Design Thinking

At Resultant, we understand that behind every business problem is a person experiencing the challenge firsthand. That’s why our approach to Design Thinking starts and ends with purposeful empathy, one of our core values.

Reaching innovative solutions through Design Thinking

Design Thinking is a solution-based approach to problem solving that emphasizes practical, creative thought with the goal of developing the best possible solution. It’s an excellent methodology when you need to get out of your comfort zone and find surprising solutions to difficult problems, and it’s what we use to engage with our clients—generating the ideas that eventually become the solutions for their unique challenges.

Design Thinking is ingrained in our culture at Resultant. It’s embedded into our internal processes and our approach to every challenge we face. We also pass this way of thinking on to our clients by training them to be fearless problem-solvers. Design Thinking is key to innovation, and it’s one of the most powerful tools we—and our clients—have when it comes to solving challenging problems.

Learn how we use Design Thinking to enable client success

What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is a framework that helps organizations solve problems creatively. It’s a problem-solving philosophy that allows people to see things in new and innovative ways. The process, also known as human-centered design, creative thinking, and design science, includes five stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This method of “structured creativity” was formalized by David Kelley, the founder of IDEO and the head of the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University in California. The concept focuses on determining underlying needs and developing the most innovative ways to address those needs effectively.

Learn more about the framework

Building a creative community

Part of the Resultant culture is delivering consistent, high-quality results. Design Thinking is a method that helps every person in the organization arrive at the best solution to a problem, and that’s how we deliver on our promises. Leaders within our team have undergone professional training at Stanford University and brought their knowledge and expertise back to the organization, facilitating workshops and deeper dives into the core Design Thinking concepts so that our entire team is versed in the philosophy.

Learn more about our culture

Five phases of Design Thinking

The value of Design Thinking is in its structure, which gives teams permission to go off script. That’s the space where magic happens. It’s where the seeds of world-changing ideas are sown. Where insights are unlocked and true innovation can occur. The process generally consists of five phases.

Phase 1

Empathize—understand needs

In order to understand the true nature of a problem, you first need to gain an empathetic understanding of the people who experience it.

Phase 2

Define—restate the problem

Analyze and synthesize needs into a solid idea of what is to be accomplished. Define the core problems and come up with a concise problem statement.

Phase 3

Ideate—brainstorm for innovative solutions

Identify new and creative ways to solve the problem. Look at the issues from different angles, considering innovative solutions that may have been previously overlooked or seemed out of reach.

Phase 4

Prototype—begin solution building

Break down problems and solutions to their most basic components so innovative ideas can be tested rapidly.

Phase 5

Test Loop—assess and iterate

Evaluators test the prototypes, all of which are designed to solve the defined problems. The evaluation process is built to be iterative: Teams use the results to refine part or all of the problem statements and design, cycling through phases as needed.

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Interested in how Design Thinking can help your organization?

Design Thinking has long been part of Resultant’s DNA and is one of our preferred methods for not only problem solving but for ensuring that people are at the center of every technology initiative and that our teams are rallied around the same “why.” Incorporating Design Thinking helps us lead modernizations that truly transform organizations and meet the needs of the people involved. 

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