Design Thinking adopts a solution-based approach to complex business problems. It has become highly popular and adopted by companies such as Starbucks, Apple, IBM, Nike, Colgate, among others for various new projects.

Design thinking is not a clear-set formula that can be applied to a certain business problem to generate a solution.

Rather, think of it as a change in mindset. Design thinking implies a shift from traditional ways of thinking of how to run a business to a creatively confident one.

Its steps are: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test, Implement

In terms of qualifications, people from any domain - IT, Manufacturing, HR, Management, Consulting among others - can reap the benefits of becoming adept with design thinking.

To truly gain the expertise required to properly utilise design thinking to your business, it is always recommended to take a short, immersive course in its theory and applications.

This is a 12 week online course, requiring 3-5 hours of time commitment per week. As a learner, you will have live sessions with faculty from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, as well as weekly feedback and live interactive sessions with an experienced course facilitator. To ensure you have actually gained knowledge, this course has 10 assignments and a final reflection to test for your understanding.

Given that most people looking to learn design thinking are already employed full-time, an online course from an accredited institution may come in handy.

Design thinking is a simplified form of design process and this has been put together by a company called IDEO so they called it design thinking. It is the design process. The design thinking process works from problem identification empathy. Empathy is what comes first so first empathise with the customer, with the situation  then identify the problem, then create options as to what the possible solutions can be then test those options by going out to the consumers and then finally deciding what to do and coming out of the situation. This is the design process but today it is being used for looking at water problems, health problems, manufacturing problems. This process can be used for many processes. That is why design thinking is everywhere.Designer is really immersed in it and does it naturally because every project goes through that design and we are seeing today that designers being called in for health problems, traffic light problems, for recreating the New Delhi railway station so very large problem, the designers are brought in to hold the design thinking process.

Nandita Abraham
President, Pearl Academy