Design thinking is paving the way for AI product managers (AIPMs) to better understand the target audience and build an AI system that translates product requirements in the best possible way. You can help companies harness the potential of AI to build a solid product that provides an appropriate solution for addressing their clients’ needs. With companies widely incorporating gen AI solutions and artificial intelligence technologies for their products, there is a wide scope of opportunities for AI product managers and engineers to showcase their skills and establish their career.
Whether you are an established professional or an aspiring product manager who wants to experiment with using artificial intelligence technologies for businesses, you need to understand the fundamental benefits of product management AI to actively deploy AI solutions appropriately. As an AIPM, you need to think through a different lens; for instance, you need to consider the organization’s perspective and look at the broader goals on how, when, and where to implement AI to reap the best benefit for the organization.
Product management with a user-centric approach
Imagine this, a technology service provider approaches you for developing a flagship product that benefits its users in enhancing the productivity of the operations. In this case, as an AIPM, you need to harness a user-centric approach, i.e., implement design thinking in ensuring seamless deployment. You need to take a few steps back and question the client on the following.
- ● Who are we building the product for, and what is the technical prowess of the users?
- ● What are the potential bottlenecks that the team could face in adapting to the new product?
Once you have a clear picture of the user’s requirements, you need to engage with them and witness firsthand how they use the current system, asking relevant questions to identify suitable improvements that can ensure seamless operation. Most importantly, you need to focus on what the genuine asks and requirements of the users are. This will help you develop an appropriate system using artificial intelligence technologies. Design thinking with a user-centric approach helps organizations stand out from the competition and establish a strong foothold in the industry.
Creative Problem Solving and Innovation
Design thinking has endless possibilities for companies as it helps them explore different scenarios and implement innovative solutions that are most suitable for the requirements. You can encourage the team to think differently through brainstorming sessions, creative sprints, and ideation workshops, which help the team stay ahead of the competition and establish unique solutions that are a best fit for your requirements.
Agile Iterative Methodology
When it comes to design thinking, a system does not simply design and develop the solution and simply hope for a miracle to happen. As a responsible AIPM, you need to continuously refine it after gathering suitable inputs. Once you design the initial prototypes, the product is further tested and optimized multiple times according to the gathered feedback. With design thinking, companies can use different feedback mechanisms to better fine tune their products for accurate results. Design thinking offers an agile iterative method that helps users to refine the product and ensuring the likelihood for successful deployment.
Empathy and Emotional Connection
Design thinking follows an empathetic approach to user’s concerns and requests, making it the go-to choice for companies to engage with while creating an AI product for end-users and customers. The customer-centric approach enables the brand to create a loyal customer base for both B2B and B2C applications across the board. When customers feel valued and understood, they will prefer an AI product with a design thinking approach for their forthcoming requirements.
Cross-functional Collaboration
Design thinking brings forth a unique approach where two starkly contrasting opinions will be put together to gather common goals. This approach brings all teams together and helps work on a common goal that helps resolve any potential errors right from the concept to the launch. Cross-functional collaboration is not just focused to a particular client or organization’s benefit, as it can help multiple companies work together in addressing larger problems and design different AI systems that are quite useful for other similar applications in the best possible manner.
Faster Time to Market
As design thinking aligns with agile development practices, it can help in improving your product’s journey from concept to the market. This approach is not just focused on one niche; it also benefits users with a clear focus, streamlined development stages, and continuous feedback loops that keep users engaged at every touch point of the entire journey, thereby establishing a concrete trust in the process and accessing the right AI product that fulfills all the requirements.
Some Applications of Design Thinking
Now that you have understood the key advantages of design thinking, you need to understand some of the core applications of design thinking and how a few organizations have incorporated design thinking in their line of AI products to their advantage. Most importantly, how they have implemented design thinking to drive business growth and overcome challenges before they caused an adverse impact on their operations.
Airbnb provides a safe and authentic experience for users
Airbnb, a leading hotel and hospitality service provider, transformed the hospitality industry by understanding user requirements through in-depth research. They understood tourist’s requirements through thorough research and got to know that there were concerns due to safety and a user-friendly approach. They identified that this could cost them a lot, as they could lose customers if this were not addressed soon. Airbnb used a design thinking approach to implement an AI system that verified profiles, reviews, and monitored secure payment systems, thereby reaffirming customers’ trust in their brand and services.
Slack’s communication approach
Slack, an online chatting platform, incorporated a design thinking approach that revolved around constant communication with their user base through a holistic approach. The team at Slack identified challenges like email overload and developed innovative solutions by integrating with different software and forming dedicated channels.
Now that you have understood the core benefits of design thinking and AI product management, you may want to learn AIPM and how to implement design thinking in developing products. Eduinx, a leading edtech institute, provides a hands-on approach towards implementing design thinking in product management. You can learn complicated concepts through a practical approach through Eduinx’s nonacademic mentors who have over 10 years of experience in AI product management and teaching machine learning for product managers. You can take up the course on AI product management for an in depth understanding. Eduinx also provides career support and assists you in performing a capstone project.
