Design thinking in business process development – case customer instructions
Andersson, Tiina (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025112730479
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025112730479
Tiivistelmä
Organizations today face rapid changes driven by digitalization and technological advancements. Traditional long-term development projects have shifted towards agile, scalable solutions that anticipate future needs. Design thinking has emerged as a popular method for innovation and process improvement, particularly in IT. Studies highlight its effectiveness when combined with practical, hands-on approaches and structured frameworks, such as those proposed by design- and consulting firm Ideo.
This thesis study was a business process development project commissioned by a global IT organization. The goal was to design an improved way of managing customer instructions. The target was to design a structured, scalable and effective model that reduces manual work and enhances invoice handling process. The solution should be adaptable across the organization. Capability for automation should be considered when designing the new model. Out of the thesis study scope were testing and implementation phases of the new model as well as automation in practise. Thesis also explored if design thinking was a suitable approach for fast-paced business process development.
The theoretical background for the study was design thinking framework and Ideo’s toolkit as methodology. As the goal for the study was to design a new instruction handling process that could be automated, the literature review covered also service design, business process management and implementation of artificial intelligence.
The research approach for the thesis study was qualitative research where the raw data was gathered through interviews. The overall number of interviewees was 8 people who work closely with the customers and managing the instructions. Interviews were semi structured interviews, and they were conducted in the beginning of March 2025. Interview results were further developed in the end of March 2025 in a workshop where the interviewees were the participants.
Key findings were that the current internal instruction handling process should be in the focus of the development work. Current process covers well customers’ needs but relies heavily on manual work and is not possible to automate. Design thinking and Ideo turned out to be a suitable way of working when designing something new and innovative in a fast-paced working environment.
The result of the thesis study was the first prototype of the new instruction management model. Next phase after the thesis project is to validate and test the prototype with wider internal and external stakeholders, make needed alterations, and implement the new way of handling instructions.
This thesis study was a business process development project commissioned by a global IT organization. The goal was to design an improved way of managing customer instructions. The target was to design a structured, scalable and effective model that reduces manual work and enhances invoice handling process. The solution should be adaptable across the organization. Capability for automation should be considered when designing the new model. Out of the thesis study scope were testing and implementation phases of the new model as well as automation in practise. Thesis also explored if design thinking was a suitable approach for fast-paced business process development.
The theoretical background for the study was design thinking framework and Ideo’s toolkit as methodology. As the goal for the study was to design a new instruction handling process that could be automated, the literature review covered also service design, business process management and implementation of artificial intelligence.
The research approach for the thesis study was qualitative research where the raw data was gathered through interviews. The overall number of interviewees was 8 people who work closely with the customers and managing the instructions. Interviews were semi structured interviews, and they were conducted in the beginning of March 2025. Interview results were further developed in the end of March 2025 in a workshop where the interviewees were the participants.
Key findings were that the current internal instruction handling process should be in the focus of the development work. Current process covers well customers’ needs but relies heavily on manual work and is not possible to automate. Design thinking and Ideo turned out to be a suitable way of working when designing something new and innovative in a fast-paced working environment.
The result of the thesis study was the first prototype of the new instruction management model. Next phase after the thesis project is to validate and test the prototype with wider internal and external stakeholders, make needed alterations, and implement the new way of handling instructions.