📌 Presented on May 22nd, 2019 as part of the first iteration of the Inventors for Health Program.

As we approach the third bootcamp we'll be putting the supposed user of our products and services back firmly back in control of our development process. On Friday, for the first time, you'll be putting your prototypes in the hands of your users with the aim of gaining feedback to improve what you've created. Don't be surprised if what you hear deviates from what you expected and as always, remain open and attentive during your testing sessions.

For those that weren't able to make it yesterday, I briefly outlined some of the ways you can go about structuring the feedback that you receive in order to make it useful for the further development of your concepts. This will entail deliberate prioritisation of this information leading to meaningful iterations of your concepts.

I'll touch on a few of my favourite tools for processes like this. There are many out there so do experiment for yourselves to find out what works best for you and your teams. The first that I discussed were feedback heatmaps.

```cv
gallery
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```

Feedback heatmaps are an especially powerful tool to use when looking for correlations between feedback sessions or structuring interview data. Metrics you can use to develop heatmaps are only limited by your creativity, and can reveal unexpected connections between user groups that you hadn't anticipated. Importantly, each point should be used to represent a single user.

It could be, for example, that children aged 7 and below are found to be closely linked to women aged 65 and up. The question then becomes; why is that and what is it about a product or feature set that lead to that correlation. These relationships can then be exploited to further tailor your product or service to a given set of users.

Heatmaps can also be used to look at the relationship between your user and a particular product or service feature. Take commercial air travel for example. On each axis, you might consider some meaningful statistic like the amount of frequent flyer points the user redeems to book hotel rooms in a given year, and the number of times they collect frequent flyer points for personal travel. This data might indicate to you that your point redeeming system is useful among employees booking for their colleagues but not so for private persons booking their own travel. Or it may reveal something else entirely.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2F1OVYXBLNYaEhFxMnlZ9Z%2F2655f33d-49c1-471b-ac3e-15516c8f31f0.png?alt=media&token=e5fc4cec-a5da-443e-8ce9-13647a32da32","id":"2655f33d-49c1-471b-ac3e-15516c8f31f0","width":2000,"height":1129,"filename":"w=3840,quality=80(2).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Categorical mapping can help you and your team to nail down what aspects of your concept are resonating with users and where it may be falling short. During interviews or product tests, your users may indicate to you that one element of the product or service is important to them, such as the speed with which they can use it to perform an action, or the sense of security they feel (or lack thereof). In a similar fashion to heatmapping, you can use categorical mapping to plot a single user around a topic important to them. Use this to determine which features to build out further and which can be left behind.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2F1OVYXBLNYaEhFxMnlZ9Z%2F66070ef7-4344-47d4-838f-148ef5da9dee.png?alt=media&token=0169fcd4-6bb8-4286-b2c2-3796d62ebf85","id":"66070ef7-4344-47d4-838f-148ef5da9dee","width":2000,"height":1120,"filename":"w=3840,quality=80(3).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

The final tool that I shared yesterday was experience mapping. The above is a very simplistic version of what an experience map could look like, and can be thought of as a pared-down version of a [service blueprint](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Service_Design_Blueprint.png). The core function remains the same, however, and that is that each interaction with your product or service can be divided and analysed for deficiencies. How granular you decide to make an experience map is up to you, but I would recommend dividing it in various stages. Taking the example of commercial flight again you can think of:

1. the initial search for a ticket

2. purchasing the ticket

3. packing your bag and heading to the airport

4. the airport experience

5. boarding the flight

6. taking the flight

7. exiting the flight

8. the trip from the airport to your final destination

... or any of the service elements that make up the experience that you are taking responsibility for as founders. Each of the above could have it's own experience map. An interesting exercise to determine whether or not you are differentiated enough from the competition would be to map the experiences of using the current alternatives and then map your own product or service experience with the help of a user to see how you stack up. A good rule of thumb detailed in

[Peter Thiel's Zero to One](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_to_One), is that the experience of using your product or service should be one order of magnitude (or 10X) better than the current alternative if you want to succeed in the long term.

After gathering and structuring your feedback you may feel like you've got a pretty good idea of what your audience wants, but desire is a fickle thing, and what your users say they want might not actually be what they want at all. Central to all of this is that you as founders and change-makers get to decide where to steer your product or service and this is both an honour and a responsibility.

You may be immediately tempted to cater to the majority, or the group of users who appear to derive the greatest gain by using your product or service. Don't forget to consider the minority in this process as well. After all, a dedicated minority can become the champions of your new concept while a shift in mindset from a dominant majority could leave you without a user-base.

Finally, take advantage of the quick wins that arise when testing with your users. A simple modification can make a world of difference to the experience your users have. This can have ripple-effect projecting outwards from a satisfied user group.

Last slide, I promise - this one is self-explanatory.

The development of your product or service can be exponential if you want it to be. As part of Bootcamp 2 we considered the needs that each of your products addresses. Putting your prototypes in the hands of users will tell you definitively how well you managed to address them, or if they were really relevant to your users. The best way to ensure that you're meeting or exceeding these needs is to continuously modify your concept through quick iterations until it really delights your users and achieves a one order of magnitude improvement in a meaningful metric. This may mean that a core feature or even the core premise of your concept will need to change, but embrace this, and don't forget to document this change along the way.

A final piece of advice from my side: illusions can be a powerful thing. If you're unable to deliver on major improvements in all relevant categories for your user (and you're probably not), then don't be afraid to make your product or service appear that it does. There are ways to make a product feel fast (think cars) or a product feel safe (think credit cards) even when they might not be. This is the magic of design, and can add the nuance to your concept that it needs to maintain majority adoption.

A single order of magnitude improvement on an existing product or service will be self-evident to your users, and will be what makes them switch. A convincing design will ensure that they never feel the need to switch again...

That's it from my side. I can't wait to see what we can create together as part of Bootcamp 3 and beyond!

On Capturing and Structuring User Feedback

**Partner(s)**: Stadler Rail, S-Bahn Berlin, Hasso Plattner Institute

**Context**: The Berlin S-Bahn passenger rail network moves over 1 million passengers a day through the German capital. These trains see heavy and frequent use in a city known its enthusiasm for night-life and street art. With such high passenger volumes the maintenance and cleaning costs for trains and stations are enormous, often exceeding €5 million per year.

**Brief**: Stadler Rail, the maker of Berlins’ new ’S-Bahn’ trains sought to develop new solutions to promote cleanliness, passenger security (in all forms), and ease of maintenance for their current and future fleets.

**Tools**: Empathy Mapping, Hardware Prototyping, Co-design, Feasibility Studies, Design Probing

**Process Highlights**: From the start, my team and I recognized the forward-facing necessities and longevity of this exciting assignment. The time horizon from inception, specification, research, development, sales, through to end of life of a train is all but unique to the mobility and logistics sectors. This period can easily span more than 50 years. As such, dependability, serviceability, and maintenance cost considerations are paramount.

**Solution:** After several iterations, the team and I developed a proof-of-concept smart seating solution together with a mobile app for train cleaning personnel. These solutions would work in tandem to reduce the amount of time that the train needs to spend in the service station by indicating more clearly where the personnel should devote their attention and by extension the cost of labour involved attributed to doing so.

Reducing Maintenance Costs for Urban Passenger Rail in Berlin: A Proof-of-Concept

In a repurposed industrial loft in the Kreuzberg neighbourhood of Berlin, teams of scientists are preforming a range of skits for one another to show off their latest inventions. Some are pretending to be on a first-date, sharing their most promising product features to a new potential lover, others are on a podium addressing an imaginary political cabinet. There are no scientific instruments to be found anywhere in the room, and the facilities wouldn’t pass any lab certification, but the work being done here is absolutely cutting edge.

The teams have been selected to take part in the Inventors for Health (I4H) Program, a new development from [Spark BIH](http://www.spark-bih-berlin.org/). For this new venture, Spark has partnered with the [Charité Foundation](https://www.stiftung-charite.de/en/) and [5WX New Ventures GmbH](http://5wx.de/). The three-month program focuses on entrepreneurial skill-building for the next generation of scientists from within the Charité and its partner institutions. The aim is to develop solutions to address yet unmet medical needs.

Inventors for Health traces its roots to the work of Abigail and Craig Garner, both of whom have spent the better part of their careers at Stanford translating basic research to meaningful biomedical solutions. At the centre of this process is [biodesign](http://biodesign.stanford.edu/about-us/process.html) – a patient-focused innovation approach that’s been used to great effect in the valley and beyond. The premise was a simple one: what might happen if we marry the principles of biodesign with entrepreneurial skills and the unique startup ecosystem present in Berlin?

Their close ties to the Charité found the perfect partner in the Charité Foundation who for years have been working to develop its people and elevate the success of the organizations founded there. They didn’t shy away from investing nearly €1 million in making it happen.

From the outside looking in, you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s all fun and games here (and sometimes that's true) – but the teams are working to solve some of the biggest challenges in health today: communication between clinics and their patients, heart valve replacement in children, and the treatment of rare forms of cancer, to name a few. They’re also doing all of this outside of a traditional lab setting with the help of teammates with no formal scientific training. Within the Charité, and beyond, this is what makes the program completely unique.

Inventors for Health: The First Iteration

**Partner(s)**: MotionTag, Hasso Plattner Institute

**Context:** MotionTag can identify how, when and where a user is traveling just by pairing with their mobile device. Not only can they differentiate between up to 10 different transport modes, but this is done automatically in the background and can be analyzed in near real-time. The potential applications of this technology are boundless – the most obvious being smart ticketing solutions.

**Brief**: MotionTag tasked my team and I with developing additional use-cases for their technology.

**Tools**: Systems Thinking, Service Blueprinting, Low & High-Fidelity Prototyping, Wireframing

**Process Highlights:** MotionTag faces considerable competition in the urban mobility space from some of the largest technology companies in the world, namely Google (with their maps product) and Apple (the same). In the minds of consumers these are typically the default options for navigation and breaking a belief that is so entrenched can be difficult. To circumvent this issue, the team and I explored potential B2B integrations that would allow MotionTag to reach users via more established players and brands.

Of the B2B integrations that were considered, the most promising for creative business models appeared to be integrations within ride-sharing services like Share-Now (BMW) or Miles (Volkswagen).

**Solution:** Our solution is a rewards program for environmentally friendly travel facilitated by Motion Tag and delivered by ride sharing operators such as DriveNow. The solution makes use of Motion Tags travel mode detection technology to detect when users are travelling sustainably (walking, cycling, taking the train) and rewarding them for this behaviour. Ride-sharing operators are incentivized to provide rewards in exchange for location data of their users during transit to provide a clear picture of their mobility patterns (a highly sought after resource). This helps ride sharing operators optimize mobility resources in the urban environment to the benefit of our users, who in return receive a seamless travel experience.

Beyond Mobility Tracking: A Platform Integration Rewarding ‘Green’ Behaviour

**Partner(s)**: More Music Technologies (MMT), Aalborg University

**Context**: More Music Technologies (MMT) is the Danish parent company of several daughter companies operating in both their home and several foreign markets. These daughter companies all operate identical businesses and organizational structures with a unique local domain name as opposed to pursuing a unified web presence. This project has focused specifically around the potential for implementation into their Danish home market via [musikundervisning.dk](http://musikundervisning.dk/).

[MusikUndervisning.dk](http://musikundervisning.dk/) is the largest platform for music lessons in Denmark and hosts teachers offering music lessons as well as students seeking lessons via the site. Being a two-sided platform means that MMT needs to be able to offer unique value propositions to both core user groups to continue to expand. They recognized that the foundation of this relationship is the delivery of great music lessons, and so significant resources were deployed early-on to creating an enticing and user-friendly environment for teachers paired with a strict vetting process that would ensure lesson quality.

**Brief**: MMT gave us carte-blanche to revisit their offering for students seeking music lessons on the site. The primary objective was to drive further growth and move key engagement metrics like recurring bookings.

**Tools**: Qualitative and Quantitative Research, ’Status Quo’ User Journey Mapping, User Archetyping, Persona Creation, Sprinting, Storyboarding, Prototype Development & Testing, System Mapping, Service Blueprinting, Wireframing

**Process Highlights:** Many different potential problem and solution spaces were considered. Ultimately, through a combination of user research insights and debating areas that the design team felt would be intellectually interesting the following problem statement was created as the foundation of the development work for this project.

> How might we create a more personal connection between music teachers and music students before booking their first lesson?

For the team and I, this posed a handful of interesting questions, such as: How do we define what personal is? Is this different from person to person? How do people connect meaningfully in a digital context? How well do music students want to know their potential music teachers?

**Solution**: The user research phases executed for this project indicated foremost that the current state of the platform potentially felt impersonal and overly transactional to those seeking to take music lessons. This contrasts sharply with the feelings interviewees expressed towards music and music lessons which were dominated by emotion, fun, and the opportunity to build personal connections.

In response to this, we redesigned the digital onboarding process to feel like a natural conversation with the platform and guide the student effortlessly towards a number of selected teachers who’s profiles we also redesigned in tandem to make matching more seemless.

New Engagement Opportunities for the Fastest Growing Music Lesson Platform in the Nordics

A concept is effectively a mental image. These mental images make up the building blocks of thoughts and ideas. Here's where it gets interesting. Concepts are also defined by all of their actual or potential instances, where instances are basically moments where this concept becomes familiar to us.

Instances help us turn this.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FhDBmE6NleoMvmydw44gJ%2F8c37a363-b045-4dee-bc16-a097a940d369.png?alt=media&token=19c596dd-a184-474b-a74a-536a6badad9a","id":"8c37a363-b045-4dee-bc16-a097a940d369","width":1416,"height":784,"filename":"Screen Shot 2023-11-03 at 12.18.18.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

And this.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FhDBmE6NleoMvmydw44gJ%2Fbf8817d2-1298-4d1e-9db3-afd3930c65be.png?alt=media&token=53079346-f66c-431c-a9fd-73744eb9c163","id":"bf8817d2-1298-4d1e-9db3-afd3930c65be","width":1418,"height":780,"filename":"Screen Shot 2023-11-03 at 12.19.03.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Into this.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FhDBmE6NleoMvmydw44gJ%2F797f676c-4998-4980-a070-26054060e00a.png?alt=media&token=992d8a3d-b6ff-491f-8c06-abe33f0481f9","id":"797f676c-4998-4980-a070-26054060e00a","width":1418,"height":830,"filename":"Screen Shot 2023-11-03 at 12.20.07.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

By creating concepts we as humans have been able to develop complex notions and systems around things by communicating our concepts to others – without which we would have a very difficult time trying to communicate about the lion above. Concepts are also hierarchical:

*Higher levels of which are termed "superordinate" and lower levels termed "subordinate". Additionally, there is the "basic" or "middle" level at which people will most readily categorize a concept. For example, a basic-level concept would be "chair", with its superordinate, "furniture", and its subordinate, "easy chair". (source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept))*

For this reason, analogies become a powerful tool to consider when developing your prototypes as many of the stakeholders you will need to communicate your concepts to will not come from a medical or scientific background. For example, instead of 'enhanced therapies for bradycardia' you might consider 'new treatment methods for people with slow heartbeats'.

To the large majority of individuals you may not need to effectively communicate the scientific specifics of how your product or service works, but you will almost certainly need to communicate your concept in an understandable way.

All of the prototyping that we did as part of the first bootcamp can be thought of as creating instances of your concepts. We want your team to understand your concept and the system in which it operates better than anyone - so building prototypes help us to create a common understanding, one which you'll later share with the outside world. Every instance \[read prototype\] you create brings you closer to a well defined concept.

By working on your concepts through rapid prototyping your mental image becomes clearer, and clearer, and clearer. We may not see the full impact of your concept until it has been out in the for some time. It may even have unintended consequences...

On Concepts and Why They Matter

**Partner(s)**: Essity Ventures

**Context**: Hygiene and bladder weakness make up two strategically significant portfolio areas for Essity. Their products in these areas have made a positive impact in the lives of millions of people globally. Essity seeks to further build on those relationships through building meaningful digital products and services. Enter Essity Ventures, the in-house venture building studio of Essity.

**Brief**: We uncovered a number of unmet needs in these areas and noted that the two user groups have much in common. One of the standout opportunities for us was enabling users to find reliably clean bathrooms when out and about.

```cv
gallery
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This project centred around users suffering from incontinence.","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FlVb4orFjIjkL0ePHo09g%2F9964e64c-35bf-49ae-9540-68b7d63c3782.png?alt=media&token=27ec57f9-ddf1-464f-83db-c1862f84471b","id":"9964e64c-35bf-49ae-9540-68b7d63c3782","width":7680,"height":4320,"filename":"Need(s) Assessment & Prioritization(1).png","type":"image/png","caption":"I began by carrying out market research and profiling interviews in order to better understand some of the unique needs, motivations, and aspirations of this diverse group. After synthesizing this data into more actionable information I prioritized their needs by comparing simply that need could be addressed and how acute (in other words how severely it is experienced by the individuals). This allowed me to arrive at a group of needs that we could address quickly and that if solved would have a significant impact on well-being.","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FlVb4orFjIjkL0ePHo09g%2F5353eada-5126-4cec-bde2-649f4333dc4b.png?alt=media&token=b0e7cdc4-02bf-4f67-a589-04bea68f69fa","id":"5353eada-5126-4cec-bde2-649f4333dc4b","width":7680,"height":4320,"filename":"What problem were trying to solve_(1).png","type":"image/png","caption":"In order to frame this challenge I developed the following 'How Might We' question to serve as a guide in the development of potential solutions.","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FlVb4orFjIjkL0ePHo09g%2F0f07b96d-b278-43da-81c6-b8ca473440c1.png?alt=media&token=c2f3efe2-a785-4005-8808-5e947b67b156","id":"0f07b96d-b278-43da-81c6-b8ca473440c1","width":7680,"height":4320,"filename":"Process(1).png","type":"image/png","caption":"To support my design process and prioritize action I used a framework I adapted from the Zendesk (a CRM software) design team as I knew my mandate was to develop a scalable digital-first solution that we could roll-out quickly.","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FlVb4orFjIjkL0ePHo09g%2F4a97c259-abfd-4932-b21e-c7ce6f28fa89.png?alt=media&token=7b0730f0-f3a2-4c23-9a94-a1803fb69f15","id":"4a97c259-abfd-4932-b21e-c7ce6f28fa89","width":7680,"height":4320,"filename":"Solution Considerations(1).png","type":"image/png","caption":"Some of the most important considerations that arose as part of a process of this iterative process and continual user exposure were; that Google Maps appeared to be a favourite solution amongst those interviewed to locate bathrooms already, that seamless access in order to prevent the feeling of shame in asking to use local facilities was imperative, and that many of their preferred interfaces were conversational in nature. ","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FlVb4orFjIjkL0ePHo09g%2F1c9e1804-63a6-429d-8f16-d62852355011.png?alt=media&token=90207e6f-4d74-4b3d-8e23-39aa228babd8","id":"1c9e1804-63a6-429d-8f16-d62852355011","width":5120,"height":2988,"filename":"Wireframing.png","type":"image/png","caption":"I went through a numer of iterations moving between both lower and higer fidelity prototypes.","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FlVb4orFjIjkL0ePHo09g%2F5034ee83-54b3-49b1-ac1c-c28658a82c3e.png?alt=media&token=06a19df3-edf4-48d2-bb08-24dabe6174d1","id":"5034ee83-54b3-49b1-ac1c-c28658a82c3e","width":5120,"height":2988,"filename":"Higher Fidelity.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FlVb4orFjIjkL0ePHo09g%2F06ab8473-97ae-402c-9f72-2074da2414f0.png?alt=media&token=d1e67abc-a79d-43d0-85fe-98122eba3961","id":"06ab8473-97ae-402c-9f72-2074da2414f0","width":7680,"height":4320,"filename":"Iterative Design Process.png","type":"image/png","caption":"The venture design process required a highly adaptable and collaborative approach that involved workshopping with countless internal members of staff as well as external partners.","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FJDs0GLZUqbc7rKL8W2c6ovpGWhb2%2FlVb4orFjIjkL0ePHo09g%2Fdec75c67-a9c2-4bd9-9eeb-4fa8dc778d54.png?alt=media&token=98ac162d-d0df-498b-8570-39278e21b300","id":"dec75c67-a9c2-4bd9-9eeb-4fa8dc778d54","width":7680,"height":4320,"filename":"Solution(1).png","type":"image/png","caption":"Ultimately the solution I developed that was favoured amongst our user base was a WhatsApp chat interface that elegantly addressed some key issues; users didn't need to download 'another app', the powerful tools available now via the Whatsapp for Business platform enabled a scaleable off the shelf solution that could be linked to their preferred mapping and navigation platform (Google Maps), a viable business and transaction model was enabled with the payments infrastructure built directly into WhatsApp.","border":false}]}
```

**Tools**: User Journey Mapping, Quantitative & Qualitative User Research, Financial Prototyping, A/B Testing, Basic & Advanced Digital Prototyping.

**Process Highlights**: We’ve trialed dozens of digital service delivery vehicles for this new venture and got to experiment with partnerships with a huge variety of stakeholders.

**Solution**: A conversational chat interface delivered over WhatsApp that guides our users to the nearest bathrooms instantly via their navigation solution, Google Maps.

**Result**: Implemented as a proof-of-concept in one of the key geographies. The solution elegantly solves access and location without embarrassment or unwanted attention. Favoured amongst test participants and product SLIP is high. Proof-of-concept testing will determine whether solution gets resource investment to refine and grow.

A Digital Companion for Finding Nearby Bathrooms

**Partners:** Essity Ventures

**Context**: In the EU alone it is estimated that 49 billion single-use menstrual products are used each year. While not obvious to many, these products contain significant proportions of plastics. The vast majority of these products end up in landfill. Single-use plastics are also coming under heavy scrutiny from respective European commissions and rightly so. There has to be a better way. Essity recognizes the need for a sustainable solution that can account for the many women who still prefer single-use products over more sustainable options like menstrual cups or washable liners.

**Brief**: Together with a colleague in the feminine care division of Essity, my task was to develop a new venture that explores recycling and or re-use of single-use menstrual products that is both sustainable and financially viable.

```cv
figma
{"url":"https://www.figma.com/proto/gQYNj5yr7zIxb3ORS8BKpo/Service-Blueprint%3A-Menstrual-Product-Recycling?type=design&node-id=27-2&t=UOIeEr80OkGclsMT-1&scaling=scale-down&page-id=0%3A1&starting-point-node-id=27%3A2&mode=design"}
```

**Tools**: Systems Thinking, Service Blueprinting, Structured Interviewing, Polling, ‘Wizard of Oz’ Prototyping, Journey Mapping, Consumer Behaviour Analysis, Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis and Research

**Process Highlights**: Recycling plastics is extremely hard and rarely profitable. Menstrual products are often multi-material and many contain several different types of plastics. This makes the process even more complex. We needed a solution that flipped traditional recycling economics on its head by exploiting opportunities in logistics.

Before investing in and launching novel municipal recycling infrastructure, we reasoned that as a start, we needed to developed a disposal and collection system that women found natural, as easy as just tossing in the bin, and even loved enough to become a champion. We named this service Delphi. The name was inspired from the Greek root for 'womb' symbolizing rebirth (of new value streams) and the danish prefix 'del', to share.

```cv
figma
{"url":"https://www.figma.com/proto/NUCYnLjSClSWXxt47xdNVw/Delphi-Prototyping?type=design&node-id=401-430&t=CdqcoOIQUzXl7rXT-1&scaling=scale-down&page-id=0%3A1&mode=design"}
```

**Solution**: We designed and developed a disposal and collection pilot together with environmental and waste disposal consultancy Econet that we will roll-out in the city of Copenhagen in the coming year. Have a look at the circular service blueprint above which was made for a specific scenario in which a candidate user would participate in the service at one of our retail partner locations. More information cannot be shared at this time due to IP limitations.

Designing The Worlds First Recycling Scheme for Single-Use Menstrual Products

Venture Building & Design

During the basic and advanced track programs at the HPI multidisciplinary teams work in a flexible environment and apply an iterative process to develop human-centered products, services or business models.

Design Thinking: Basic & Advanced Track

Focal Areas:

• Service Design
• Collaborative Innovation
• Systems Thinking

Focal Areas:

• Digital Strategy
• Innovation & Management
• Economics & Finance

user & market research, concept development, service & venture design, rapid prototyping, ux/ui design

A global FemTech community and a 9-month equity free FemTech start-up acceleration program for companies developing innovative solutions to improve technologies relating to women’s health.

Mentor in Product and Service Design

Conceptualized, designed, and developed new scalable digital ventures for the in-house venture studio of Essity by identifying and responding to previously unmet or underserved needs.

Initiatives and key results:

* Data-Driven Design: Collecting, synthesizing and leveraging big data sets to pinpoint unmet needs at scale from internal and external sources – validating trends through individual interviews.

* Rapid, Iterative Proposition Testing: Drafting and re-drafting value propositions to test with consumers or B2B partners via digital A|B testing, surveys, and one-on-one sessions.

* Leading Concept to Launch: Led the development of two promising value propositions from concept testing through to in-market prototype testing and launch creating promising new digital growth vehicles for Essity.

Venture Designer

Leveraged my background in business and interest in strategy and futures to help client firms understand the needs of their customers, implement design-driven processes to meet those needs, and identify opportunities to grow. 

Initiatives and key results: 

* Human centred design processes: Quantitative and qualitative user research (structured and semi-structured interviews, survey creation etc.), collection into analysis tools (Dovetail, Airtable etc.)

* Trend analysis: Market research and competitive analysis to spot areas of opportunity and over-saturation 

* Collaboration for Success: Workshop, sprint, and co-creation design and facilitation for partners to engage with the design process and build actionable roadmapsInsights to actions: Insight generation, report development, and client-facing presentations leading to data-driven decision making

Junior Design & Strategy Consultant

Responsible for bridging the gap between our customers and the product team to ensure that the touchpoints across the customers’ journey were engaging, efficient and effective. 

Initiatives and key results: 

* Leveraging User Feedback: Created and formalized a user feedbacking database to centralize our feedback process

* UX Performance Optimization: Tracked changes across the product and their impact on key UX metrics, creating a real-time understanding of UX and product health

* Insight Synthesis: Synthesized user stories and feedback into actionable insights for the development team

* UX Strategy Development: My work helped the company be more proactive and data-driven when considering long term UX and product strategy

Customer Experience (CX) & Insights Manager

Enabled global client firms to experience and integrate design as a strategic process through strategic co-creation and innovation facilitation. Clients included Weber Grills, Ottobock, BBBank, and John Deere.

Initiatives and key results:

* Brand, Identity, Storytelling: Combined active listening and information architecture approaches to help partners develop, understand, and build their brands.

* Journey Mapping: Used immersion, observation, and other user research methods to help partners visualize and understand their user journeys and identify novel opportunity areas.

* Futures Thinking: Workshopping and positive provocation to assist clients in actively engaging with the near and far futures of their customers.

Strategic Designer

Combining advanced market and user research techniques, I develop and validate new value propositions, and employ rapid prototyping to build them into impactful digital businesses using low to no-code tools to reach market quickly.

* Creative Strategy: Responsible for driving ux and design processes that are both highly creative and structured to deliver quality consistently.

* Advanced Co-Creative Toolbox: Years of exposure to creative processes helps me increase buy-in and ownership of workshop and sprint outcomes and gets participants engaged across seniority levels.

* Rapid Concept Validation: Developed a method to systematically validate new value propositions thoroughly within 2 weeks. Resulted in the first consumer facing business, Toura, which began generating revenue only a day after launch.

Venture & Service Design Lead

Designed and implemented a first of it’s kind design thinking idea incubation program for one Europes premier life science research institutions, helping startup founders in the space translate their ideas into marketable products and services.

Initiatives and key results:

* Prototype to Understand: Developed engaging human-centred design programming, enabling non-designers to communicate their ideas visually and develop iterative prototyping capabilities.

* Design Mentorship: Mentored startup founders in the use of immersive, empathy-driven user research protocols to validate the needs of their prospective users.

* Cross-Functional Implementation: The BIH has now implemented this design-driven approach across their funding lines to accelerate their success and increase time-to-market.

Program Manager: Inventors for Health (I4H) Incubator

Responsible for building new programming and partnerships for the next generation of Danish startup superstars. I work with founding teams to rapidly de-risk their businesses. 

Jesse LaMarre

2023