Business communications tasks are often designed to solve a problem or improve a situation. Design thinking processes are often enlisted to get to the true heart of the problem. A clearly-articulated design process provides a clear, step-by-step plan for finding the best solution for your situation.

Take a moment to search the Internet for the term “design thinking process” and look at “images.” You will find many variations. Have a look at several of them and see if you can find a common pattern.

One commonality you will likely find in the images is this: the first step in designing any solution is to fully Discover the problem. Figure 1.1.1 shows a typical design thinking process, from discovery to innovation. Think about the kind of communication and interaction with customers that each step of this process might entail for a business.

Design thinking encourages multiple perspectives and variations at the heart of the issue:  You think about solutions to customers problems until you have a clear empathetic understanding of the problem. This critical first stage of the design process requires investigation, beyond your initial assumptions. Creating this empathetic relationship to the problem allows for deeper understanding; however it cannot be done alone.

For our purposes, we will use Barry Hyman’s Problem Formulation model ^[2] to clearly define a problem. Hyman’s Problem Formulation model consists of 4 elements:

1. Need Statement: recognizes and describes the need for a solution or improvement to an “unsatisfactory situation.”  It answers the questions, “what is wrong with the way things are currently? What is unsatisfactory about it? What negative effects does this situation cause?” You may need to do research and supply data to quantify the negative effects.
2. Goal Statement:  describes what the improved situation would look like once a solution has been implemented. The goal statement defines the scope of your search for a solution. At this point, do not describe your solution, only the goal that any proposed solution should achieve. The broader you make your goal, the more numerous and varied your solutions can be; a narrowly focused goal limits the number and variety of possible solutions.
3. Objectives:  define measurable, specific outcomes that any feasible solution should optimize (aspects you can use to “grade” the effectiveness of the solution). Objectives provide you with ways to quantifiably measure how well any solution will solve the problem; ideally, they will allow you to compare multiple solutions and figure out which one is most effective (which one gets the highest score on meeting the objectives?).
4. Constraints:  define the limits that any feasible solution must adhere to in order to be acceptable (pass/fail conditions, range limits, etc.). The key word here is must — constraints are the “go/no go” conditions that determine whether a solution is acceptable or not.  These often include budget and time limits, as well as legal, safety and other regulatory requirements.

Communication as Solution

This model can apply to a communications task as well as more physical design tasks. Imagine your communications task as something that will solve a problem or improve a situation for a target customer. Reflect back to the one-liner, what visual elements would be required to communicate the solution?

• Understand the Need: consider the discovery and empathy phases of the design thinking process. Does the target audience lack sufficient information, time or money? What is the unsatisfactory situation that needs to be remedied by the business? What specifically is unsatisfactory about it?
  • A potential client lacks sufficient information on whether the solution I have proposed to solve the client’s problem will be feasible, affordable, and effective.
• Establish a Goal: define the business’ purpose. What do you want your customer to do, think, or know? Do you want your customer to make a decision? Will the business change opinions or behaviours? Follow a course of action? What is the desired outcome? And what form and style of communication will best lead to that outcome?  For example:
  • Provide the customer with visuals showing you understand their needs and have a solution. Keep the information specific, appealing and in a readable format so it makes the business purpose an ideal solution for the problem.
• Define Objectives: consider the specifics of your message and your target audience to determine what criteria you should meet. What form should it take? What content and design elements will you need to include? What kind of research will be required? What information does your audience want/need? What do they already know?
  • Perform market research and a design critique to investigate what similar businesses are doing to meet the objectives.
    
• Identify Constraints: where are your customers most likely to engage?  Consider your rhetorical situation. What conditions exist that present barriers or challenges to communication? How can you address them? For example,
  • How much time is your target audience willing to give you? How long should you make your reel, one-liner, or website header.
  • What format and style do they expect?
  • How much time do you have to create it?

Businesses looking to clarify their message and truly determine their unique selling position (USP) should start with communication and delving into the discovery stage with their customers. A simple example of this is a Net Promoter Survey used by businesses like Quickbooks to ask a simple question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend Quickbooks to your friends or colleagues?” Followed by an open-ended question asking the customer to define the chosen value. This type of question allows Quickbooks to perform both qualitative and quantitative analysis on their services.

When businesses ask for feedback from customers surprising information can be found. Perspectives and use-cases can be found on issues and problems the business didn’t know existed. Balsamiq, a website wireframe builder, harnesses the power of discover by empowering their customer service team.^[3]

Essentially, businesses that communicate regularly with their current customers are more likely to be able to determine their target audience and ensure their products and services are meeting real needs.