When leading a tech company, you can expect to face complex issues that will tend to fall outside the “strictly technical” umbrella. When these issues arise, you’ll need to be able to think outside the box. The typical challenges that solution companies see involve systems, whether data sharing, working with varying technical architectures, or dealing with IT that is difficult to control, as seen with cloud computing.
While we expect to run into challenges when working with technology, additional situations arise when running an IT service business. A client may have a particularly complex issue or your technicians may be struggling with the given timeline of a project. In these cases, every team will have methodologies they fall back on that can be useful. With that in mind, it must also be recognized that problem-solving doesn’t always happen from static approaches.
Every team’s issues will be subjective and how to approach them is what we’re going to outline:
People, Process, Technology
Tech companies who have faced issues on an organizational level are likely aware of a popular response outlined as People, Process, and Technology (PPT). Brought to fruition during the 1960s and earning the name “the golden triangle”, PPT was designed to boost operational efficiency among employees. The premise behind this process is that it balances three crucial elements when dealing with a problem (the people, the process, and the technology). While using PPT, it is intended that those on the front line will rely on the companies' processes and technological resources to resolve issues. When it comes to a software company, most will employ this for IT management since these are the main elements at play.
In the modern day, however, the issues seen in the IT spectrum are heavily varied since companies and technology function much differently than they did 50 years ago. Some big contributors to this shift are the introduction of cloud computing, AI, and the internet which are automated systems with complex software. Traditional problem solving for technology (like that of PPT) tends to focus on task performance as opposed to dealing with the unknown.
Oh and there’s one more factor left out of the framework… Creativity. This is where the concept of design thinking came into play. It involves focusing on the stakeholders within an issue, the technological resources, what is required for the business to be successful, and then brainstorming solutions as a team to materialize an outcome. Noticeably, the framework of PPT is embedded within the concept, which gives it some level of familiarity for those utilizing it.
How Can We Use Design Thinking?
When you’re working in IT you can get used to implementing so much that creativity takes a back seat. The concept of design thinking can be thought of as a practice as well as an ideology. Similar to the “balanced triangle'' we saw in PPT, design thinking follows its outcome-driven phases. In his 2009 Ted Talk, Tim Brown, a popular designer from the UK and a connoisseur of design thinking describes the process of design as “balancing desirability with technical feasibility and economic viability”.
There is an art form to traditional methods of design and they are not limited to artistic practice. Creativity is a tool meant to construct a resolution for the needs of any given situation. This is the framework that design thinking is based on. By tapping into creativity, you’ll avoid static development approaches. Though it is an intuitive concept, implementation is often where challenges are found. To get a better understanding, here’s a list of the phases involved in design thinking (in no particular order):
Empathize: Since this approach emphasizes the people, it is best to view the problem from the perspective of the end-user. This will allow leadership to detach from presumptions and focus on resolving from a neutral level.
Define: Once you’ve empathized with the stakeholders and made an analysis you’ll now define what the clear issues are. Drafting a problem statement (Point of View) is a great way to do this as your considerations will, again, be from the user's perspective. For example “if we don’t do x,y, or z to mitigate this issue then we can expect this” or “the previous process keeps running into this wall, let's overcome that before anything else”. Simply put, remove assumptions and deeply consider the problem (define) then you can develop a solution.
Ideate: Based on the knowledge you’ve gathered from the last two phases, you’ll now begin brainstorming. Since your perspective is in line with filling specific gaps that you’ve identified, there should be a variety of concepts on the table. From there, build on ideas to reach the desired outcome.
Prototype: Branching off of the ideate phase, you’ll now want to get hands-on with your solutions. This is done by developing a variety of samples of the product that can be tested at a low cost. From there, you’ll be ready to move on to the final phase.
Test: After developing the prototype version of your solution, what's left is making sure it works. Running tests is how you mitigate risk by building on areas that will prevent future issues.
IT Example
If you look at a software implementation process, when examining the needs of the customer, there’s a tendency to focus solely on the technology. What’s more important at that moment however is considering the need it’s being built to fill. This is when the phases of design thinking are useful. Using creativity to identify challenges and brainstorm methods to mitigate them for the end-user makes the software selection process much more efficient. Once the software is selected, the team will make the necessary changes and have the user run tests to ensure that it fills the recipient's needs.
Everyday Examples
While we’ve focused on how to apply design thinking in IT, you should understand that this methodology has carry-over. Imagine you’re a mechanic and you’ve brought a car that the owner claims needs an oil change because there is a “knocking sound in the engine”. You can take the customer's word for it or dive deeper and find out that there is an issue with the spark plugs.
You likely get the idea at this point, that design thinking is handling issues with care by doing the extra steps to ensure issues are resolved for good. Designers apply this in their work and it is what makes innovation so useful to people. It’s difficult to walk across all 50 states, so we made cars, trains, and planes. A machine needs more memory so we created RAM. The examples are endless.
Takeaway
Ideas aren’t created out of standard practices or strictly followed processes. Every idea is formed once someone’s mind is free to think. Design thinking is breaking the chains of capped potential by avoiding standardized reactions. Try this out with the little things first, start with the next time you find yourself in conflict by considering the situation from the other person's perspective. Detach and decide, notice how the outcome changes when you do so.
Written By Ben Brown
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