As a computer science student, we spend most of our time solving problems. Whether it is developing an application for a company, or building an algorithm to solve a scientific problem, the ability of problem solving is the key to our success. Interestingly, despite most of us will end up becoming a software developer, our professors rarely teach us the skill of software development. What do they teach us? The methods of logical thinking and reasoning, a technique that is called scientific method.
“The Scientific Method as an Ongoing Process” by ArchonMagnus – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Commons.
Scientific method is the process to systematically acquire new knowledge and to effectively solve new problems. As shown in the picture above, it involves asking questions, forming hypothesis, making predictions, testing and analyzing. It is the cornerstone of modern scientific development, and the most important method of thinking for any science students. However, what we learned so far from design studio seems to be different from what we learned from any science courses.
In the book Value Proposition Design, Osterwalder et al. (2014) suggest that a customer profile is necessary for us to understand the needs of the customer. It includes the customer jobs, customer pains, and customer gain. Once we have the customer profile we will create the value map, which includes products and services, pain relievers, and gain creators. The value map is created to describe how we intend to create value for the customer.
According to Professor Beausoleil during our first lecture, many successful brands such as Apple, Coca-Cola and Starbucks tend to have commercials that create “superior experiences” instead of just selling the attributes of their products. In other words, they create commercials that connect to their customers’ soul instead of their brain. One of the examples is the action camera company GoPro.
Video Source: GoPro
Above is one of the signature commercials of GoPro. It shows different young people playing different extreme sports such as motocross, snowboarding, and skydiving. It is a fascinating video to watch with heavy electronic music in the background. The most interesting thing I notice from this video is that despite being a commercial that sells camera, it doesn’t mention the price or technical features of the camera. All it brings is the thrill seeking experience of the adventures to the audiences. In other words, instead of trying to be the cheapest or the most powerful camera in the market, they try to be the camera that brings the best user experience. That’s why one of the slogans of GoPro is that “Life is either an incredible adventure, or is nothing at all.”
I believe learning the business thinking process will make me a better software developer. Instead of simply writing a piece of code that works, I will be able to think on the side of the customers to design applications that best fit or exceed their needs. I am very excited to see what I will be able to learn from the design studio.
References
Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2014). Canvas. In Value proposition design: How to create products and services customers want (pp. 10-39). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.