Before joining Philips Design I worked for various NGOs, where I discovered just how important it was to carry out research into the real needs of people. There I learned that people’s needs are never static, they change all the time as the contexts of their lives alter. This is especially true in periods of transition. When people are experiencing major change, it is vital to help them gain insights into their situation so they can take the appropriate action to deal with, and benefit from the developments taking place around them. This approach helps us strengthen our design and innovation activities, helping companies enter new markets and domains. A good example of the power of effective change analysis was the work we carried out for the Belfast Trust in Northern Ireland. The staff working there had witnessed a number of major upheavals in the organization, including cost-cutting measures. Although these changes were meant to streamline working practices and improve efficiency, the people working at the hospital experienced something else altogether.
Our emphasis on finding out exactly the kind of issues and dilemmas people face on a daily basis is crucial in allowing us to propose new approaches and ways of working that are beneficial to those affected. In other words, we look at people, not processes; because that is the only way we can initiate improvements that will be embraced and maintained by people and business.
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