{"id":6508,"date":"2026-04-27T21:17:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/?page_id=6508"},"modified":"2026-05-18T12:03:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T10:03:06","slug":"design-thinking","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/methodology\/design-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Design thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Methods<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design thinking workshops: innovate around real user needs<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Designing a new service, rethinking an internal process, relaunching a stagnant offer\u2026 Design thinking is the method that lets your teams do all of this \u2014 by starting from real user needs, not the assumptions made in the meeting room.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The method<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A human-centred approach to innovating on complex problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Popularised by Tim Brown (IDEO) and Stanford’s d.school, design thinking is a human-centred innovation approach: it starts from real user needs to design solutions that are desirable, feasible and economically viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observe, understand, prototype, test \u2014 before committing to a final solution. The result: fewer risks and a solution reaching users faster. We use it as a core approach in our collaborative workshops<\/a> focused on producing innovative solutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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WHEN TO USE IT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design thinking for strategic innovation \u2014 and well beyond<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Applicable in any organisation, regardless of size or sector, design thinking is particularly effective when a problem is complex, poorly defined, or when conventional approaches have already reached their limits. We activate it in our innovation and creativity workshops<\/a>, alone or combined with other methods.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u2192 Designing a new service offer centred on real customer needs<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Rethinking an internal process that creates friction for team members<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Relaunching a project stuck through lack of a shared understanding of the problem<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Preparing a product launch by rapidly testing several concepts<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Driving innovation in an R&D or marketing team stuck in its habitual patterns<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Aligning diverse stakeholders around a shared strategic challenge<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The process<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From problem discovery to delivered solution:
4 iterative phases<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Design thinking doesn’t follow a linear path. Each phase alternates divergence and convergence, and the process can loop several times based on user feedback. The goal: never invest in the wrong solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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01.
Discover<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Observe and understand before designing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Interviews, field observations, market analysis and unexpressed needs: we start from the users’ real problem, not the team’s assumptions. This empathy phase determines the relevance of everything that follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Questions become perceptions<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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02.
Design<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Define the challenge and generate ideas<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

From the data collected, we reframe the real problem to solve, then generate as many ideas as possible without judgement. This is where Creative Problem Solving<\/a> naturally connects with design thinking \u2014 structuring the ideation phase to produce genuinely new ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Perceptions become ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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03.
Develop<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Make it tangible to test it fast<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A prototype isn’t a finished product: it’s a rapid representation of an idea, tangible enough to gather real user feedback. Makestorming is PROPULSIO’s preferred tool for this phase, running in rapid iteration with the idea generation stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Ideas become prototypes<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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04.
Deliver<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Test, refine and launch<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The prototype is tested with real users. Feedback either feeds a new iteration or validates scaling up. This is where Lean Startup (agile approach<\/a>) takes over: build, measure, learn \u2014 until you find the right market fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Prototypes become reality<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Methodological combinations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design thinking is even more powerful combined with other approaches<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Design thinking is a framework, not a closed toolkit. At PROPULSIO, we combine it with other methods depending on the project’s challenges \u2014 to go further in ideation, agility or implementation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Design thinking + Lean Startup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Design thinking frames problem discovery and solution design. Lean Startup then validates hypotheses rapidly against the real market: build-measure-learn cycles, MVP, short iterations.

The ideal combination for high-stakes product or offer launches.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Design thinking + Creative Problem Solving<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

CPS<\/a> structures and enriches the ideation phase of design thinking: divergence techniques, challenge reframing, selection of the most promising ideas. For when your team needs to produce solutions that are genuinely new, not just variations on what already exists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A design thinking workshop calibrated to your challenge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Every workshop is designed from your real challenge:
we select the phases and most appropriate tools<\/a>, and build a flow
that guarantees a concrete deliverable (persona, prototype or action plan)
at every stage of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR PROJECT \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Also explore<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other PROPULSIO facilitation methods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Creative Problem Solving<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Structuring creativity to generate new, actionable ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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LEGO\u00ae Serious Play\u00ae<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Thinking with your hands to surface what words can’t express.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Agile project management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Scrum, Lean Startup, Kanban: running your projects in iterative mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":2342,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6508","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6508"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7908,"href":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6508\/revisions\/7908"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propulsio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}