For me the major takeaway from this course is definitely the importance of the empathize phase. In order to better understand customer’s needs, our customer has to be defined very precisely with a persona. A persona is a marketing technique used to point out information about demographic, employment, character of the research group. I have also learned that if a company wants to truly empathize with their customer and learn more about their customers behaviours they should, in addition to a classical persona description, investigate how their potential target group spends their time. The questions sets “Close to you, digital ecosystem, typical weekday” proved to be very insightful since they provide more details on the how the customer consumes data, which becomes more and more important in today’s data driven world. Such insight proved to be especially important when my group started discussing how our target group should find our prototype and what would be the perfect format to present it. While first conducting the mentioned exercises, I thought the outcomes are obvious since I knew some of the people being interviewed very well. The truth was that some of their habits, preferences and statements I didn’t expect. As a result, I learned that during the empathize phase a researcher should not assume that the obvious is true or that he truly understands the target group without conducting further research.

Another big learning in this course was the importance of critique. Getting feedback is essential to help you save time and resources in the Prototype and Testing stages of the Design Thinking process. Being quick and efficient allows us to move from creating a prototype, to putting it out to test it, to gathering feedback, and finally to creating a new and improved iteration of our ideas. Before doing this course, I tried to avoid critique since I always assumed it will be something negative that will bring me of track from my idea. Which was not far away from the truth since a lot of people don’t know how to give a helpful critique. During previous group projects at work and university, the critiques I received were often vague and sometimes I took a bad critique personally, so I tried to avoid when possible. However, in this course I learned that critique in necessary step in product improvement and must not be taken personally because half-hearted feedback as “yeah, looks fine” doesn’t add any value to the project. Furthermore, in order to get the most out it, the critique has to be steered and questioned in order to get most out of it. I got the opportunity to practice the skill of guiding the critique in the right direction as part of the interviews for Assignment 3. I tried to find out what part especially did the interviewees like or dislike about the prototype, why did they like it, and most importantly how it could be improved. Defining problems in obvious, conventional ways, often leads to obvious, conventional solutions. Asking a more interesting question can help teams discover more-original ideas. The constructive feedback is something I found very useful especially when it was backed up by data or logical reasoning.

I believe that the 4 assignment gave us an excellent insight in how a real-life innovation process looks like. The only step that might is redundant would be the phase 1 “Building Empathy: Immerse & Plan Research” since it created a lot of confusion in the group. We were unsure based on which factors we should choose the persona and whether we should discuss how the KLRU should be related to the persona. The real understanding of the persona came to me only after I finished phase 2 “Phase 2 – Defining the Challenge: Analyze Insights & Create Challenge Statements” where we made actual interviews with representatives of the persona gained key insights.

As we have seen through the semester, the structure of design thinking creates a natural flow from research to rollout. According to HBS Design Thinking is the framework to drive innovation in a company because the immersion in the customer experience produces data, which is transformed into insights, help teams agree on design criteria they use to brainstorm solutions. Assumptions about what’s critical to the success of those solutions are examined and then tested with rough prototypes that help teams further develop innovations and prepare them for real-world experiments. Some experienced designers have a different opinion and complain that design thinking is too structured and linear. After completing the course my opinion is that design thinking is an excellent tool for professionals that are involved in an innovative project, have to manage teams of people who are not designers and also aren’t used to doing face-to-face research with customers or getting deeply immersed in their perspectives, and designing and executing experiments. Structure and linearity help the project members to try and adjust to these new behaviours and quite frankly I wouldn’t change anything to the process itself since I was astonished by the quality of the end results. Regarding the organisation of the class time I really liked the open discussions and experience sharing from my classmates. The instructor did a great job in moderating these discussions and enriching them with practical examples from past projects he did and companies he worked in. The final project stimulated group discussions as the project structure included multiple phases of diverging and converging. In the diverging phases we had to open our self to new ideas and help our teammates to create new ideas. In the diverging phases we provided each other critiques and agreed on the best ideas to proceed with. While the assignment instructions encouraged the use of articles and slides provided on canvas, it was often difficult to navigate through the slides since they include many pictures and the parts needed to finish the assignment are scattered across the whole presentation. Even though every presentation did have a conclusion, it was not detailed enough to completely understand the whole content. I would suggest more elaborative slides for the next lecture or even a book to dive in some parts of the design thinking.

Introduction

We can easily claim that storytelling is, has always been and will always be an important part of human communication. Obviously, a story´s first and basic purpose is to entertain, but also to achieve several other objectives. Stories represent one of our most effective form of communication and we use them on a daily basis in order to educate our children, motivate people, send particular messages, make an information memorable and, of course, sell products. This fact was also recognised by powerful brands around the world. They are aware of what a good story can bring to a business and its bottom line.
Every year at this time, people talk about the most famous Super Bowl ad of them all, Apple’s “1984” ad for the original Macintosh computer. It ran in its full 60-second length on national television during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on Jan. 22, 1984. The plot is based on George Orwell’s grimly predictive novel, also named “1984.”

Storyline format

The Apple’s “1984” ad begins in grey ambient, with an army of drones marching into an assembly as a Big Brother figure preaches from a towering screen: “Today we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives …” The scene is intercut with shots of a blond woman in a white tank top and bright red shorts on the run, carrying a mallet, pursued by storm troopers. She bursts into the assembly and throws the mallet at the screen, unleashing an explosion and a blast of fresh air, as a voice-over reads the text of a product launch scheduled for two days hence: “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like ‘1984.’”
The Apple’s “1984” ad is in my opinion a masterpiece of storytelling due to of its conciseness. The author managed to reach buyers heart rather than their minds and establishing a strong connection with consumers in only 60 seconds. While there are many good stories, very few manage to engage customers and evoke interest in such a short time.
Many authors explain the storytelling technique used in the Apple’s “1984” ad as the “Monster”. Overcoming the monster is essentially where the hero needs to overcome hardship in order to restore balance to the world. The monster could typically be addiction, illness, debt or bad health, but it is just as likely to be progress. The monster in this case is a strong force that keeps the entire population under control. People are not free and have no possibility to choose what they want. They only have one choice (in this ad the author alludes to IBM, but in later ads Apple will point to Microsoft) and we cannot freely express ourselves when it comes to the decision which personal computer should we chose. The young women represent the hero who defeats the monster. Apple is portraited as a new strong player with its Macintosh computers, and frees the mankind of its corporate oppressors.
In addition to the “Monster” storyline framework, I have also identified another concept often used in storytelling called “in medias res”. Or at least a version of it. Apple’s “1984” ad begins in the heart of the action. During an assembly of big brother solders, a blond woman in a white tank top and bright red shorts is on the run, carries a mallet, and is pursued by storm troopers. The audience’s attention is caught already in the very beginning and they stay engaged to find out how this bizarre and unexpected scene will be resolved.
In the next scene, the author doesn’t start over at the beginning to explain how the blond woman in a white tank top and bright red shorts found it self in the situation, what a usual “in medias res” storyline would do but instead continues the scene. The author most likely chose this hybrid form of the “in medias res” storyline due to the limited time he had to convey his message. Therefore, the following scene already brings the resolution everybody was waiting for. The blond woman in a white tank top and bright red shorts destroys the screen of the big brother and creates an explosion.

Conclusion

I chose the Apple’s “1984” ad instead of a longer story as for instance a movie or book, because I believe that the storytelling behind it, can teach us how to prepare for important presentations where we will have a very limited time to bring our message across. Furthermore, in business context we will rarely be in situations where we have enough time to make a long story. Analysing the storytelling behind the Apple’s “1984” ad can be applied to many business situations such as start-up pitching or presentation for executives. Using storytelling techniques as “in media res” and “the monster” are the best for presentations where the presenter needs to grab attention from the start, keep an audience craving resolution and focusing attention on an important moment.

Initial situation

The following experience might not sound like it’s the end of the world, but for me the experience evoked a very negative emotional reaction. I was traveling from Croatia to the US, to visit New York before I begin my exchange semester in Austin. After landing in NY at midnight, being totally exhausted from the 14-hour trip, and having to take 2 “random” security checks, I was waiting for my luggage. After a while I was the only person waiting for luggage and I was told if the bag has not arrived until now, it will not arrive at all and that I should follow him. I was scared, angry, tired and literally running after the airport employee for who I believed that he was trying to run away from me.

Lost and found office

At the most hidden corner of the airport was the a lost and found counter with very unfriendly employees who were obviously upset for having to work the night shift. They wrote down my address and name and were not able to provide me with any other information. The experience was even worse for me since this was only the second time I was flying with an air plane, and although I thought it would never happen to me that from all people my luggage would be lost (according to the Air Travel Consumer Report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, you face less than a 1 percent chance that a major airline will misplace your bags) my mother insisted I had to take an insurance for the luggage. The insurance company instructed me to have the arriving airport fill out a form in case the luggage was lost. The employees refused to fill out anything saying that this in not their problem but the problem of the airline company, and thy are not allowed to do that. So, there I was in NY at 1 am, like in the old movies of European immigrants, alone in a big city with nothing with me except for my laptop suitcase, a few bucks in my wallet and half of a sandwich my mother made me. 

Reclaiming the luggage

I got an email from a third party (so not the airport, not the airline) that they are working on finding my luggage and that they would call me once it found. However, the telephone number stated in the email was not correct (the nice lady at the lost and found counter must have gotten it wrong) and there was no tel. number to call and of course my emails were not replied. I got a new US number, I tried to call Norwegian airlines multiple times. Every time I called I had to wait over one hour to get a customer support agent and receive no useful information. I started to be nervous since time was crucial, tomorrow I had to fligh to Austin. On the morning before my flight to Austin I called Norwegian airlines once more and finally received the information that I would receive my luggage in one hour. So, I rushed from Manhattan to Brooklyn where they would deliver the address. Since the delivery company did not arrive I called the airline again, and they said they made a mistake. The delivery company tried to deliver it the day before, but since there was no doorbell at my Airbnb apartment they left (the apartment and neighbourhood of my apartment is another story of emotional reactions).

Stressful happy end

After many calls I finally got the delivery company and asked them to deliver my bag to the airport before 5pm since that was the time I was flying to Austin. I arrived 4 hours earlier to the agreed terminal, just to be told by the employee that they did not receive my bag. I went myself to the warehouse and looked for my luggage, and luckily I found it, although I was told that it is not there for sure. 

Understanding the Experience

Applying the model learned in class I will analyse what made me hate Norwegian for the rest of my life and how to prevent situations as the one described above. The first step in good customer relationship management should be the empathises with the customers. To better understand the customer, experience the company should ask the following questions?

·       What does the customer think and feel when loosing luggage?
The customer feels afraid and scared. That’s why the first reference point should comfort the customer by saying that the bag will be found for sure and be transparent about what are the next steps. The customer should definitely not be left in doubts and unknowing what to do. 

·       What are the customers pain points?
Obviously, the missing bag, but also the uncertainty and missing transparency about the future steps.

·       What does the customers expect to gain?
Receive the luggage as soon as possible.

·       What does the customer see?
The customer is in a stress situation, the first point of reference should be a room with warm colours and welcoming employees. The customer should definitely not see a grey whole in the wall and angry employees.

·       What does the customer say and do?
Although every day customers loose luggage, the employees were surprised with my very predictable questions: when will I get my bag back? Where do I claim my insurance? Who will give me my luggage back? A well-designed process would anticipate these questions and provide answers.

·       What does the customer hear?
This question goes hand in hand with the questions above. The customer wants to hear answers on when the bag is right now, when will it be returned, who can give me updates? Furthermore, the customer wants to hear it now, not after having to call many different companies who all have different working times because the call centre is outsourced somewhere.

This simple Frameworks proves that even very bad customer experience such as losing the luggage, can be made more enjoyable for the customer if the company really tries to empathize with the customer.

I discovered my interest in design after reading the biography of Steve Jobs. I know it is such a cliché that a business student gets inspired by Steve Jobs and the way he revolutionized the word. I am also aware about the many bad sides of his leadership style and how he has often taken credits for the work of other people or a whole team of people. To be frank, I personally don’t idolize nor demonize Steve Jobs, however, it is a fact that he has set new standards in design of electronics goods, which was enough to make me have a different view on the products that surround us. In this assignment I will discuss why Steve Jobs made me think about design, how Apple´s design process relates to our design thinking process learned at class, and how can steps from Steve´s design thinking helps us in business environment.

• Why Steve Jobs made me think about design?

While reading the biography of Steve jobs I was always annoyed and puzzled by his eye for detail and precision. We all know that he did not save money nor time in designing his products, but what not everybody knows is that he applied the same obsession for perfection to parts of Apple products that cannot be seen from the outside.  For instance, Steve insisted that also the inner parts of an Apple computer must be perfectly designed even though they would not be seen by the vast majority of Apple´s customers. As a business student who majored in accounting I was enraged. Such decisions seemed to me as unnecessary cost factors in both, time spent doing it and the resources needed. Furthermore, while readying the first few chapters of the book I was imagining Steve as a spoiled young man with too much money and obsession for details. However, then I realised, I was probably thinking as many corporate leaders of PC and electronics companies at that time: save money on design, allocate more resources to engineering, don’t use expensive materials, make sure the product can be produced quickly. Nobody ever looked at the product though the eyes of the customer, and that’s why Apple was able to achieve such a success. I started realizing why the design of Apple products was so appealing to people. It is because it was intuitive, simple and elegant. After investing a lot of thought whether the pareto principle or the Steve Jobs approach was the right one, I turned to the source of Steve´s inspiration for my answer, the Buddhist Zen Garden. The Zen garden made me realise that true beauty requires time and a lot of small steps that might not seem important when observed individually.

That is the moment when I started noticing how many things in my surroundings are useless, unfinished or badly designed e.g. at the time I had a Huawei phone with a button on the side that was completely unnecessary, and I still don’t know what was it used for. Simultaneously, I was more and more appreciating well designed objects because I was thinking that somebody invested time and effort in making it look beautiful and easy to use, in comparison to products that were manufactured by some professional bureaucrat.

• How Steve´s design process relates to our class?

Similarly to the design thinking process we learned on class, the designers in Apple had their guidelines that made sure the customers would love the product. A major step was to create empathy, which was achieved by understanding the customers’ needs and feelings. The second step was focus on the important. They would eliminate all unimportant features in order to make the device easy to use. Often when I get annoyed of trying to figure out how a webpage or app works, I remember the importance of focus. Even though a phone is a complicated engineering masterpiece, the iPhone´s interface is designed so intuitively that even a very old and young people can find what they need in just a few klicks. This is mostly related to the devices produced while Steve was alive. Today Apple devices seem to place more emphasis on appearance at the expense of understandability and usage, however, that is a topic for another discussion. By placing themselves in the shoes of the customer designers discovered that their average customer cared about the appearance of the device and ease of use, and not thousands of technical specifications that nobody would use.

 Friendliness became another step in designing their devices. Curved lines and bright colours added were the decisive factor for customers to choose an Apple product, in comparation to black, cubical and industrial devices other companies produced. These devices looked cold and distanced for the user. Steve was great in empathizing with a consumer before a product was created, which is a trait that many successful companies share for instance the same approach was used by Spotify when disrupting the music industry. 

• How can steps from Steve´s design thinking helps us in business environment?

While I believe that many corporations have the creative capacities, many fail in focusing on what’s important. I have also been part of a meeting where all what we needed was a simple mobile application, however, the initial task has grown into something complex and unrecognisable. Different departments as purchasing, marketing, accounting, IT were adding requirements and protecting their own interests. The project manager decided to make everybody happy and took a bit of everything into the requirements document and the outcome was a disaster.

Situations like this can easily be solved by applying design thinking. Steve´s design approach would look at what the customer really needs and not the departments for their internal struggles and power games. Although it’s a good thing to get different ideas, the team has to stay focused on the ultimate goal, customer experience. This is something where Steve Jobs would not give in, and brutally wipe out the parts that disrupt the simplicity of the design or the users experience.

Finally, it can be said that Steve was a controversial person and that some of this practice are not considered as good management. However, it also clear that Steve left us a legacy of beautifully designed products that are build on the design thinking principles of empathy, focus and friendliness.