Challenge:
The challenge for IDEO, the premier design firm in the world, was to design and engineer a new product in real time so ABC News could capture the process of innovation, creativity and teamwork. Many weeks were spent exploring possibilities for the project. The Silicon Valley team decided to tackle a product that had not been redesigned in half a century -- the common shopping cart.
Approach:
IDEO applied “Design Thinking” to its approach in re-imagining the shopping cart of the future. More than a dozen experts in various fields spent the week in what IDEO calls a “Deep Dive.” The process is aimed at understanding the shopping cart: how it is used; why it is used; where it is used; how it could be improved; and finally, how to redesign it for the 21st century. To that end, IDEO deployed psychologists, architects, engineers, among others on its diverse team, to do field work in supermarkets across Palo Alto. Their aim was simple: to discover how people use the shopping cart. The result for IDEO was a brand new concept for a shopping cart. But the process of design is central to how IDEO works together as a team. If there is one mantra, it can be summed up as follows: “Fail often to succeed sooner.”
Impact:
For ABC News the impact was enormous. The “Deep Dive” became one of the most requested shows ever produced for the network. The reason? It focuses on teamwork and creativity. Major Business schools like Harvard and Stanford, Design schools across the nation, and even the CIA, use it to teach teamwork. For IDEO, the shopping cart was such an iconic design it ended up being shown in New York at MOMA.
IDEO's Palo Alto location today (images provided courtesy of IDEO)
