“Design thinking” for sustainably successful apps
“We need an app and it should be able to do xy!” This is how most conversations about application development start. The leap from idea to implementation is not far! But does the app actually solve the existing problem? What do users think of it? How sustainable is its success? In order to guarantee that the app actually meets all the requirements, it is worth investing time. Design thinking is the most successful approach for implementing a product today. It consists of several sub-steps in which reflection, collection and rethinking take place again and again until, at the end, not only a prototype but also initial information on user behavior is on the table. New specialists can be brought in during the individual stages and new teams can be thrown together: All with the aim of making the end product – in our case an app – even better and even more successful.
A perfect example of this method is “Fix it!”, a collaboration between Spark Works AG and bitforge on behalf of the City of Zurich.
This is what the prototype of the web app that was used in the schools looked like. Image: Smart Works AG
Empathize and define: In the beginning is the problem
Before talking about the final function of an app, the first step is to address the problem. This is difficult for many managers, because who likes to talk about problems? We look for solutions as quickly as possible, which often ends in a quick fix. So we rephrase our statement from the beginning: “I have problem xy and need a practical and user-friendly solution.”
The problem in the case of the city of Zurich: Until now, it was tedious and time-consuming for pupils and teachers to report damage to the school building to the janitor. As a result, most of them didn’t do it in the first place. From the dripping Brünneli to the squeaky blackboard or a smear in the school toilet – in future it should be easier to report such damage. So the first question was why damage is currently rarely reported and what makes the process so complicated that those affected refrain from doing so. Spark Works went straight to the source and interviewed future users. A central point of “design thinking”: putting yourself in the users’ shoes and constantly asking yourself what they need and, above all, why do they need it? After all, it is important to put the user at the center of finding a solution.
Ideals: time to get creative!
The creative phase only begins once the problem has been formulated and the needs and risks are known. The idea that ultimately prevailed with the Spark Works team consists of a web app that allows users to send a damage report with a photo to the janitor. Using a location-based QR code, the location of the damage is also transmitted immediately, without users having to waste a lot of time describing and explaining it. Smart Works next used wireframes to create the template for such an app – an important tool in innovative prototyping. Then Bitforge came into play.
Prototype and Test: A complete success
We programmed the prototype based on the wireframes. To make it as easy to use as possible, we opted for a web app in order to avoid an additional step (namely downloading an app from the store to a private cell phone). “The collaboration with Bitforge was very inspiring because we looked at the same project from two different perspectives. Bitforge brought a lot of technical expertise and we were able to take the user perspective – always with a high level of understanding for the other point of view,” says Daniel Perschy, project manager at Spark Works.
The pilot test started with the prototype at three different schools in the city of Zurich. After this phase, Spark Works and bitforge again gathered feedback from users and found that “Fix it!” had established itself as the exclusive channel for reporting damage. The number of people reporting damage also increased. The app was therefore a success. With this data obtained from the individual steps of the process, the dossier was sent back to the city of Zurich, which is so enthusiastic about the results that an official roll-out to all schools in the city is planned for the next two years.
This is how the design thinking process works at Bitforge. Collaboration and step-by-step exploration of the solution lead to a sustainable goal. Image: Bitforge
Effort that pays off
This process may seem time-consuming at first glance, but it is well worth the effort. The Harvard Business Review has summarized in detail exactly why. This includes, for example, the fact that different perspectives and emotions flow into the process through creative-collaborative cooperation. Design thinking focuses on engagement, dialog and learning. Thanks to the clear structure of the innovation process, design thinking not only helps the team to work together optimally, but also to agree on the essential goals of each phase. The structure of design thinking leads to a natural flow from the analysis of the problem to the market launch of the end product.
Bitforge also follows the “design thinking” process in-house when planning and developing apps. This means that we can not only support customers from start to finish, but also offer modular support for one or more process steps where necessary or desired – as with “Fix it!”. We have specialists from all areas, help with analyzing the problem, with the creative process of finding ideas and, of course, with the technical implementation, from the creation of the user interface to the actual programming. This makes us an all-rounder agency in the field of application development.
