Page 327 - The Design Thinking Playbook

#3.7 New technologies & best customer experience # Business Innovation

RÉSUMÉS Since 2015, Armin Ledergerber has been a Service Designer with a Beat is an interdisciplinary inventor, founder, and lecturer at
focus on social media and cognitive computing in Customer Inter- various universities. His research areas are service excellence
action Experience at Swisscom, the leading telecommunications and business innovation. As a graduate electrical engineer with
company in Switzerland. Prior to that, he was a project manager postgraduate studies in microelectronics, software design, and
and research associate at the Institute for Marketing Management business administration, he has experienced the whole value
at Zurich University of Applied Sciences. chain from R&D to top management. With his consulting company
ErfolgPlus, he accompanies companies in the digital transformati-
on. In the startup TRIHOW he researches the use of smart, haptic
aids in the design thinking environment.

WHY ARE YOU A I came into contact with design thinking when doing my master’s I have always been fascinated by humans and technology. I have
DESIGN THINKING degree, especially in the area of customer journey mapping and the found deep chasm between people and technology in many
EXPERT? development of personas. Since then, I have had many opportuni- companies. One talks a lot and understands little. Tangible proto-
ties to apply other methods of design thinking in various projects types in design thinking enable us to better understand, unleash
in order to design, test, and finally realize user-centric solutions creativity, and create magical team moments. A big concern for
iteratively. me is to bring back the haptics into the work processes. It is
probably the most important ingredient in digital transformation
and combines people, business, and culture.

YOUR MOST IMPORTANT Get out on the street and to the user or potential customer as early Design thinking uses all the senses. Think again and again
DESIGN THINKING TIP? as possible. Ideally, you confront the user already with the first idea how you can optimally incorporate them. Be brave and quickly
or concept outline so that inputs can be integrated in the next itera- overcome the hurdle from thinking to doing. Use the space and
tion. Put simply: Don’t wait too long to venture into the real world. be skillful with all the expressions that make your thoughts
touchable. This way of working is the ideal track for the pathway
from the ego to the we.

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