Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Using Design Thinking for Product Innovation

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Using Design Thinking for Product Innovation Most business owners would agree that product innovation is important to their success in todays world. History is full of companies that were initially very successful but failed to innovate when the market changed, says Jeremy Brandt, founder and CEO ofWe Buy Houses,an online service that connects home sellers with potential buyers. And that informs the way his company operates. “At We Buy Houses, we continuouslyidentify ways to improve our products, taking technology weve built internally for ourselves and turning it into a commercial product for our clients, says Brandt. “Agileand similar methodologies are great for consistently moving the ball forward, he continues. Innovation is about coming up with new ideas, processes and products to stay ahead of the competition and in line with what the market needs. Once the innovation happens, its all about execution, and thats where agile plays a huge role. Design thinking is an agile product innovation methodology traditionally used by designers to solve complex problems. It is a solution-focused and action-oriented way of creating a preferred future. Over the years, design thinking has taken on many faces, but theInstitute of Design at Stanford Universityproposed a groundbreaking and now frequently used series of steps, which are: Empathize Empathize mode is the first step on your product innovation journey. Here youre trying to understand your customers physical and emotional needs, how they think about the world and what is meaningful to them. Observing what people do and how they interact with their environment can give you clues. You can engage your users by preparing some questions youd like to ask, for instance: If you are standing in line at the grocery store, what app are you most likely to view first and why? For the rest of the steps, head over to the AMEX OpenForum.