developing design thinking practice 
in complex organisations



zaana howard
queensland university of technology
background
research question
methodology 
cases
design thinking practice
developing design thinking capability
integrating design thinking in organisatons



                                    outline
background
design thinking is…
a human centred and collaborative approach
to problem solving using a designerly mindset
to solve complex problems
	




                                             	
                                   background
design thinking practice in
complex organisations
§     for driving innovation and organisational 
      
transformation
§     little empirical research, much bias
	




                                                  	
                                        background
design thinking practice
and capability
§    how to build design thinking capability?
§    how to integrate design thinking practice?	




                                                  	
                                        background
research question
how is design thinking practiced in
complex organisations?



                                 research
                              question
in complex organisations:



what constitutes the meanings and practices
of design thinking?



how is design thinking capability developed?



what is the role of the design thinking
professional in leading complex design
projects?


                                          research
                                      question
methodology
a pragmatic approach



case study methodology



ethnographic methods



constant comparative method for analysis




                                         	
                               methodology
cases
three cases:



retrospective case study of Second Road



participatory case study of Deloitte Australia



expert interview study





                                                	
                                            cases
case: Second Road
§     practicing design thinking for more than a 
      
decade
§     12 semi structured interviews + retrospective
       project audit	




                                                    	
                                                cases
case: Deloitte Australia
§     introduced design thinking in early 2011
§     250 hours of participant observation + 
      
30 semi structured interviews	




                                                       	
                                                   cases
study: expert interviews
§     academics and practitioners who identify 
      
themselves with design thinking
§     13 semi structured interviews spread across
       Australia, USA, UK and Europe
	




                                                   	
                                               cases
design thinking practice
design thinking 
   practice =
   	
                             design led
                            professional




                                      process &
                   environment
                                      methods



design thinking
practice
culture




                           environment

                                          ‘safe’
               physical
                                          space


design thinking
practice
breadth &
                                 depth of
                                  toolkit




                               process &
                               methods
              conversation
                                             structure &
                   &
                                             sequence
              visualisation



design thinking
practice
skills &
                               knowledge




                              design led
                             professional
               personal                      experiences
               attributes
                   & worldview



design thinking
practice
design lead

                                             composer &
                educator
                                               director




                             design led
       facilitator
         professional             ‘cool kid’
                            as role taker




design thinking
practice
developing design thinking
                capability
design thinking is… 
      



      easily understood
      



      yet complex in execution
      
      
      
      
      




design thinking
capability
design thinking capability 
      


      requires mentoring, experience and skill
      training alone is insufficient
      
      
      
      




design thinking
capability
developing design thinking requires
      


      a sustained learning program supported by
      design led professionals
      
      
      




design thinking
capability
integrating design thinking
           in organisations
levels of capability
    
    
    
    

                            aware



                        participant



                         capable




                        specialist



integrating
design thinking
integrating design thinking
    	
    individual to organisational
                                           design thinking
                                            professional




            design thinking
             professional
                                                       process &
                                    environment
                                                       methods
                        process &
    environment
        methods




integrating
design thinking
integrating design thinking requires
      


      long term commitment
      
      
      




integrating
design thinking
zaana howard
associate lecturer | information systems school
queensland university of technology

phd candidate | faculty of design
swinburne university of technology

zaanahoward@gmail.com | zaanahoward.com | @zaana
	
  

Developing design thinking practice in complex organisations

  • 1.
    developing design thinkingpractice in complex organisations zaana howard queensland university of technology
  • 2.
    background research question methodology cases designthinking practice developing design thinking capability integrating design thinking in organisatons outline
  • 3.
  • 4.
    design thinking is… ahuman centred and collaborative approach to problem solving using a designerly mindset to solve complex problems background
  • 5.
    design thinking practicein complex organisations §  for driving innovation and organisational transformation §  little empirical research, much bias background
  • 6.
    design thinking practice andcapability §  how to build design thinking capability? §  how to integrate design thinking practice? background
  • 7.
  • 8.
    how is designthinking practiced in complex organisations? research question
  • 9.
    in complex organisations: whatconstitutes the meanings and practices of design thinking? how is design thinking capability developed? what is the role of the design thinking professional in leading complex design projects? research question
  • 10.
  • 11.
    a pragmatic approach casestudy methodology ethnographic methods constant comparative method for analysis methodology
  • 12.
  • 13.
    three cases: retrospective casestudy of Second Road participatory case study of Deloitte Australia expert interview study cases
  • 14.
    case: Second Road §  practicing design thinking for more than a decade §  12 semi structured interviews + retrospective project audit cases
  • 15.
    case: Deloitte Australia §  introduced design thinking in early 2011 §  250 hours of participant observation + 30 semi structured interviews cases
  • 16.
    study: expert interviews §  academics and practitioners who identify themselves with design thinking §  13 semi structured interviews spread across Australia, USA, UK and Europe cases
  • 17.
  • 18.
    design thinking practice = design led professional process & environment methods design thinking practice
  • 19.
    culture environment ‘safe’ physical space design thinking practice
  • 20.
    breadth & depth of toolkit process & methods conversation structure & & sequence visualisation design thinking practice
  • 21.
    skills & knowledge design led professional personal experiences attributes & worldview design thinking practice
  • 22.
    design lead composer & educator director design led facilitator professional ‘cool kid’ as role taker design thinking practice
  • 23.
  • 24.
    design thinking is… easily understood yet complex in execution design thinking capability
  • 25.
    design thinking capability requires mentoring, experience and skill training alone is insufficient design thinking capability
  • 26.
    developing design thinkingrequires a sustained learning program supported by design led professionals design thinking capability
  • 27.
  • 28.
    levels of capability aware participant capable specialist integrating design thinking
  • 29.
    integrating design thinking individual to organisational design thinking professional design thinking professional process & environment methods process & environment methods integrating design thinking
  • 30.
    integrating design thinkingrequires long term commitment integrating design thinking
  • 31.
    zaana howard associate lecturer| information systems school queensland university of technology phd candidate | faculty of design swinburne university of technology zaanahoward@gmail.com | zaanahoward.com | @zaana