Design thinking: systems people actually use
Design thinking is a problem-solving method that starts with the people who will use a system, not with the technology. Neodeus applies its five stages, empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test, to every project, so the software we deliver fits how people really work.
Why it matters
Most failed systems were built correctly to the wrong understanding of the problem. A clerk who must re-enter data, an officer who cannot find a report, a farmer who cannot read a receipt: these are design failures, and they are cheaper to prevent than to fix.
Five stages, as we practise them
- 1
Empathise
What we do
Visit the office, factory floor or field. Observe and interview the people who do the work, from leadership to front-line staff and citizens.
What you see
Field notes, user profiles, a map of the current journey and its pain points.
- 2
Define
What we do
Turn what we learned into a clear problem statement and measurable outcomes, agreed with leadership.
What you see
Problem statement, success measures, scope.
- 3
Ideate
What we do
Co-create options in workshops with users and decision-makers; simplify processes; draft rules and data models.
What you see
Agreed solution concept and the future process.
- 4
Prototype
What we do
Build clickable screens and sample data quickly, before any heavy development.
What you see
Working prototypes you can try.
- 5
Test
What we do
Put prototypes in front of real users, watch where they struggle, and refine. Repeat until the work flows.
What you see
Usability findings and a validated design.
Built into delivery
- Design thinking shapes the ideation and design stages of our method, and returns at every release.
- Every product passes a user-experience review as a stage gate before release.
- We design for the real context: multiple languages, low bandwidth, shared devices and users new to computers.
- Our leadership is trained in design thinking and UX design through the Interaction Design Foundation.
Questions
Does design thinking add time to a project?
It moves effort earlier. A few weeks of discovery and prototyping usually save months of rework after launch.
Can you run design thinking workshops for our team?
Yes. We run discovery and co-creation workshops with leadership, staff and users, as part of a project or on their own.
Tell us the problem you are trying to solve.
We will tell you honestly how we can help, or if we cannot.