Design Thinking in Software and AI Projects: Proving Ideas Through Rapid Prototyping

Learn the fundamentals of Design Thinking and how to apply Design Thinking techniques in defining software development and AI solutions. Design Thinking is an approach to innovation which identifies problems and generates solution ideas that can be rapidly proven through prototyping.

This book provides a brief history of Design Thinking and an overview of the process. It then drills down into more detail regarding methods and tools used in a Design Thinking workshops leading to useful prototypes. Guidance is provided on:

• Preparing for a Design Thinking Workshop
• Uncovering potential business problems that might be solved
• Prioritizing potential solutionsIdentifying and characterizing stakeholders
• Choosing the right prototypes for development
• Limiting scope and best practices in prototype building

The book concludes with a discussion of best practices in operationalizing successful prototypes, and describes change management techniques critical for successful adoption. You can use the knowledge gained from reading this book to incorporate Design Thinking techniques in your software development and AI projects, and assure timely and successful delivery of solutions.

What You Will Learn

• Gain foundational knowledge of what Design Thinking is and when to apply the technique
• Discover preparation and facilitation techniques used in workshops
• Know how ideas are generated and then validated through prototyping
• Understand implementation best practices, including change management considerations

Who This Book Is For

Business decision makers and project stakeholders as well as IT project owners who seek a method leading to fast development of successful software and AI prototypes demonstrating real business value. Also for data scientists, developers, and systems integrators who are interested in facilitating or utilizing Design Thinking workshops to drive momentum behind potential software development and AI projects.

About the Authors

Robert Stackowiak works as an independent consultant, advisor, and author. He is a former data and artificial intelligence architect and technology business strategist at the Microsoft Technology Center in Chicago, and previously worked in similar roles at Oracle and IBM. He has conducted business discovery workshops, ideation workshops, and technology architecture sessions with many of North America’s leading-edge companies across a variety of industries and with government agencies. Bob has also spoken at numerous industry conferences internationally, served as a guest instructor at various universities, and is an author of several books. You can follow him on Twitter @rstackow and read his articles and posts on LinkedIn.

Tracey Kelly is Envisioning Lead with the Catalyst team at Microsoft. She has been leading the design thinking training through North America and Europe to help Microsoft technology-focused architects and business leadership transition and transform to customer-centric and business outcome solutions. Tracey is also on the board of the Women’s Technology Coalition and a former Women in Technology Director in Dallas. She leads design workshops and customer strategy sessions and has a long 20-year history of technology and design leadership at Fortune 500 companies to drive innovation.