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Design Hackathons: 2 or 3 day Experiential Innovation Events that challenge employees to work in cross-functional teams to shift mental, try out new tools and develop and present new digital banking solutions.
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How to navigate discomfort together,
to unlock innovation succes?
In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, a number of organizations we worked with, such as DBS, Visa, Axa, Richemont and Arion embraced the need for change with a clear vision: delight the customer, or as DBS stated "Make banking joyful." The goal was to delight customers by making banking effortless and, in doing so, becoming "invisible" to the user.
These organizations understood that driving innovation meant changing the culture. They recognized that innovation is deeply rooted in behavior and mindset, prompting the decision to replace traditional executive training with 'design hackathons' for their leaders. To ensure these hackathons were truly customer-centric, the banks sought our assistance in the design, orchestration, and facilitation of the hackathon experience.
The Design Hackathon approach:
- Organization wide selection of 30-60 "Early Adopters"
- 6-12 teams work autonomously
- Facilitators provide guidance, stimuli and challenge
- Innovation Mentality is celebrated
We crafted an immersive experience where tackling real business, market, and customer challenges at the core, while mindset and skills development were integrated through targeted interventions and reflective moments.
Learning by Doing: A dynamic blend of hands-on work and learning new methods—more practical and engaging than a course, but more insightful than a typical hackathon.
Mentors & Designers: A dedicated team guiding and challenging hack-teams toward success.
Interventions: 5- to 20-minute provocative sessions, delivered every 2-3 hours, designed to ignite fresh thinking, provide actionable tools, and help teams overcome obstacles.
Tech Stimulus: Interactive demos and insights into the latest digital technologies.
Prototypes: Real prototypes developed and showcased during final pitch demos.
Consumers: Real users invited to explore their deeper needs, receive their feedback and invite them to share valuable insights and improve ideas.
Start-up Founders: Engaged in "speed dating" sessions to challenge and refine team ideas, stress-testing them for real-world application.
UX Designers: A specialized team elevating ideas with UX/UI designs, bringing solutions to life.
Executive Judges: Senior leaders evaluating solutions based on time to market, commercial potential, brand alignment, and more.
The Journey in an image
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Outcomes
Key Learning Outcomes:
Customer-Centric Solutions: The involvement of real consumers ensured that the solutions were aligned with customer needs, resulting in more relevant, market-ready ideas.
Rapid Prototyping and Validation: Teams developed real prototypes, stress-tested by start-up founders and UX designers, speeding up the innovation process and improving the quality and viability of solutions.
Strategic Alignment: The presence of executive judges helped ensure that the solutions aligned with the company’s strategic goals and commercial potential.
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Long-Term Impact:
Enhanced Innovation Culture: Leaders gained hands-on experience in design thinking, fostering a culture of innovation within the organization by learning to solve problems creatively and collaboratively
Stronger Leadership Skills: By participating in and leading design-driven projects, executives strengthened their ability to drive innovation and lead teams in customer-focused initiatives.
Improved Collaboration: The cross-functional team dynamic, combined with mentorship, facilitated better teamwork, creativity, and shared ownership of business challenges on the long term.
Increased Engagement and Empowerment: Leaders felt more empowered to apply design-thinking principles in their day-to-day work, driving long-term changes in behavior and operational approaches.
Methods Tools Techniques
Exploring a Problem, Stakeholder Mapping, Jobs To Be Done (JTBD), In-Depth Interviewing, Reframing, Future News, Ideation techniques, Idea Concepting, Passion Check, Founder Inspiration, Experience Mapping, Rapid Prototyping, Test to Learn, Growth Hacking Method, Business Model Canvas (BMC), Communication for Impact
Duration of the Programme
A Design Hack is typically planned and organized over 2 months, with the main event occurring over 2 or 3 days.
Team Structure
Core Team:
1 Lead Designer & Facilitator, 2-3 Co-Facilitators, 1 Client Partner
Extended Team:
Client: 3 Leaders, responsible for co-organizing and co-running the event, 3 Executive Leaders to serve as "Judges", 6-10 Mentors to be trained as co-facilitators, Comms team to prepare and print materials
Outsourced: 6-8 (UX) Designers, Consumer Research Agency to arrange for User Interviewees, 3-6 Start-up Founders
Screen Recording 2024-09-30 at 2.05.51 PM.movdbs design hack clip.mov
Our Learnings
PARTICIPANT AND MENTOR SELECTION
Careful selection of participants and mentors is crucial. Both should have a strong affinity for Human-Centered Innovation and a Growth Mindset. Collaboration with the organization’s coordinators is essential to identify the right individuals.
FLEXIBLE EVENT MANAGEMENT
While a well-designed agenda is important, it’s impossible to predict the exact flow of the Design Hack. Designers and facilitators must be adaptable, ready to adjust or cancel interventions as needed to support the teams, and tailor interventions to fit specific team needs.
IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOW-UP COACHING
To maximize the benefits of the Design Hack, follow-up coaching is crucial. While participants may experiment with new techniques, they might revert to old habits without ongoing support. Regular coaching helps reinforce the innovative and growth-oriented mindset established during the event, ensuring that new habits and ways of thinking become firmly embedded.
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