Design Thinking in IT

Status Go Podcast: Episode 9

“Step back, truly understand your customer needs, understand the design statement and design towards that.” -Lou Lenzi

Status Go Podcast: Episode 9

“That’s why you are seeing the field of UX exploding. It’s because it is that combination of data analytics, customer need and then delivering a creative solution.” – Lou Lenzi

Status Go Podcast: Episode 9

“The fundamental principles behind solid product development in an IT organization is all based on creative thinking.” – Lou Lenzi

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Episode 9: Design Thinking in IT

Status Go welcomes Lou Lenzi to the podcast, hosted by Jeff Ton. Trained as an industrial designer, Lou has led teams with the main mission of connecting design driven innovation to overall business strategies. Lou continues this mission as a Professor of Practice at IUPUI’s School of Informatics and Computing in the Department of Human-Centered Computing.

In the age of transformation, when innovation is an urgent necessity versus a luxury, superior design, the kind that wildly enhances customer experience and creates new business models, must be well executed. In this episode Lou and Jeff take us through the evolution of design thinking over the last 36 years, they discuss the root of fundamentally good design and explore the type of true collaboration among teams and even adjacent industries necessary to carry out a needle moving product or solution.

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Time Stamped Table of Contents

0:52 Background

3:40 The evolution of the industry

5:19 Keeping pace with rapid change

6:24 Turning to adjacent industries to remain current

7:47 Getting buy in when driving innovative initiatives

10:02 How R&D and IT work together

11:51 Creativity in IT

14:52 The root of fundamentally good design

15:27 Hiring a design specialist

16:35 Idea Incubators

18:39 Summary

Prior to retiring as Design Director at GE’s Major Appliances business in 2016, Lou’s entire 36-year career has centered on design and innovation leadership in large corporations, including IBM, Thomson/RCA, GE Healthcare, and GE Appliances. He’s led multi-disciplinary, global design teams consisting of Industrial Designers, UX Designers, UI Designer and Human Factors Engineers in the fields of IT, Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, and Medical Systems.

Lou was recently honored to be named one of the Top 50 Industrial Designers over the last 50 years by the Industrial Designers Society of America.

Lou is currently working as a part-time Professor of Practice at IUPUI’s School of Informatics and Computing in the Department of Human-Centered Computing. His work is focused on aligning HCC’s graduate level curriculum with the need for strategic design leadership skills in the burgeoning Internet-of-Things (IoT) field. His coursework relies heavily on Industry-centered relationships through sponsored projects, lectures and seminars.