: Generate a wide range of possible solutions to the defined problem.
Prototype: Create low-fidelity prototypes of the most promising solutions. These can be simple sketches, physical models, or digital mockups that help visualize and test the concepts.
Test: Test the prototypes with real users to gather feedback and validate the proposed solutions. This feedback is crucial to understanding how well the solution addresses the user's needs and to identify any areas for improvement. Based on the test results, the team may need to iterate through the earlier stages to refine the solution or explore new ideas.
Implement (not a formal stage, but often included): Solutions or concepts developed during the design thinking process are brought to life. It can be seen as part of, or following, the Test stage, depending on the specific circumstances. During this phase, the solution is rolled out, and its impact in the real world is observed.
Where is design thinking most applied? (2022 HPI study)
55% - Research and development
36% - Consulting
35% - IT (46% increase since 2015)
35% - Marketing
26% - Human Resources
26% - Sales
23% - Operations and manufacturing (92% increase since 2015)
20% - Product Development
19% - Innovation
Benefits of design thinking (2022 HPI study)
60% – design thinking has improved the working culture
67% – more efficient innovation process
58% – users integrated more frequently
30% – helped to save costs
33% – helped increase sales
Design thinking market size insight (2023 Cognitive Market Research)
Global Design Thinking Market is expected to reach USD 2,494.83 Million by the end of 2028, growing at a CAGR of 10.67% between 2021 and 2028.
Software Revenue is anticipated to reach at USD 1,461.79 Million in 2028.
Software as a Service Revenue in Design Thinking is estimated to reach USD 1,445.28 Million in 2028.
Large Enterprise Revenue in Design Thinking is projected to reach USD 1,847.69 Million in 2028.
Automotive Revenue in Design Thinking is anticipated to reach USD 452.71 Million in 2028.
North America Design Thinking market size is expected to reach USD 788.99 Million in 2028.
References:
Jo Szczepanska - Design thinking origin story plus some of the people who made it all happen, 2017: https://szczpanks.medium.com/design-thinking-where-it-came-from-and-the-type-of-people-who-made-it-all-happen-dc3a05411e53
Hasso Plattner Institut - Desing Thinking: a Global Study on Implementation PRactice sin Organizations Past - Present - Future, 2022: https://www.openpr.com/news/2962934/design-thinking-market-is-estimated-to-reach-usd-2-494-83
OpenPR press release from Cognitive Market Research - Design Thinking Market, 2023: https://www.openpr.com/news/2962934/design-thinking-market-is-estimated-to-reach-usd-2-494-83
