Human-Centered Design
Our People — Our Power — Our Opportunity
Harness the power of your people to create human centered solutions and exceptional business outcomes
By Sonia Mooney & Soumyasanto Sen
The human centered design* framework is based on a philosophy that empowers an individual or team to design products, services, systems, and experiences that address the core needs of those who experience a problem.
It’s a hot topic within organisations, because it doesn’t matter which industry we operate in, our people are our number one asset — they are our business. To harness the power of our people and drive our organisations forward we need to create an environment where not only can they survive, they can thrive.
Human centered design helps us solve real business problems in an efficient and empathetic way. The core principal is designing with our people, not for them — creating effective solutions that our people will actually use, delivering the business outcomes we need.
This approach helps us to improve the employee experience and the engagement levels of our people, delivering productivity gains. It also increases the adoption rates of our products and services by creating solutions which are easy to use and add value to our people, minimising process waste and building habits, further increasing productivity levels and delivering exceptional business outcomes.
But what does this mean in practice for HR leaders and functions? How can you harness the power of human centered design, and if you’re just getting started with this way of working where should you begin? Right here. We’d like to de mystify this valuable approach for you. Provide you with six easily understandable steps utilising the core concepts, that you can start using in your organisations to realise the benefits.
One critical point to keep in mind is that the human centered design framework provides, in essence — a dynamic toolkit, and the freedom to use it to best suit your unique set of circumstances. The steps don’t always have to be sequential, you don’t need to follow them in a specific order, they can be used in parallel or repeated, you can even go backwards. The key is to use the steps to gather the information and insights you need — learning, validating and iterating as you go.
Realising the benefits of human centered design can actually be very straightforward. You don’t need to put it off until next year, or wait until you have more time, capacity or budget. The perfect time will never arrive and in fact, the best time to begin is right now.
Are you ready to get started?
Step 1 — Walk in their shoes
It’s so easy to think we know what the problem is, but this can often be perception rather than reality. Understand the problem you are trying to solve from the perspective of the people it impacts — the user. Talk to your people and walk in their shoes through the entire process, observing how it feels for them. Experience their reality and capture all your findings.
Step 2 — Clarify the problem
Getting clear on the real business problem is critical. Analyse your feedback, findings and insights. Determine the actual business problem that needs to be solved and the root causes. Identify the needs of your users, define any particular constraints you may have and shape your design vision.
Step 3 — Idea generation
Too often we can jump straight to the solution that we think we need, which holds us back from exploring the many options out there which could deliver much better results. Bring a diverse team together, ideally cross functionally to generate as many potential solutions as you can — you don’t need a lot of detail at this stage. Including the people who will use the end solution in this process can be incredibly valuable. Unleash your creativity and free your minds to think big and broad without analysing the options you come up with.
Step 4 — Bring your ideas to life
The users of your solution — your people, will be your greatest asset as you work through the feasibility of your ideas. Select your top few options and bring your ideas to life, ready to start experimenting. Create simple mock ups to walk your people through your proposed solutions. This could be a storyboard, a video, a cardboard model. Perfection is not necessary — clear, simple and functional is all that you need to demonstrate your ideas.
Step 5 — Test, learn, refine, repeat
Testing mock ups with the people who will use your solution is an effective way of trialling ideas to determine effectiveness and organisational fit before committing, and to help minimise risk. Think big, but start small. Walk your people through your thinking, get their honest feedback and decide which ideas are worthy of taking forward — test, learn, refine and repeat. Successes can then be scaled into actual products and services within your organisations.
Step 6 — Evaluate the outcome to determine business value
The best solution is the one that gets used. A successful outcome is one that resolves the original business problem, generating strong adoption and positive feedback from the people who use it, positively impacting business outcomes. Use the voice of your people — data and feedback to assess the results, using these insights to further refine your solution as your business, and the world around you evolves.
Successfully navigating your teams through this dynamic framework will help you harness the power of your people to deliver successful, human centered solutions and exceptional business outcomes.
Are you ready to get started?
Your Takeaway Toolkit
If you’d like to learn more check out The Human Centered Design Society and The Interaction Design Foundation.
For practical resources D.School has an amazing selection of materials to support you at every step.
Sonia Mooney is a Global HR Leader and Consultant with over 20 years experience, helping HR functions to maximise their impact through human centric process and technology optimisation. Sonia is industry-recognized for delivering creative, transformative change, market-leading solutions, and outstanding business results on a global scale. Find out more at: https://www.soniamooney.com
Soumyasanto Sen is a Digital HR, Transformation and People Analytics Leader with over 18 years of experience in advisory and management in technology and transformation across various large firms worldwide. Soumya is the Author of the book ‘Digital HR Strategy’ and ranks among the top global Influencers and thought leaders in HR Technology. Find out more at: https://peopleconscience.com
