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The ºÚÁÏÃÅ Blog>Design Thinking: How to Develop a New Product that Solves a Problem

Design Thinking: How to Develop a New Product that Solves a Problem

Posted by Lesley Vos

Did you know that ? AsÌýsobering asÌýthat statistic may be, it’s not said toÌýdiscourage you. Quite theÌýopposite. MyÌýhope isÌýthat byÌýacknowledging theÌýrisks, you’ll beÌýencouraged toÌýimplement theÌýstrategies necessary toÌýbuck this staggering trend. And you can! SoÌýhow doÌýyou avoid being inÌýtheÌý90%? ByÌýdesigning aÌýproduct that solves your customers’ problem.

This article will guide you through theÌýprocess ofÌýproduct development using what’s known asÌý“design thinking.” How will you solve your audience’s problems? What’s theÌýrelationship between aÌýperson, that person’s problem, andÌýyour product-solution? Learn all about what design-thinking isÌýandÌýhow you can use itÌýtoÌýcreate aÌýproduct your customers can’t resist.

Let’s dive in.

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The Principles ofÌýDesign Thinking

When itÌýcomes toÌýdesign thinking, theÌý“design” isn’t about website graphics orÌýpretty animations. InÌýdesign thinking, “design” isÌýeverything related toÌýtheÌýperson your end product isÌýmeant for, i.e., your customer.

Design thinking isÌýaÌýway ofÌýframing andÌýdirecting theÌýprocess ofÌýnew product development. AsÌýaÌýframework, design thinking adheres toÌýaÌýset ofÌýprinciples:

Design thinkers don’t believe that every Jack has his Jill, aka “there’s aÌýcustomer forÌýevery product.” They act differently: »å´ÇÌý°ù±ð²õ±ð²¹°ù³¦³ó, define customer pain points, andÌýdevelop aÌýproduct-solution forÌýeach one.

For your e-commerce business toÌýsucceed, you can’t beÌýlike theÌýparent who cooks bad food andÌýforces their children toÌýeat itÌýjust because they made it. And some entrepreneurs are; they launch websites just because they have something ready toÌýsell, andÌýthey never consider whether orÌýnot users actually want toÌýbuy what they’re selling. ItÌýdoesn’t matter whether you like itÌýorÌýnot. The only thing that matters isÌýwhether your audience likes it.

Long story short, develop products with design thinking inÌýmind.

Design Thinking inÌýtheÌýProcess ofÌýProduct Development

AsÌýaÌýmethod, design thinking consists ofÌý: empathy, defining, ideation, prototyping, testing, andÌýimplementing. IfÌýyou doÌýeverything right, you’ll get aÌýready prototype ofÌýyour e-commerce product that will solve your user’s problem.

So, here’s how toÌýdevelop aÌýnew product with design thinking.

Stage 1:ÌýEmpathy

Theory

Empathy isÌýabout understanding your customers andÌýtheir livesÌý— knowing what they do, think, andÌýfeel. It’s not about conducting sitting atÌýaÌýdesk andÌýhunting around theÌýinternet forÌýideas. It’s about actual communication with your would-be customers toÌýdetermine ifÌýthere’s aÌýproblem andÌýhow you might solve it.

InÌýpractice, this stage isÌýbest implemented through interviews.

Directly observe what users do, ask what they want, andÌýtry toÌýunderstand what might motivate orÌýdiscourage them from using your product. The goal isÌýtoÌýget enough information that you begin toÌýempathize with your target audience.

ItÌýhelps toÌýcreate aÌýbuyer persona andÌýaÌý, asÌýwell asÌýexamining theÌýcorrelation between aÌýcustomer, his problems, andÌýyour product (or your competitors’ product ifÌýyours isn’t ready yet).

Practice

During theÌýempathy phase, ask about your user’s latest experience related toÌýtheÌýproblem you think your product solves. Try toÌýreveal asÌýmany pain points asÌýpossible. Imagine yourself asÌýaÌýdoctor diagnosing aÌýdisease: theÌýmore symptoms you find, theÌýbetter your diagnosis, andÌýultimately, theÌýbetter theÌýtreatment you’ll give.

Lifehack: Buy coffee coupons orÌýAmazon gift cards, andÌýoffer them toÌýyour audience asÌýincentive forÌýtheÌýinterview.

Example

Let’s say you sell smartphones. SoÌýyou need toÌýknow why aÌýperson needs aÌýsmartphone, how they choose which smartphone toÌýbuy, andÌýhow they search websites toÌýfind it.

First, ask them about smartphones:

After that, ask about their latest experience with buying aÌýsmartphone online:

IfÌýtheÌýperson you’re interviewing isÌýone ofÌýyour current customers, ask about their experience using your website:

Sometimes customers lie: not because they necessarily want toÌýlie, but because ofÌýtheir inflated ego orÌýself-doubt. So, ask andÌýobserve. Learn toÌýsee where words fail toÌýmeet actions. , avoid binary responses, andÌýask plenty ofÌý“Why?” questions toÌýmine forÌýmore information.

InÌýshort, get toÌýtheÌýheart ofÌýtheÌýproblem. Find out something about your customers that they don’t know about themselves. Become like aÌýpsychologist who learns everything about your clients’ lives, andÌýknow when toÌýstay silent toÌýmake sure they have plenty ofÌýtime toÌýspeak. InÌýother words, observe, engage, andÌýlisten. This isÌýtheÌýsecret toÌýcreating anÌýexceptional customer experience.

Stage 2:ÌýDefining

Theory

IfÌýyou did everything right inÌýtheÌýempathy stage, your notebook should beÌýfull ofÌýproblems, needs, andÌýcomments from your audience byÌýthis point. IfÌýyou interviewed 10-15Ìýpeople, you should have enough data toÌýhighlight their common problems. IfÌýyou interviewed more than 20-30Ìýpeople, you’ll also beÌýable toÌýsegment those audiences aÌýbit more toÌýdefine commonalities between people ofÌýsimilar demographics andÌýpsychographics.

There’s noÌýneed toÌýhighlight every possible segment: two orÌýthree should beÌýfine. Define their points ofÌýview toÌýunderstand them better, andÌýthis will help you define your problem statement (aÌýshort statement ofÌýtheÌýproblem your product will address).

Practice

Based onÌýwhat you’ve learned about your customers andÌýtheir context, define theÌýchallenge you’ll beÌýaddressing. ToÌýdoÌýthat, you’ll unpack theÌýobservations you gathered atÌýtheÌýempathy stage.

Take all theÌýdata you got from interviews andÌýcreate aÌýtableÌý— like theÌýone shown inÌýtheÌýimage belowÌý— toÌýdevelop aÌý: name, age, gender, contacts, occupation, interests, etc.

After you’ve done this forÌýall your interviewees, determine what they have inÌýcommon andÌýsegment them into different groups based onÌýthose connections. IfÌýaÌýsubstantial percentage ofÌýinterviewees seem toÌýhave theÌýsame problem, see what unites those people.

Then you’ll take theÌýproblem most ofÌýyour audience shares, andÌýstart generating ideas toÌýsolve itÌýwith theÌýhelp ofÌýyour new product development process.

Example

ToÌýdefine theÌýproblem, consider HMW (How Might We…?) questions.


Stage 3:ÌýIdeation

Theory

Now that you know theÌýaudience andÌýtheir problems, it’s time toÌýgenerate theÌýbroadest range ofÌýpossibilities toÌýsolve them that would enable you toÌý.

The ideation stage isn’t about finding theÌýright idea just yet. It’s about brainstorming andÌýcreating asÌýmany ideas asÌýpossible. Here, you’ll sketch out different ideas, mix andÌýremix them, rebuild others’ ideas, etc.

Practice

The first 5-10Ìýideas that come toÌýmind during aÌýbrainstorming session are usually boring orÌýduplicative ofÌýothers. For effective marketing brainstorming, consider aÌý7-10-17Ìý²õ³Ù°ù²¹³Ù±ð²µ²â.

Follow these 7Ìýrules:

Avoid these 10Ìýmistakes:

Consider when you develop products: travel inÌýtime, teleport, reshaping yourself, assuming different roles, filling theÌýgaps, spying, switching brains, choosing theÌýbest ideas, building mind maps, searching forÌýhelp, playing sports, noÌýstops, aÌýSWOT analysis, criticizing, unlimited resources, aÌýrandom factor, exaggerating.


Stage 4:ÌýPrototyping

Theory

You’ve developed aÌýbunch ofÌýideas toÌýsolve aÌýproblem during brainstorming. Now it’s time toÌýbuild aÌýtactile representation ofÌýthose solutions toÌýask forÌýfeedback from your audience.

During this stage, your goal isÌýtoÌýunderstand what components ofÌýyour idea work andÌýdon’t work. Create aÌýsolution prototype (aÌýnew landing page, product descriptions, category, lead magnet, etc.) toÌýsee what customers think ofÌýit. The prototype isÌýanÌýexplanation ofÌýhow theÌýproduct will work.

Practice

When building aÌýprototype, don’t spend too long onÌýit. Your task here isÌýtoÌýbuild anÌýexperience andÌýlet users practice itÌýasÌýsoon asÌýpossible. They’ll experience theÌýprototype andÌýshare their thoughts onÌýit. (Opening andÌýfollow-up questions will help you gather feedback.)

Change theÌýprototype based onÌýtheÌýfeedback you receive, andÌýthen observe users’ reactions. Each prototype ofÌýyour product gets you closer toÌýtheÌýfinal solution.

Create several prototypes ofÌýyour product. ItÌýcan beÌýanÌýupgrade ofÌýanÌýexisting product, anÌýadditional service, orÌýanÌýentirely new product.

Oftentimes, your audience will reject theÌýideas that you initially liked. And that’s what makes theÌýdesign thinking method soÌývaluable forÌýnew product development: itÌýhelps you avoid products that could have been expensive failures without theÌýright feedback.

Stage 5:ÌýTesting

Theory

The testing phase isÌýabout gathering customer feedback onÌýyour prototype. You show them something tangible andÌýask, “How about this?” Even ifÌýaÌýuser likes theÌýidea ofÌýtheÌýproduct, they may not consider its prototype theÌýbest.

Practice

IfÌýpossible, recreate theÌýenvironment where consumers will use theÌýproduct. IfÌýit’s aÌýnew café design, you can use 3DÌýmodels, turn onÌýbackground noise that might beÌýheard inÌýaÌýcafé, andÌýbring coffee andÌýcroissants toÌýtheÌýtest. IfÌýit’s aÌýnew kitchen machine, you can rent anÌýapartment forÌýaÌýday andÌýconduct tests there.

Record everything your participants doÌýduring theÌýtest. Next, analyze your participants andÌýidentify patterns: andÌýremember, their behavior can often tell you more than their words.


Your prototypes can offer varying levels ofÌýdetail. soÌýyou’ll have time toÌýconduct several tests. First, show drawings ofÌýyour new product; then its 3D-model prototypes; andÌýfinally aÌýworking prototype andÌýyour ready-to-sell product.

Example

Let’s say you sell clothes. You create your first prototype forÌýaÌýnew pair ofÌýjeans, andÌýafter introducing itÌýtoÌýyour audience, you discover that aÌýselect segment would like jeans specifically forÌýdisco dancing.

So, your next prototype isÌýaÌýdrawing ofÌýyour jeans with aÌýnew light-emitting weave toÌýmake customers stand out onÌýtheÌýdance floor. Your second audience likes these new jeans more, but wants you toÌýmake theÌýweave bigger. You take this recommendation into account andÌýcreate aÌýcorresponding 3DÌýmodel ofÌýyour jeans toÌýshow them from all sides.

Now your audience says they would like toÌýsee weaves that wrap around theÌýentire jean. So, you doÌýthat. They ask toÌýmake theÌýweaves onÌýtheÌýback smaller. You doÌýthat too. Now you’ve fine-tuned theÌýprototype enough that you create aÌýworking sample forÌýyour audience toÌýtry on.

They worry about buttons, aÌýzipper, andÌýwhether theÌýweaves would beÌýwiped out during washing. SoÌýyou change theÌýbuttons andÌýtheÌýzipper, andÌýgive them theÌýjeans forÌýaÌýmonth toÌýtest byÌýwashing them every two days. Then you gather their feedback, make tweaks, andÌýrepeat this final stage asÌýneeded until theÌýdesired product isÌýachieved.

Stage 6:ÌýImplementing

AsÌýtheÌýmost crucial step ofÌýdesign thinking, “” isÌýtheÌýkey toÌýsuccessfully launching your new product.

The final stage ofÌýdesign thinking isÌýabout staffing, funding, andÌýmapping out your e-commerce product timeline. This isÌýwhere you’ll determine milestones forÌýyour solution andÌýdevelop aÌýfunding/long-term revenue strategy toÌýgrow your business.

Points toÌýconsider:

Note: The product design process never ends. You’ll ideate andÌýtest your product again andÌýagain toÌýdeliver theÌýbest possible solution andÌýencourage your customers toÌýkeep returning forÌýmore purchases inÌýtheÌýfuture.

Designing E-commerce Products: What’s Next?

SoÌýwhat have weÌýlearned?

With design thinking, you’ll create andÌýrefine products that solve real problems forÌýyour target audience. And solving problems means more profit, happier customers, andÌýlifelong fans.

Harness your new design thinking skills toÌýstart creating products that sell.

Ìý

About The Author
Lesley Vos is a professional copywriter and guest contributor, currently blogging at . Specializing in data research, web text writing, and content promotion, she is in love with words, non-fiction literature, and jazz. Visit her Twitter @LesleyVos to say hi and see more works.

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