KATHLEEN KELLY JANUS
  • Home
  • About
  • Book
  • Resources
  • Educator's Hub
  • Speaking
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Book
  • Resources
  • Educator's Hub
  • Speaking
  • Contact
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

3/14/2018 0 Comments

How to Incorporate Human-Centered Design into Your Organization

Picture
This piece originally appeared in Medium as a guest post for +Acumen.

You may have heard of the phrase “human-centered design,” an idea swarming Silicon Valley, and often the origin of some of our favorite tech and social products. But what is it, exactly, and what does it mean to the success of your nonprofit? Simply put, human-centered design is an approach to problem solving that starts with the people you’re designing for, and ends with new solutions that are tailored to suit their needs. Seems simple enough, right?

​While conducting research for Social Startup Success, I saw a consistent theme in my interviews with breakthrough social entrepreneurs: many had used this innovation practice to develop their models for products or services, and put them to the test before going out to raise capital and seek press coverage. With testing underway, the social startups were able to develop more effective programs and products, and, at the same time, craft a persuasive story about how they had arrived at these models.

If you’re thinking about incorporating human-centered design into your testing process, you might give these methods a try.

Get out from behind your desk.
To stay innovative, it’s essential to stay inspired. Get out and build strong connections with the end-users in order to build a better understanding of their needs. Host focus groups or surveys, ask the right questions (how can you help your beneficiaries, not how they can help you), and observe the nature of life by conducting in-person interviews to understand the problems they face.

Think of design as a team sport.
Once you’ve conducted interviews, discuss key findings with your team, and perhaps with a range of stakeholders and outside advisors. Hold a session where you invite others to discuss the problem. All ideas are welcomed and encouraged, and none should be shot down during the brainstorming session. Take a note from Silicon Valley and consider scribbling thoughts on brightly colored post-it notes, then sticking them on a whiteboard, poster, or wall.

​Create a rough prototype.
You’ve researched, brainstormed, now it’s time to put your ideas to the test. This step should be a very simple and inexpensive representation of the product, or how the service will work, such as a sketch describing a product, or a storyboard showing how a service would operate. Gain valuable feedback, refine, and get ready to launch a pilot program to really test results.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All Angel Funding Board Member Accountability Center For Young Women’s Development Collaborative Leadership Community Driven Solutions Community-driven Solutions Doing Good Echoing Green Echoing Green Fellow Foreign Aid Funding Streams Harnessing Entrepreneurship Inclusive Entrepreneurship Innovative Solutions Leadership Void Millennial Donors Millennial Giving Millennials And The Social Sector Minority Founders Nonprofit Board Fundraising One Degree Philanthropy Service Learning Social Entrepreneurship Social Impact Social Innovators Socially Innovative Organizations Social Problems Spark Spark Champions Tech Crunch Tech Nonprofits Tech Startup Tech-startup The Millennial Impact

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT 2024 Kathleen Kelly Janus. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.