BITM Research Abstract 2017 Janz

For decades, IT leaders have sought to become more innovative and responsive to their respective organizations, and in the process strengthen their relationship with their end-user community by delivering systems on time and within budgets that also surpass end-user expectations. Adopting a more entrepreneurial mindset within IT has been suggested as one way to achieve these goals. The premise presented in this paper is that Design Thinking -- or more specifically "Human-Centered Design" -- is a process and mindset that will help create a more entrepreneurial culture in organizations. In the paper we outline the major tenets of design thinking: a focus on human values, radical collaboration with the end-user, empathy-driven requirements determination, a relentless focus on the end-user's point-of-view, and rapid prototyping/testing in close proximity to the end-user. In addition, we present a chronology of how Human-Centered Design has shaped the innovation process at a large consumer-based pharmaceutical firm and how design thinking is now serving as the basis for energizing the company's IT organization and its end-users in driving real business value.