Strategic Design Planning

Medical checkups can be mentally and physically stressful for patients. Will it hurt? How long will it take? Then there's the uncertainty before the diagnosis. But simply not going is not an option. That's why we do everything we can to make examinations as comfortable as possible for patients. It starts with the human-centered design of our modalities. Beginning in the development phase, we already take the patient's perspective into account, even working together to find the best solution. We also collaborate closely with the professionals who will be running the device for hours. For these experts, a safe, comfortable, and easy-to-operate workplace is essential. This is what human-centered innovation means to us at Siemens Healthineers: Our innovations are designed for patients and healthcare professionals alike – for everyone, everywhere, sustainably. These individuals are either in a personally sensitive situation – or it’s their job and passion to help others. For both groups, human-centered design is key to strengthening trust and enhancing the human side of healthcare. A solution's impact on a clinical workflow isn't determined by the range of technical functions it offers, but rather by how it provides those functions in an understandable, accessible, and practical way. Take mammography as an example – a particularly sensitive screening that is extremely important in our joint fight against cancer. After all, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer for half of humanity: Every minute, four women worldwide are diagnosed with this disease. Early detection is crucial, which is why the examination must not be daunting. As studies indicate, women with perceived pain or unpleasantness were more likely to avoid future mammograms. For this reason, designing medical devices to create a calming environment and promote a sense of safety for patients plays an important role in healthcare delivery.

Whether you are creating performance creatives or creatives for an ATL campaign, while writing briefs you must always understand the current awareness state of your consumers At any point of time, a potential consumer who is in-market for your category can be classified under one of the following -         Not Problem Aware -         Problem Aware -         Solution Aware And each of these will warrant a different creative If you have a truly innovative product and trying to solve a problem which most people aren’t even aware of, most of the time will have to go in making people aware of the problem and then link your solution to the problem If most of your potential consumers are problem aware but don’t know what the solution is, you have to start a bit with the problem and then introduce your brand/product as the solution. For new innovations, the best place to start is if a good chunk of the consumers are already problem aware If there are already existing solutions in the market and most of your potential consumers are already solution aware, your focus must be on highlighting why your solution is better than everything else in the market. It might mean lot of product comparisons and answering all potential barriers to purchase When we started selling BLDC fans in 2015, most people were problem aware. High electricity bills was a problem. The inconvenience of getting up to change speeds was a problem. But they didn’t know that BLDC fans could solve it. So, a lot of our focus was around highlighting that BLDC fans save electricity and bring a lot of convenience with remotes But over the last 3-4 years, more than 10 brands entered the category. And all of them were also heavily advertising. By now, a good chunk of people were solution aware and knew that BLDC fans can solve their problems of high electricity bills. And so a lot of our digital communication moved to highlight how our BLDC fans were better, and also on things which are over and above just energy efficiency. We started highlighting our smart features, innovative designs etc. as plain vanilla BLDC was now a commodity This is a very simple yet strong framework that can guide communication strategy for brands and products of all sizes

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗥𝗕𝗣 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗜𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘁 Almost 8 years ago, I sat across the table from a senior leader of a global firm, interviewing for the Head of HR role. The discussion veered toward the future of HR.  I laid out my vision: 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 #HRBP 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹.  It had become a process-heavy, compliance-first function, losing sight of what truly matters - #people and #business impact.  Instead, I proposed a radically different approach: Hire a Data Scientist, a Design Thinker, and a Product Leader.  A HR function built around three pillars most HR departments had never considered: 1. #DataScience: To uncover the hidden patterns of organizational behaviour 2. #Design: To craft meaningful employee experiences at every touchpoint 3. #Product Leadership: To scale these experiences through innovative solutions The interview ended cordially. The offer never came. 😀 Then I joined Fractal.  A year in, I reimagined HR, not in theory, but in action. We built four core teams to redefine HR's role as a true business driver: 1. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 F͟o͟c͟u͟s͟: Building exceptional managers and leaders M͟i͟s͟s͟i͟o͟n͟: Identify improvement areas, implement targeted interventions, and serve as culture evangelists G͟o͟a͟l͟: Create and retain great leaders who drive organizational success 2. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 F͟o͟c͟u͟s͟: Organizational performance excellence M͟i͟s͟s͟i͟o͟n͟: Design systems that elevate both individual brilliance and collective excellence G͟o͟a͟l͟: Make performance management effortless and impactful 3. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 F͟o͟c͟u͟s͟: Human-centered design M͟i͟s͟s͟i͟o͟n͟: Apply the EACH model (Employees as Clients and Human beings) G͟o͟a͟l͟: Deliver consumer-grade experiences throughout the employee lifecycle 4. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 F͟o͟c͟u͟s͟: Technology enablement and data insights M͟i͟s͟s͟i͟o͟n͟: Build CMMi level 5 processes to manage employee data and lifecycle events G͟o͟a͟l͟: Ensure smooth global operations that scale with growth 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻: #HR 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹, 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗥 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. What outdated models are you still clinging to in your organization? And what might be possible if you had the courage to reimagine them entirely? #HRTransformation #FutureOfWork #EmployeeExperience #OrganizationalDesign #DataDrivenHR #HRReimagined #PeopleFirst #HRInnovation

Why do so many communicators lose their audience? Often, it’s because we try to share everything. When communicating a complex project, whether it’s a new product feature, a design sprint, or a strategic pivot, we often see broadcasting ideas into the world as our goal. We want to show every wireframe, every debated nuance, and every data point we collected along the way. But our brains are not wired to absorb a stream of disconnected information. When we overwhelm our audience, we increase their cognitive load and quickly lose their attention. Our goal should be to make sure our audience understands. The antidote is structure. Structure acts as a psychological roadmap. It guides both the speaker and the listener through a clear, reasoned journey. On the Think Fast Talk Smart: The Podcast, I often talk about the importance of packaging ideas so they are easy to follow and easy to remember. One framework I often recommend for complex projects is what I call the 5P structure. It helps presenters walk their audience through a clear progression of ideas so the story behind the work is easy to understand. 1) Problem: Define the issue at hand 2) Process: Shaping your thinking 3) Proposal: Outlining the solution 4) Proof: Sharing the potential impact 5) Progress: Pointing forward Instead of overwhelming people with information, the structure guides them through the challenge you were solving, how you approached it, what you designed, the evidence behind it, and what comes next. When people can clearly follow the story, they are far more likely to trust the idea and help move it forward.

Are you applying product thinking to how you design people experiences? Then may I add some ingredients to what you’re cooking up. Because while product thinking is powering up PX, transformational experiences need a bit more than that. From spending the last decade working with teams in this space, I’ve boiled it down to three key ingredients (which is tough, because this space is complex, messy and beautiful, but here we go): 🛠 Product thinking 🎭 Service design skills 🤝 Facilitation = Experiences that deliver results, for your people and business. If you’re thinking, “WTF do those words mean?” - fair. PX can be a jargon-fuelled frenzy. So, I mapped it out (and not just so I can finally explain my job to my pals). Here's how these ingredients come to life using the double-diamond framework as a familiar structure to get us started: 🛠 Product thinking: A structured, actionable and measurable way to test, iterate & improve people experiences. 🎭 Service design: Aligning the front stage customer AND employee experiences with the backstage systems, process and tech that make it viable. 🤝 Facilitation: PX doesn’t work in a vacuum, often it's a teams confidence in the application and advocacy that means PX initiatives can wobble. Bringing the right people along for the ride through curated conversations, safe spaces, and feedback loops build confidence and buy-in. But great PX design isn’t just about how. It’s about who and why. 👑 Leadership: They set the tone, make the hard calls, and need to be in the journey, not just (begrudgingly) signing off budget. 🫶 Engagement: People don't resist change, they resist being changed without involvement. Build understanding and capabilities beyond your people team (come-on, they've got enough on their plates) Cross-functional collaboration, specialised squads, show and tells and feedback loops are key. 🎯 Purpose & mission: Keep the goalposts clear while allowing creativity and play in execution. If people don't know why something matters and how it contributes to the bigger goal, it won't stick. 📏 Values: Your design principles - guardrails that shape experiences unique to your organisation, ensuring your experiences standout from the rest. 🔽 I designed this diagram to show how it all fits together. But don’t be daunted - PX isn’t about doing everything at once. It’s about knowing where you're at, what your people and business need, and applying the right tools at the right pace, then test, review and adapt to set up your style. So, PX friends, what do we think? Natalie Pearce, Megan Trotter, Luke O'Mahoney, Jessica Z., Mark Lewis, Marie Krebs, Matt McFarlane, JooBee Yeow, PhD, Natalie Lineton, Lauren Gomes, Vanessa Monsequeira - चित्रलेखा ---- ⬆️ This is a snapshot into how I work with leaders & people ops teams to design transformational experiences. Want to learn more? Follow along or DM me 💌 #PeopleExperience #DesignThinking #ServiceDesign #ProductThinking

One of the smartest ideas in hospitality is hiding in plain sight and most people have no clue what it actually does. That little strip of fabric at the end of a hotel bed? It’s not there for decoration. It’s not there for luxury. It’s there because hotels understand something every business should master: People behave in predictable ways and it’s easier to design for behavior than to fight it. Here’s the real purpose of that cloth (called a bed runner): 1. It protects the bedding. Guests toss jackets, bags, laptops, and sometimes even shoes on the end of the bed. The duvet is expensive and hard to wash. The runner isn’t. 2. It anchors the room visually. Hotels use it to add color, texture, and branding to a giant white surface. It makes the room feel intentional. 3. It guides guest behavior without a single instruction. Put a protected surface at the foot of the bed… and magically, that’s where people put their stuff. No signs. No rules. No friction. Just smart design. And here’s where this gets interesting: You can apply this idea everywhere. Because most problems in business and life aren’t “people problems.” They’re environment problems. Want customers to choose the right option? Make the right option the easiest one. Want your team to follow a process? Design the process so clearly that deviation feels unnatural. Want to improve habits at home? Configure the room so the “good” choice is the default one. This is the real lesson: If you want different behavior, don’t push harder... design better. Hotels figured it out with a scrap of fabric. You can do the same with: • onboarding flows • product navigation • team workflows • customer journeys • personal routines • daily habits Small environmental tweaks → big behavioral changes. It’s not magic. It’s design. #BehavioralDesign #Psychology #UX #BusinessStrategy #Marketing #ProductDesign

Subtle design changes can create massive behavior shifts, especially in high frequency tasks. Weekly grocery shopping is a perfect example of this. Most of us order the same items week-on-week. The same brands, same quantities, same everything. Yet we find each individual item and add it to the cart. bigbasket.com has solved this by adding an "Order Again" tab right on the home screen. I wondered why Zepto and Blinkit didn't do it, but I realized they do have reorder features - just hidden in order history and it triggers a different behavior - checking past orders versus quick reordering. Think about how this tiny change transforms the mental model: 1/ From "creating a grocery list" to "reviewing a grocery list" 2/ From "searching items" to "confirming items" 3/ From a 20-min task to a 2-min validation But what I find most clever is how this builds habit loops. Each reorder makes your next order faster, which makes you more likely to stick with BB, which further improves your reorder suggestions. The feature feels obvious now, but placing it front and center instead of hiding it in order history is great product thinking. Identifying repetitive user patterns and designing for frequency, not just functionality. #upraisedgamechangers #gamechangers2024 #productmanagement

Walked into a trial room the other day— and spotted something clever. Three hooks labeled YES, NO and MAYBE. To most, it's just a clever way to sort clothes. To a marketer, it’s brilliant behavioral design. ✔️ YES triggers emotional ownership—you’re already picturing it in your closet. ❌ NO gives you the power to reject, making your “yes” feel even more validated. 🤔 MAYBE keeps you mentally engaged. The brain hates open loops, and that’s when impulse buying quietly sneaks in. This isn’t just functional—it’s intentional architecture of choice. It reduces decision fatigue. It extends trial room time. It nudges you closer to a purchase—without saying a word. What’s brilliant here isn’t just the design—It’s the thoughtfulness behind it. A subtle reminder that great brands don’t just sell. They understand. They empathize. They design with intent. Because the best marketing doesn’t just push. It connects. #MarketingPsychology #ConsumerBehavior #RetailStrategy #SubconsciousMarketing #EmotionalMarketing #ConsumerEmpathy #BehavioralDesign

I’d never stop saying this ever: UI is just useless graphics until: Users can use it effortlessly It serves the purpose It improves UX So, now ask yourself: Are you designing for looks…or for people? Because the future of design isn’t just pixels. It’s usability. It’s research. It’s empathy. And here’s the danger: If we keep focusing only on how something looks… Our designs stay surface-level. Our users stay frustrated. That’s why we need a new rulebook: Human-Centered UX Not optional. Not “nice-to-have.” Essential. Here’s the foundation: 3 Modes of Human-Centered Design: Deep Research for: Observing real users Understanding pain points Mapping journeys Practical Usability for: Faster actions Fewer errors Clearer flows Aesthetic Functionality for: Delightful visuals Intuitive interactions Seamless experience Because the truth is simple: A glass ketchup bottle (UI) might look elegant… But a squeezable plastic bottle (UX) works better. That’s the difference between beauty and usability. This isn’t just about making designs pretty. It’s about making them work for humans. So maybe the real question is: Are you designing for people…or just for pixels? — I’m Rasel Ahmed, CDO & Co-founder of Musemind - Global UX Design Agency. I talk about UX, human-centered design, and building user-friendly experiences. P.S. Repost if you believe real UX starts with research, not decoration.

Most product failures aren’t engineering failures. They’re empathy failures. Teams ship what they think customers want… …and then wonder why adoption stalls, churn climbs, and the roadmap turns into a graveyard of “nice features.” Here’s the shift that changes everything: Customer-centric design isn’t a UX phase — it’s an operating system. It means building around real user needs, behaviors, and outcomes (not internal opinions). And in the last few years, AI has raised the bar: Customers expect relevance and ease (not generic journeys) Personalization is now table-stakes — but trust is fragile The winners will be the teams who pair speed with human-centered design The customer-centric loop (that actually works) 1) Learn deeply Talk to customers weekly. Mine tickets, reviews, churn reasons, behavior data. 2) Map reality Personas + journeys that expose friction, emotion, and drop-off points. 3) Design for outcomes Less effort. More clarity. Better defaults. Faster “time to value.” 4) Prototype + test fast Small tests beat big debates. 5) Measure + iterate Track experience and behavior (activation, retention, task success, effort). Where AI fits (and where it breaks) Use AI to accelerate: Synthesizing feedback Finding patterns Generating variations and prototypes But design AI like a relationship: Set expectations Provide controls (“undo,” preferences, corrections) Fail gracefully Escalate when confidence is low Customer-centric design is the advantage that compounds. Because when you build what people truly need, growth stops being a fight. Question: What’s one customer insight you learned recently that changed how you build? iQor we take customer centric design to the next level with InsightsIQ, hit me up with questions. #CustomerExperience #ProductManagement #UXDesign #ProductDesign #AI #HumanCenteredDesign #Leadership