Microsoft was looking for ways to help its Software Partners use its suite of Cloud-based Cognitive Services to build AI-driven products that solve real user problems—not just ones driven by the tech itself. They asked me to design a two-day, hands-on workshop to see if Design Thinking could be the key to helping partners understand and address user needs, creating lasting solutions. The workshop brought together cross-industry teams to tackle challenges with real-world impact: imagining the factory of the future, matching NHS resources with patient demand, and using AI to improve insurance outcomes. Blending design thinking and lean startup principles, we created a practical framework that helped teams develop ideas that resonated with stakeholders.
Discover
We kicked things off by framing each challenge around actual user needs instead of technical capabilities. Participants and their customers got to the root of the human problems they wanted to solve using fast-paced ideation and discovery techniques. While Microsoft’s Cognitive Services gave them plenty of tools to experiment with, we focused on uncovering the “why” behind each project. We encouraged teams to see each problem from the end-users perspective to build empathy. From these insights, we helped them find new ways to build solutions that could genuinely benefit stakeholders.
Define
Once the problems were clear, the teams co-created solutions, drawing on everyone’s perspectives to keep ideas fresh and rooted in real user needs. Working closely with their customers, they developed concepts that would be innovative and practical. Together, they defined how their AI-driven ideas could deliver value and fit with business goals, ensuring each solution was realistic and could go the distance. This approach led to a mix of bold ideas, from predictive healthcare resource allocation to adaptive manufacturing systems with a straightforward user focus.
Develop
With concepts in place, teams quickly turned ideas into early prototypes, using Lean Startup methods to test for user desirability and gather real feedback. By quickly hacking together prototypes, they could immediately test assumptions, refining and iterating based on customer insights. This rapid prototyping helped participants see the power of user-centred, fast-paced development. It gave them the early-stage evidence needed to win over stakeholders and secure investment for their ideas.
Deliver
The workshop's success led Microsoft to ask me to build a global Design Thinking programme that could be used across the organisation. This program became a practical guide to help Partners and Customers use Design Thinking to develop new products and services, encouraging empathy and a genuine focus on user needs across Microsoft’s global network. By combining Cognitive Services' capabilities with a user-first mindset, this programme has enabled Microsoft’s partners to create solutions that are not only technically strong but also genuinely meaningful for users.
