Balancing Left-Right Bias in User-Centric Design Processes

• by Akhand Tiwari and Premasis Mukherjee
• Dec 11, 2015
• 1 min
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This Note gives glimpse of the approach through which MicroSave is able to engage business managers in design process and ensure ownership and feasibility of the product designed.

Success of any product ultimately depends upon whether clients prefer, choose and use it. Understanding clients’ life and mental models, therefore, is a prerequisite first element for product design. However, researchers and designers often overlook the second element – the organisational buy-in and strategic feasibility of the creative ideas. Market research and user-centric design starts to look less meaningful when excellent product ideas are not adopted by the institution. We credit this failure to lack of focus to address the left brain and right brain bias.

The left and right hemispheres of our brain process information in different ways. While creative work and ideas are attributed to the right brain, the left brain is considered responsible for logical and analytical thinking. In terms of product design, institutions and investors tend to design products focusing on business logic and performance analysis; while researchers and designers promote creativity and innovation in design.

In this Note, we discuss MicroSave’s MI4ID approach to Concept Distillation and how it balances these biases in the product development process. The Concept Distillation process of MicroSave’s MI4ID approach provides as many creative and disruptive ideas as possible, yet is able to cull out ideas that are not strategically feasible. This Note gives glimpse of the approach through which MicroSave is able to engage business managers in design process and ensure ownership and feasibility of the product designed.