Co.Designing a banking cash point, Austria
A technology, product-oriented industrial company in the area of banking automation used an open co-creative approach for the entire development process of a new product portfolio.The goal of this innovation initiative was to deliver optimal customer value, thus the classical product development process was not sufficient. It had to be extended to a co-designed process, involving different stakeholders as well as methods from different areas. In order to do so, the classical product development process was enlarged by a dedicated innovation phase and the commitment to involve users, customers, stakeholders, etc., in the co-creation process.
The process was based on methods and tools from the areas of service design, design thinking and business model innovation. In addition, classical product management and product development approaches were applied. The project started in 2011, the product was launched on the market in 2016
#SKILLS OF THE FACILITATOR
Keeping a long-term process alive
The facilitator oversaw a five-year process of active participation of all relevant internal and external stakeholders in a challenging setting, trying to find a balance between industry/ banking with its legal and privacy restrictions on the one hand and open innovation on the other hand.
The facilitator provided a setting of open communication and high appreciation of ideas and a network of people, the basis for co-ownership and shared vision. Permanent feedback on the implementation status of ideas and on rejected ideas was crucial.
Curiosity Vs Fear
The facilitator had to deal with the challenging group of product/software developers: their curiosity was stronger than criticizing or boycotting necessary changes out of fear of change, liability to perfectionism or fear of making mistakes. Developers were curious in discovering customer processes.
Playfulness
The facilitator used, among other things, video prototyping as a tool to encourage feedback in comparison to presentations. Storytelling fosters common vision and is easy to implement using smartphones and simple cutting tools. The facilitator encouraged to bring personas to life. Personas were actively invited to meetings. The participants adopted personas, a playful element, to safeguard their interests in the meetings.
Degree of co-creation
How much co-creation/ design thinking is accepted in organizations? The facilitator was very sensitive to find the right balance.
Clear distinction of roles
Roles were clearly defined and not blurred from beginning to end. There was a clear distinction, among others, between project management and product management, facilitator and participant. One person couldn’t take different roles.
#COMMON VISION & SHARED VALUES
Keeping up the spirit for five years
The development and, especially, upholding of a common vision and shared values were crucial for the success of this project. Maintaining motivation to work on a new project for five years is a big task. It was achieved by using different kinds of methods and required a skilled facilitator.
Clear goals & processes from the beginning
Everybody involved in the project was aware of the overall goal right from start: the development of a new banking machine in a co-creative process. The diversity of the team was also a crucial factor. Not only was the core staff included, but also lead users and the cleaning staff took part. This diversity provided a holistic look at the future product as well as a direct and immediate feedback from future users / consumers.
Source:
Co-Create Best Practice Full Report 2017
Contact:
Patricia Stark / SPLEND, splend.at
Foto Credits: SPLEND
