Design thinking allows for out-of-the-box ideas, says Avenue Code's Holly Camponez

Design thinking is one of the best strategies for product innovation because of its problem-solving approach specific to design. In this interview with Media 7, Holly Camponez, Director of Creative Services at Avenue Code, shares a few insights into creating end-to-end development solutions with the right approach towards design. Read on to find out how to spearhead digital transformations with design thinking.

The biggest question a designer needs to answer is, "Who is it for?" followed by a deep understanding of the user’s needs.

MEDIA 7: As the Director of Avenue Code’s Creative Services division, could you please tell us a little bit about .Design?
HOLLY CAMPONEZ:
Happily! .Design originated when we identified a key opportunity to add value to our client portfolio. As agile practitioners since Avenue Code was founded in 2008, we recognized that the old model of outsourcing design to an agency and then bringing in developers after was broken. As we studied design thinking and began to introduce methodologies like Google’s Design Sprint to our delivery, we saw that we were able to make significant strides in time-to-market, usability, and adoption by end-users. That marked a turning point for us, and we invested in building out our in-house agency where designers are steeped in design thinking, live and breathe the Agile manifesto, and are equally comfortable collaborating with business stakeholders and development teams. The “dot” in .Design is a nod to the clean slate that design thinking encourages – getting outside of your assumptions and starting at zero as you cultivate empathy with your user. The dot at the end of a sentence says, “That’s it, the end, what comes next could be anything,” and we try to bring this spirit of humility and continuous learning to each client and project we take on.


M7: According to you, how important is storytelling in design thinking?
HC:
As much as I personally love and believe in storytelling, I believe it takes – or ought to take - a backseat in a true design thinking workshop, process, or engagement. There’s a pervasive tendency that all human beings have to want to make sense of things and fit them into a narrative too early on. Design thinking says that we’re here to listen first, and secondly to consciously pause before jumping right into a solution. We’re asked to do something wildly uncomfortable, which is to speculate, almost to play in the realm of, "How might we?" This is hands down the hardest thing to get a group of businesspeople to do; everyone wants to get to a solution as quickly as possible. It takes an intentional resistance to narrative and storytelling. I will of course add that once you’re into the actual work of ideating and building, storytelling is critical to creating something that resonates with users. That can’t be overstated.

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If you look at human psychology, you quickly realize that everything about it is hardwired against innovation.



M7: How does thinking like a designer help Avenue Code provide effective end-to-end development solutions for digital transformation for its clients?
HC:
The biggest question a designer needs to answer is, "Who is it for?" followed by a deep understanding of the user’s needs. When you bring that mindset to digital transformation, it ensures that the solutions you’re designing and building are going to meet users where they are and that they will be adopted. I was at a conference a few years ago where an executive at a major Fortune 50 company was asked to talk about his company’s digital transformation. He shared how they’d done everything "right," hired Agile coaches, introduced new digital touchpoints for consumers, and then somewhat shamefacedly admitted that they had seen practically no incremental ROI from all their investment because they hadn’t stopped to look at the data around what users actually wanted. I think design has a bad reputation for being subjective and "fluffy." The reality is that thinking like a designer requires you to start from real data, and to quickly test and gather data if it doesn’t exist. When you’re in tune with the reality your users live in, you tend to create more effective solutions, and transformation is executed with clear goals in mind.


M7: What makes design thinking one of the best approaches for product innovation?
HC:
If you look at human psychology, you quickly realize that everything about it is hardwired against innovation. Our brains want to make mental shortcuts as a way of coping with cognitive overload – which in our modern world is only increasing with the sheer quantity of information available. It’s a reasonable way to cope, but it also relies on a series of assumptions about the way things are. The problem with this is that it gives us pretty acute tunnel vision, which severely limits innovation by forcing us back to what’s known and familiar time after time. When we see a stick figure with two arms, two legs, and a head, our mental shortcut says, "That’s a human being." But what if it were a bear standing upright? Or a funny coat rack? Or a street light with arms for flowerpots? Design thinking gives us a practical set of ways to set aside our assumptions about what innovation looks like or what success means, which in turn creates space for out-of-the-box ideas.

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A good designer should be the voice of the user in product development.



M7: How do you analyze whether a design is good? What metrics do you monitor for this assessment?
HC:
I love this question, and it can be answered on both a micro and macro level. On the micro-level, it’s always interesting to me when my peers in other disciplines suggest that design quality is subjective, when in fact there are very clear metrics to determine whether the tangible outputs of design are good or poor quality. Even a quick Google search can reveal some of these metrics, but a great place to begin is the book The Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler.

On the macro level, the fundamental question is: Who decides whether design is good? Although nearly everyone would agree that the user is the final authority on that point, in theory, this can be a surprisingly controversial stance in practice when business stakeholders want their vision executed, quickly and inflexibly. Obviously, not every project or product is going to allow for an in-depth research and discovery phase, but every project and product should find ways to include real user validation early and often. A good designer should be the voice of the user in product development – which means, by the way, that if you’re simply adding design expertise to "pretty it up" after everything has been defined, you’re really missing out on the true value of good design.

Nine times out of ten when a designer starts to look for a new job, it’s because they don’t feel the user is being centered in decision making. And on the flip side, designers themselves often fall into the trap of believing themselves infallible about what users want. Egocentric designers who don’t know how to be wrong will not produce a good design. The first question we ask in our interviews, particularly for roles that include user research, "Tell me about a time you were wrong." If a designer can’t answer that question, odds are good that they’re not going to add much value to a project.


M7: What’s the best advice you have received?
HC:
My parents, happily married for nearly 40 years, once told me, "When you’re wrong, say you’re sorry fast and get back to having fun." I’ve found that when I’m able to accept and own up to my mistakes quickly and move on, I’m much more effective professionally, as well as better adjusted personally!

ABOUT AVENUE CODE

Avenue Code is the leading software consultancy for full-service digital evolution solutions. Since 2008, the firm has partnered with Fortune 100 companies and enterprise organizations in every vertical to accelerate innovation. Headquartered in San Francisco, Avenue Code has offices in New York, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Portugal.

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AI and Big Data Expo North America announces leading Speaker Lineup

TechEx Events | March 07, 2024

AI and Big Data Expo North America announces new speakers! SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, February 26, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- TheAI and Big Expo North America, the leading event for Enterprise AI, Machine Learning, Security, Ethical AI, Deep Learning, Data Ecosystems, and NLP, has announced a fresh cohort of distinguishedspeakersfor its upcoming conference at the Santa Clara Convention Center on June 5-6, 2024. Some of the top industry speakers set to take the stage are: - Sam Hamilton - Head of Data & AI – Visa - Dr Astha Purohit - Director - Product (Tech) Ops – Walmart - Noorddin Taj - Head of Architecture and Design of Intelligent Operations - BP - Temi Odesanya - Director - AI Governance Automation - Thomson Reuters - Katie Sanders - Assistant Vice President – Tech - Union Pacific Railroad - Prasanth Nandanuru – SVP - Wells Fargo - Rodney Brooks - Professor Emeritus - MIT These esteemed speakers bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to an already impressive lineup, promising attendees a truly enlightening experience. In addition to the speakers, theAI and Big Data Expo North Americawill feature a series of presentations covering a diverse range of topics in AI and Big Data exploring the latest innovations, implementations and strategies across a range of industries. Attendees can expect to gain valuable insights and practical strategies from presentations such as: How Gen AI Positively Augments Workforce Capabilities Trends in Computer Vision: Applications, Datasets, and Models Getting to Production-Ready: Challenges and Best Practices for Deploying AI Ensuring Your AI is Responsible and Ethical Mitigating Bias and Promoting Fairness in AI Systems Security Challenges in the Era of Gen AI and Data Science AI for Good: Social Impact and Ethics Selling Data Democratization to Executives Spreading Data Insights across the Business Barriers to Overcome: People, Processes, and Technology Optimizing the Customer Experience with AI Using AI to Drive Growth in a Regulated Industry Building an MLOps Foundation for AI at Scale The Expo offers a platform for exploration and discovery, showcasing how cutting-edge technologies are reshaping a myriad of industries, including manufacturing, transport, supply chain, government, legal sectors, financial services, energy, utilities, insurance, healthcare, retail, and more. Attendees will have the chance to witness firsthand the transformative power of AI and Big Data across various sectors, gaining insights that are crucial for staying ahead in today's rapidly evolving technological landscape. Anticipating a turnout of over 7000 attendees and featuring 200 speakers across various tracks, AI and Big Data Expo North America offers a unique opportunity for CTO’s, CDO’s, CIO’s , Heads of IOT, AI /ML, IT Directors and tech enthusiasts to stay abreast of the latest trends and innovations in AI, Big Data and related technologies. Organized by TechEx Events, the conference will also feature six co-located events, including the IoT Tech Expo, Intelligent Automation Conference, Cyber Security & Cloud Congress, Digital Transformation Week, and Edge Computing Expo, ensuring a comprehensive exploration of the technological landscape. Attendees can choose from various ticket options, providing access to engaging sessions, the bustling expo floor, premium tracks featuring industry leaders, a VIP networking party, and a sophisticated networking app facilitating connections ahead of the event. Secure your ticket with a 25% discount on tickets, available until March 31st, 2024. Save up to $300 on your ticket and be part of the conversation shaping the future of AI and Big Data technologies. For more information and to secure your place at AI and Big Data Expo North America, please visit https://www.ai-expo.net/northamerica/. About AI and Big Data Expo North America: The AI and Big Data Expo North America is a leading event in the AI and Big Data landscape, serving as a nexus for professionals, industry experts, and enthusiasts to explore and navigate the ever-evolving technological frontier. Through its focus on education, networking, and collaboration, the Expo continues to be a beacon for those eager to stay at the forefront of technological innovation. “AI and Big Data Expo North Americais a part ofTechEx. For more information regardingTechExplease see onlinehere.”

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Persistent Announces Strategic Collaboration Agreement with AWS to Accelerate Generative AI Adoption

Persistent Systems | January 05, 2024

Persistent Systems (BSE: PERSISTENT) (NSE: PERSISTENT), a global Digital Engineering and Enterprise Modernization leader, announced a multi-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate the pace of innovation and development of generative AI solutions for clients. Persistent is a long-standing AWS Partner and has a proven track record of early scale generative AI adoption across multiple industry verticals leveraging services like Amazon CodeWhisperer and Amazon Bedrock. Amazon CodeWhisperer provides generative AI-powered code recommendations directly in multiple integrated development environments (IDEs) to help developers build applications quickly in more than 15 coding languages; Amazon Bedrock is a fully managed service that makes foundation models (FMs) from leading AI companies accessible via an API to build and scale generative AI applications. This strategic collaboration with AWS will help Persistent to further increase the impact it delivers to its clients that are embracing generative AI. Through this teaming, Persistent will have access to additional resources from AWS to build proofs of concept to help clients identify tangible business outcomes from generative AI. This will also support use case discovery and rapid build out of solutions with additional go-to-market funds from AWS. One of the key benefits to combined clients will be continued early access to AWS's generative AI services and investments that will help clients with their aspirations around growth, time-to-market, and better customer experience. The Strategic Collaboration Agreement builds on Persistent's 30+ years of software engineering heritage, its best practices from more than 120 AWS engagements for cloud migration and modernization, and its 2,500 AWS practitioners to enable flexible and scalable generative AI-powered solutions tailored to clients' unique needs. Persistent's AWS Migration Competency status provides proven cloud expertise to help clients move successfully to AWS through all phases of complex migration projects. This collaboration reflects Persistent's proficiency in building robust cloud infrastructure, crucial in today's cloud-first, AI-first world, enabling clients to implement cloud-powered generative AI solutions. These combined assets from AWS and Persistent can bolster the value provided to joint clients, helping them unlock the full potential of their technology investments. Rajiv Sodhi, Senior Vice President – Hyperscaler Business & Strategic Alliances, Persistent: "Enterprises across industries are looking to tap into the transformative potential of generative AI to reimagine, redefine, and rethink their business models for improved customer experiences and business growth. Combined with our newly acquired AWS Migration Competency status and our SCA, AWS will help us scale generative AI adoption among our clients so they can identify and implement use cases where this technology can have a real impact. We remain committed to helping clients reach their technology goals by leveraging the agility, breadth of services, and rapid innovation that AWS provides." Quan Yang, Vice President of Research IT, Regeneron: "Generative AI unlocks new opportunities to transform the life sciences industry. We are modernizing our legacy research applications to help accelerate the drug development process and simplify workflows. With Persistent's Digital Engineering expertise, powered by the AWS platform, Regeneron's research and pre-clinical development teams help bring our new life-savings drugs to market faster." Chris Sullivan, Vice President, Worldwide System Integrator Partners, AWS: "We are delighted to be working with Persistent to help our customers accelerate growth, enable business transformation, and enhance their digital experience. Together, we aim to redefine what's possible with generative AI, setting new standards for efficiency, innovation, and technological advancements." About Persistent With over 22,800 employees located in 21 countries, Persistent Systems (BSE: PERSISTENT) (NSE: PERSISTENT) is a global services and solutions company delivering Digital Engineering and Enterprise Modernization. As a participant of the United Nations Global Compact, Persistent is committed to aligning strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, as well as take actions that advance societal goals. With 268% growth since 2020, Persistent is the fastest-growing Indian IT Services brand according to Brand Finance.

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Avenue Code

Avenue Code is the leading software consultancy for full-service digital evolution solutions (http://www.avenuecode.com). Since 2008, the firm has partnered with Fortune 100 companies and enterprise organizations in every vertical to accelerate innovation. Headquartered in San Francisco, Avenue Code...

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