Using design thinking to enable change in Agile environments
Design thinking meets change management
In Agile projects, I believe traditional change management methods often fall short. That’s why I use Agile change management to keep pace with the iterative nature of these projects. By incorporating human-centred design thinking early in the process, I ensure that the change is shaped to align with the organisation's culture and environment right from the start.
This approach fosters early engagement during the design phase, bringing the business along on the Agile journey. It allows stakeholders to understand how requirements are discovered and refined through effective research methods. For me, it’s not just about managing change but co-creating it and steering it in a way that works best for the organisation, empowering teams to embrace continuous improvement.
Build empathy, collaborate & co-create
What better way to understand the current state than by researching, observing, asking questions, and most importantly empathising with those affected by the change? For me, it’s all about building rapport and trust through rich engagement, allowing me to truly take a walk in their shoes. This deeper level of understanding helps me see the real jobs-to-be-done and grasp the essence of the processes people rely on every day.
Empathy isn’t just about understanding pain points; it also helps people discover their own opportunities and surface insights they might have struggled to articulate. It’s about unlocking those hidden workarounds or actions they never thought of.
To empathise and co-create, I use design thinking artefacts like empathy maps, storyboards, journey maps, personas, and custom change & engagement canvases that I’ve developed in previous Agile projects. Through continuous experimentation, I’ve found highly effective ways to engage and inspire key stakeholders, ensuring that they’re not just part of the change but actively shaping it.
The power of personas
I’ve seen many organisations attempt to create personas for various purposes, whether for human resources or transformational projects. But what I often observe is a fundamental misunderstanding of what they really need from a persona. To ensure that we’re co-creating personas with true meaning, it all starts with answering one key question: Why?
By answering the ‘Why’, we gain clarity on how to structure the persona. Why are we creating these personas? Is it to understand change maturity? To explore the different ways people engage with records management? Or maybe to see how people interact with an ERP or CRM system? Knowing the insights you want to gain from this exercise helps shape your discovery activities and ensures the personas are both relevant and actionable.
If you’re looking to drive meaningful change and achieve successful outcomes through human-centered strategies, let’s explore how I can help. Whether it’s improving engagement, co-creating actionable personas, or navigating complex transformations, feel free to reach out to discuss how we can work together to deliver impactful results.