Feature
Design Thinking
EN talks to Harvard design thinking expert
Jake Austin and big data whizz Mark Parsons
about thinking differently in a time of
unprecedented chaos
O
ver recent years the
discipline of Design
Thinking has gained
significant momentum.
How might design thinking
be useful for organisers in
dealing with the aftermath
of the current crisis? It’s
about how the anticipated
constraints provide
opportunities to address
underlying issues and
engage with communities in
a proactive way.
So, what is design thinking
and how can it help?
Design Thinking is a
process to create, validate
and test different ideas. It’s
become very fashionable in
technology companies and
is now taught at leading
business schools. It’s fast
becoming more mainstream
because it actually works.
26 — May
Design Thinking is
particularly well suited to
event organisers because
it’s methodology is similar
to how shows are created.
There is a vision of: what
the show should be, how it
is curated, what it should
feel like, what matters to
attendees and exhibitors,
and why they should visit.
Each year new ideas,
technologies and concepts
are trialled and built on the
prior edition. This process
of prototyping, testing and
iteration is natural to many
in the events industry.
While a quick search
on the web will turn up
hundreds of frameworks,
we favour a simple five step
approach championed by
Stanford University.
We focused on the first
three stages in this article.
This helped us frame the
options that might be
available to organisers
during the upcoming
months. By understanding
the constraints, we proposed
an approach to build a better
show within the framework
of the anticipated measures
to reduce community
transmission of COVID-19.
So how do you help
thousands of attendees and
hundreds of exhibitors when
you can’t hold a show?
We started to approach
this by unpicking the
problem and defining what
a tradeshow is, and what
value it delivers. Using this
approach, our thoughts
turned to jigsaws. Maybe
the jigsaws we’ve both
rediscovered during the
lockdown inspired us!
While tradeshows split
broadly into two main
groups - exhibitors and
attendees, the underlying
pieces which make up a
tradeshow are thousands
of people with problems
(or opportunities). When a
show is held, the pieces are
put together in a specific
way. Some pieces are the
customer, some pieces are
the product. Organisers now
face a number of constraints
which prevent them from
assembling the same jigsaw.
That’s not to say you can’t
start to put the pieces
together again in different
ways though, tactical ways,
to build a better show when
you can.
What are the implications of
likely constraints?
Turning to the likely
constraints, there are four
which are likely to have
a significant impact on
organisers over the coming
months. Firstly, the need
for social distancing,
secondly, the limits on
gathering size, thirdly, travel
restrictions and fourthly
venue access, will all limit
options. In simple terms, we
might not be able to gather
many people from different
countries close together in
a physical space for a long
while.
With no ability to gather
people together, the reality
is that online is the only
solution in the short term.
But digital offerings lack the
serendipity, the surprise,
and the sense of community
which physical creates. Who
isn’t closer to their friends,
family and colleagues during
this crisis? We all have a
physical need to belong. As
we emerge from the crisis,
we can use this need to
belong to help customers
connect again.
Gathering size is the most
challenging constraint. A