User-Centered Innovation Is Not Sustainable - Roberto Verganti by Roberto Verganti | 1:52 PM March 19, 2010 Last week I was in London at “The Big Rethink” conference of The Economist. Its goal was to explore the challenges of facing the world after the recession and how innovation and design could help address them. It came as no surprise that one of the more pressing problems mentioned was sustainable growth, especially the reduction of resource consumption and the protection of the environment. What did surprise me, however, was that many experts were still supporting user-centered innovation as the panacea for all these challenges. User-centered innovation has been popular in the pre-recession economy. Take the well-known example of the Toyota Prius. Only forward-looking executives, designers, and, of course, policy makers may introduce sustainable innovation into the economic picture. It is only within the framework of a vision-centered process that users can provide precious insights.
IDEO | A Design and Innovation Consulting Firm www.hbs.edu/units/tom/seminars/2003/rverganti.pdf As the world of operations has changed, so have interests and priorities within the Unit. Historically, the TOM Unit focused on manufacturing and the development of physical products. Over the past several years, we have expanded our research, course development, and course offerings to encompass new issues in information technology, supply chains, and service industries. The field of TOM is concerned with the design, management, and improvement of operating systems and processes. As we seek to understand the challenges confronting firms competing in today's demanding environment, the focus of our work has broadened to include the multiple activities comprising a firm's "operating core":
Schools Companies Welcome to the Virtual Crash Course in Design Thinking Welcome to the d.school’s Virtual Crash Course resource page! We know not everyone can make a trip to the d.school to experience how we teach design thinking. So, we created this online version of one of our most frequently sought after learning tools. If you choose to participate, in 90 minutes you will be taken through a full design cycle by participating in The Gift-Giving Project. Through this experience we hope you will take away some of the basic principles of Design Thinking and start to adapt them into your personal and professional routines. Below, you will find three sections: Gear Up!
A Bike Helmet Inspired By A Woodpecker's Head What's the Latest Development? As a graduate student, designer Anirudha Surabhi suffered a concussion when he fell from his bike, despite the fact that he was wearing a helmet. From this, he decided to try to build a better bike helmet for his final student project. Consequently, starting this month, customers in the UK and Japan will be able to buy the Kranium, a super-strong helmet that was inspired by woodpeckers: specifically, the way in which they are able to do their job without suffering any brain injury. What's the Big Idea? Surabhi discovered that a woodpecker's beak is separated from its skull by flexible, spongy cartilage that serves as a shock absorber. Photo Credit: Flickr/Richard Masoner/Cyclelicious Read it at BBC Future
The Power of Asking the Right Questions Some think tenacity is the secret to following through on New Year’s resolutions. I think it’s more about asking the right questions and having the confidence to act on them. I talked with my friend Don Norman recently about the value of asking interesting questions—a central tenant of design thinking. Don is a fascinating guy. A former Apple exec, academic, and author of The Design of Everyday Things, his latest adventure is teaching an online course at Udacity based on key concepts from his book. The two of us sat down at IDEO to discuss how design thinking not only makes you better at design, but also gives you a set of problem-solving tools to help improve everything in your life, from advancing your career to throwing a great dinner party. Whatever you’ve resolved to do this year—exercise more, learn a language, change jobs—I hope you’ll take my advice on how to start designing your life to create real, lasting, and meaningful change in 2014.