Hello Future!

A practicable model integrating design and strategy to help SMVs accelerate their product development process and overcome uncertainty.

Companies are facing many challenges today. From the uncertainty of meeting evolving customer needs, new market entrants and advancements in technologies, to the continually changing restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The research project will investigate companies integrating design and strategic foresight to not only meet the needs of consumers today but to take into account the future to develop new products and services.

Aim and background

Companies today are faced with rapid shifts of change from events, globalization, customer needs, technologies, and markets. And with these changes comes lots of uncertainty about the future, posing many problems. For a company if you do not know what the future holds it is very hard to make a plan, regardless of how agile one is.

The future is a concern for the disciplines of design and strategy. Design in solving complex problems through making new products to transform a user’s existing situation into a better one. And strategy by creating a plan to achieve a goal.

However, traditional approaches on their own no longer suffice in times of rapid change and uncertainty. A traditional design thinking process reveals issues within the gap between the identification of a need today and its relevancy upon the products release.

Together with the business community the project will look into how companies are taking a proactive instead of reactive stance about the future by integrating design and strategic foresight. Foresight through the trend spotting, identifying.

Results

The project will result in a model and suggestions for companies and students alike on why and how a design process can take into account the future to develop new products and services.

Learning how this is operationalized is important for small and medium sized businesses also faced with these challenges and students of digital concept development to be successful in their internships and their future employment within these companies.

The model and suggestions can be used by SMVs looking for a structured approached for product goals like meet an emerging need, be first in a space, or disrupt a market.

Collaboration

The primary cooperation will be with local SMVs through workshops where they will be able to put the model into practice. Industry experts will be interviewed to gain insight into how and why they currently incorporate design and foresight . And lastly, the model will be introduced to students and teachers at Digital Concept Development through a project together with a company.

The internal advisory group will consist of Hanne Troels Jensen, Ulla Haahr, Anne Kirketerp and Jeffrey Serio.

Project period

Project period: January 2021 – January 2022

Knowledge product

A professional article based on the research will be published to EAViden and LinkedIn.

The results of the project is published in the e-book below. The e-book includes a resume of the research, results from workshops with companies facing actual challenges, and the synthesis of discovered insights as recommendations for companies contemplating such a process.