Business Design. A up-and-coming discipline. And that is not strange. The rise of Business Design cannot be separated from the current business climate. Technological and social developments follow each other at a rapid pace. There is simply no time left to endlessly tinker with products and services before they go to market.
There is a good chance that ideas that initially seemed so innovative were overtaken by reality before they were introduced. These circumstances require a different approach to innovation processes. And that is exactly where Business Design comes into play.
So it is high time to take a look at how organizations (yes, including yours!) implement Business Designwise advocate. Because to what extent are organizations already working according to Business Design principles?
In other words: how mature is an organization when it comes to working according to the Business Design principles? And in which aspects still need improvement? To answer these questions we have developed the Business Design Maturity Model. In this article we introduce this model, but first we will take you through the basics van Business Design.
Definitie Business Design
There are various definitions of Business Design floating around. It is a discipline that is not easily captured in a few words. IDEO defines it as:
Business Design is a way of operating that combines the methods and mindsets of Design Thinking with the tools of business thinkers, analysts and strategists to create businesses with long-term viability.
The Rotman School of Businesses puts it this way:
Business Design is a human-centered approach to innovation. It applies the principles and practices of design to help organizations create new value and new forms of competitive advantage. At its core, Business Design is the integration of customer empathy, experience design and business strategy.
What Business Design boils down to is that the more analytical ‘business thinking’ is combined with the more emotional ‘design thinking’. To find the right balance here, three principles are central to Business Design:
- Desirability: products or services solve a ‘problem’ for the end user.
- Viability: products or services generate money for the organization.
- Feasibility: the organization is able to actually produce the products or services.
At the intersection of those three principles we find the sweet spot, the essence of Business Design: value creation. Value for the end user and for the organization. If these perspectives are not in balance, products or services will ultimately yield too little. They are actually doomed to failure.
Business Design Maturity Model
Working according to the principles of Business Design means that when developing and maintaining products and services you must continuously ask yourself whether they are desirable, viable and feasible. And for this, these principles must be integrated throughout the entire organization. Getting that done is quite a job.
The Business Design Maturity Model is a first step to kick off this conversation within your organization. You can also use the model to see where you are now and see where your organization still needs to take steps.
The Business Design Maturity Model consists of three layers, from high-level dimensions to very concrete building blocks. We start with the first and most abstract layer: the dimensions (dimensions) (1). In part 2 of this article we explain the next two layers of aspects (areas) (2) and building blocks (building blocks) (3) further.
The different dimensions
The first layer of the model consists of four dimensions. These dimensions outline a Business Design mature-organization. By comparing your organization to this, you can determine where you stand. Is the dimension (partly) present at all? And how far has it been developed? If you have an idea of this, it will logically become clear where improvement is still needed and what you should focus on as an organization.
- Internal synergy: simply, the noses must face the same way. Business Design must be central to the way an organization works. To achieve this, collaboration is important. Business Design really is one team effort.
- Customer focus: the needs and wishes of end users must be the basis for all important choices. In short, the customer is the most important stakeholder. If customers are listened to carefully – within all layers of the organization – the chances are up payback on investments many times greater.
- Capacity: To apply Business Design properly, the expertise, procedures and resources must of course be available to work with it. And because Business Design is still developing, knowledge must be continuously updated.
- Maneuverability: organizations must be able to continuously adapt to unforeseen circumstances. To put it very popularly you snooze, you lose. We all know examples of organizations where this has not been successful (think of Nokia, which had its smartphone on the shelves or V&D, which recognized the added value of online shopping too late).
The aspects and building blocks
Now that you know which dimensions the model consists of, it’s time to dive into the next two layers: aspects and building blocks of Business Design. We will go into this in more detail in part 2 of this article. So keep an eye on this publication! Then we ultimately arrive at concrete actions that everyone can apply within their company. If you have read both articles, you know exactly what Business Design is. And how you can grow this in your organization.
It remains for us to emphasize that there is no linear path to Business Design. For example, it may be that your organization is doing very well in terms of customer focus, but still needs to work on agility. And that’s okay. There is no mapped route. You must see for your own organization where the biggest learning points are and work on them.
Source: www.frankwatching.com
