Human-centered design (HCD) is at the core of CauseLabs’ empathetic approach to creative problem solving. This methodology defines a framework that seeks to better understand the needs, wants and behaviors of the user, and to best identify a technologically feasible and economically viable solution. By focusing on the end user’s perspective, their environments and routines, …
Innovation
Leadership for a Global Crisis: What I’ve learned and how I feel
The United Nations Global Compact is holding special Academy Sessions centered around #UnitingBusiness. You can view the previous sessions and register for the future ones here. Below are my reflections from the first Academy Session: New Leadership for a Global Crisis. It Starts with an Opportunity Our normal social constructs have disappeared and our day …
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HCD Course Resources for Virtual Collaborations
On April 14, the CauseLabs team signed up for the free Human Centered Design (HCD) course hosted as a collaboration between Acumen and IDEO.org. If you’d like to sign up for this course, it may still be open for enrollment, but if not, they host it annually and our team takes it as a refresher …
Part 4 | Working with the Mission Model Canvas
This is part four of our guide to the Mission Model Canvas: your business plan cheat sheet. Read the first four parts here in our journals. In the previous article, we listed the Key Activities that will (7) Solve the problem; (8) Listed the Key Partners; and identified (9) What we need to test the …
Building trust between users and technology
Fostering trust with your users can be a battle, but the rewards you’ll get are worth the fight.
What are Social Impact Companies and Why Do They Matter?
If you pay any attention to business news and trends, then you have probably noticed an increase in the number of companies embracing “social impact” as a core value. Consumers are taking notice, as a 2018 study found that 78% of Americans expect companies to go beyond making profits; they must also positively impact society. …
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Wrap Up + Getting to Pilot
When we first started, we were refining a problem, onboarding your team, and setting up tools. Now, we’ll do the reverse.
Week 4: Synthesis and Roadmap
This week may be the most important because it synthesizes everything into a decision-enabling Roadmap. This is the why. And the how. And the what to do next.
Week 3: Prototyping
Starting now, we’ll take all of our work during discovery, immersion, and ideation and boil it down into something real. This week is all about the Workshop.
Week 2: Research + Empathy
Hey gang, welcome back. Hopefully by now you’re really powering with your team and starting to feel the momentum of the process. Last week kicked things off with brainstorming and early research. Now, we’ll focus on confirming the direction, trusting your hunches, experimenting beyond your team, and seeking deeper empathy in your process. So let’s get started!
Week 1: Problem Immersion + Drawing Board
This week we’ll dig into the first of two sessions that we call Drawing Boards. In large part they’re exactly what they sound like: a starting place to gather the team and set the focus, built initially around the Problem Statement draft, and a place to keep referring to as the process progresses.
The 4-Week Guide for Digital Innovation
We’re here to help real people like you more easily understand what it takes to build innovative digital tools by doing a few simple things like putting people first, allowing space for collaboration, staying close to those experiencing the problems, and exploring new ways to generate ideas.