Design Thinking Demystified – the Power of Customer Empathy

We’ve spent our careers being told to be innovative, transformative… to ‘think outside the box.’ However, it’s not always easy to see where that box is. But 2020 gave us a collective glimpse – a living study - in how companies, local businesses, and public institutions navigated through uncertainty and change. It was iterative – test and learn and adjust – because it had to be. Truth be told, today’s most successful companies didn’t need a pandemic; they have been driving this type of change for years using frameworks that trace to the Middle Ages (really!). They start with empathy, understanding the people they serve (e.g. customers, employees), and engaging with them directly to understand what they need. It’s a simple and powerful concept that minimizes risk and uncertainty and builds things people actually want (because you asked them!). Ronnie Battista, Global Lead of Slalom’s Emerge XD team, will spend a spirited hour talking through some of the basic design frameworks in use today (e.g. Design Thinking, Design Sprints), while seeking your examples in a fun and interactive session.

Speaker: Ronnie Battista

Ronnie Battista is a senior executive with 20 years’ experience visioning and delivering creative and profitable cross-channel interactive experiences with bottom line impact. Early in his career, Ronnie found his calling in experience design. He is the Practice Lead for Experience Design at Slalom Consulting. In addition to Slalom, Ronnie served in user/customer experience leadership positions at Accenture, Dun & Bradstreet, Gextech (Spain), and MISI Company (now NTT Data). Ronnie has provided experience strategy and design leadership to over 100 companies. He is an international speaker on the topic of user experience. Ronnie is a former President of UPA New Jersey and a current Board Member/Executive Committee Treasurer of the International User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA). Ronnie is a popular instructor with Rutgers Business School Executive Education teaching in both custom corporate and open enrollment programs, such as the Mini-MBA: Customer Centric Management.

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