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Engineering Empathy

Engineering Empathy in Design Thinking

Empathy is not an art, but a science that can be engineered, measured, and developed at any stage of life. For example, a new parent develops empathy overnight to understand their child's needs without verbal communication. The goal of empathy in design thinking is to proactively understand the customer's perspective. Here are some tools and techniques for engineering empathy.

1. The "Job to Be Done" Framework

This framework, developed by Clayton Christensen, suggests that customers "hire" a product or service to get a job done for them. Viewing a product not as a physical object but as a service that performs a job opens up new possibilities for innovation.

  • Example: A drilling machine isn't just a product; its job is to create a hole. However, a broader definition of the "job to be done" might be to "beautify a home". This broader perspective allows a company like Bosch to offer a wider range of products and services beyond just the drilling machine itself.
  • The "job to be done" also has two components: a functional component (e.g., a watch tells time) and an emotional component (e.g., a Titan watch is an adornment that makes you feel good). Both must be understood to create a compelling product or service.

2. Stakeholder Map

A stakeholder map is used to understand a problem from the perspective of multiple people involved, not just the end-user. Stakeholders can include anyone concerned with the problem or the solution, including employees, partners, and even the public.

  • The map identifies critical stakeholders and their motivations (positives) and detractions (negatives) regarding a problem or solution.
  • Often, one stakeholder's positive is another's negative, creating conflicting demands. For instance, a robotic shop floor might increase productivity (a positive for a supervisor) but could lead to job loss (a negative for a labor union).
  • By anticipating these friction points, you can modify your idea to create a win-win situation and prevent the project from being stalled.

3. Problem Exploration Map

This tool is used to break down a problem (viewed as a symptom) into its root causes, moving from a quick fix to a perma fix solution.

  • Example: A traffic jam is a symptom, not the root problem. Simply widening roads (a quick fix) may not solve the underlying causes. By using a problem exploration map, you can drill down to root causes like urban planning, public transport adoption, or other factors, and then develop a permanent solution.
  • Another example is the decline in book reading. This is a symptom of several problems, such as a lack of attention span, difficulty choosing a book, or high costs. Each of these problems can be further broken down into root causes.

4. Customer Journey Map

This map visualizes a customer's experience with a service or product over time to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.

  • Example: Mapping a customer's journey from their home to the airport, through security, and onto a flight can reveal specific moments of frustration, such as having to remove laptops from bags at security. A three-dimensional scanner that eliminates this step would be a massive improvement.

5. Empathy Map

An empathy map delves into an individual customer's emotional state by documenting what they see, hear, think, feel, say, and do.

  • This process helps to distill the customer's pains (the negative aspects of the experience) and gains (the positive aspects).
  • The goal is to engineer a solution where the gains outweigh the pains. For instance, people wait in long queues for an IPL match because the gain of watching the game is far greater than the pain of waiting in line.

6. Buyer Persona

A buyer persona is a detailed, microscopic view of a customer, typically represented as a fictional character with specific demographics, objectives, fears, and needs.

  • This tool helps a team deeply understand the customer beyond surface-level information. It can be used to identify key channels to influence the customer and the most effective sales channels.
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