As we mentioned in part 1 link, we see this as a core obligation to our clients. To continuously improve our processes to define and research problems, and design and test solutions.
Such an attempt is beneficial for both us and clients. It'd make it easier for clients to make a decision about whether to start working with us. Plus It'd create a comfortable common ground to collaborate. Both parties have a clear understanding of the roadmap and desirable achievements. Also, it empowers us to do what we're passionate to do: designing impactful experiences.
As the first step to kickstart a new project, this is mandatory that the client and we agree on the process. This doesn't mean that we're not open to ideas. Often we adjust our process to fit the requirements of the project. Each project differs from the rest.
Without having a clear roadmap, we fall back on our intuition. And our intuition is driven by our survival instincts. Fear forces you to go with a safe option i.e. what you already know. A process/roadmap is the attempt to have foresight over what could come in our way. Remember foresight is not about predicting exactly how the future must look like but it's about minimizing surprises.
Derived from Design Thinking, for every project we go through a more or less the same process. We'd like to call it the Bonanza Design Innovation Process.
WEEK 1
DEFINE AND LEARN
We believe the best way to get to know our clients is through work. We often initiate our collaboration with a 1-DAY Purpose Workshop with the client by which we'd like to understand the why, mission, and vision of the enterprise. Why do they exist? Why is it that humanity can't live without them?
As next, we try to become an expert on the topic in the shortest amount of time. We'd define the problem and then generate the research questions by which we'd understand the problem better. To answer the research questions, we'd conduct a brief yet effective market and user research.
???? Workshops we conduct at this phase
✅ Purpose Sprint
✅ Problem Finding Sprint
WEEK 2
MARKET VALIDATION
Our knowledge from the previous phase equips us to come up with great hypotheses about what could be potentially the solutions to the challenge. Then by which we'd conduct rapid experiments and validate our hypotheses with the market.
At this phase, we aim to create as many hypotheses, focus on them, and test the most credible ones with the market. The experiments we define must yield results within a week.
???? Workshops we conduct at this phase
✅ Hypothesis Sprint
✅ Validation Sprint
WEEK 3
USER RESEARCH
After getting to market validation and knowing that there's a viable idea to work on, we'd do extensive user research. What happens often is that a potential product or service would target a few personas to start with.
Thanks to previous phases, we'd arrive at a crude understanding of possible personas. At this phase, we give ourselves a week to extend our knowledge as to each persona's concerns, goals, thoughts, feelings, and actions. We'd conduct a set of interviews. A good rule of thumb would be 5 interviews per persona.
The insight from the user research allows us to focus on the most pressing use cases by which we can design the first version of the product and service. It's known as Minimum Viable Product - MVP.
WEEK 4
DESIGN SPRINT ????
Let's recap. What have we done so far?
☑️ Became a (semi)expert on the topic✅ Validated our ideas with market☑️ Did extensive user research to make sure we understand the full extent of the challenge✅ Prioritized the most pressing use cases to be considered in the MVP
Guess what? Now, this is a perfect time to run a Design Sprint. Design Sprint is a 5-day process by which you can define, design, and test your ideas. It's a fantastic format if you're (almost) clear about the overall idea and use cases.
Thanks to our efforts from the previous phases, we're ready to commit to a week of Design Sprint. At this point, we invite all the key team members of the client to the workshop. We'll develop the idea, design, prototype, and test the designs with potential customers together.
If you would like to know more about Design Sprint, read our previous articles here:
Design Sprint VS Design Thinking
I hope our process inspires you and helps you to solve problems more effectively. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Please write to us at contact@bonanza.design