Case Study

Exploring and co-designing potential future product-services by stepping into the shoes of male and female colleagues

A co-design workshop to develop product-services for the future corporate offering by stepping into the professional roles of other corporate figures

The ApeRise event involved 24 figures from Benincà, from the sales, marketing, research and development, and operations areas, in the ideation and definition of design proposals related to potential products and services for the company’s future offering. They did so through a role-playing activity, by stepping into the professional roles of colleagues from different fields.

co-design workshop for engagement
Settore Azienda

Access automation

Servizi Amploom

Open Innovation
Design Thinking

Persone Coinvolte

24 people from sales, marketing, research and development, and operations

Initial Challenge

Gathering insights for the future of the corporate offering and creating empathy between different professional roles

The Benincà Group was interested in bringing together a diverse group of collaborators to research and collect insights regarding potential future product-services for Rise, a security systems manufacturer. They also wanted participants to gain a better understanding of their colleagues' roles.

Initial Challenge: Gathering insights for the future of the corporate offering and creating empathy between different professional roles

Strategy

Involvement of various corporate figures in the design of product-services through role-playing activities

We assigned a new role to be played by the members of each design team, who represented different professions. Once the design challenges were launched, each group analyzed the target user and devised a series of product-services. The solution deemed the winner by the team was further detailed and presented with a pitch. The session concluded with a role retrospective.

Strategy: Involvement of various corporate figures in the design of product-services through role-playing activities

Result

Design proposals of interest for potential corporate developments and a retrospective of learnings on others' roles

The teams developed 4 proposals related to markets of interest for Rise and Benincà. The generated product-services were presented through a video-recorded pitch to evaluate ideas with potential for the company at a later stage. Furthermore, a retrospective on the role play highlighted how different roles can collaborate more effectively.

Result: Design proposals of interest for potential corporate developments and a retrospective of learnings on others' roles

We involved different professional figures in the design of potential product-services, empathizing with others’ roles.

Initial Challenge

Gathering insights for the future of the corporate offering and creating empathy between different professional roles

Initial Challenge: Gathering insights for the future of the corporate offering and creating empathy between different professional roles

Benincà Group is an organization composed of companies specializing in systems for access control and the automation of pedestrian or vehicle gates in residential, collective, and industrial contexts. The Group asked us to organize a workshop as part of the ApeRise event. The objective was twofold: to explore and gather insights on potential new product-services related to markets of interest for Rise, a company specializing in security-related systems; and to build design activities within the workshop that allowed different professional figures to collaborate and step into the shoes of other corporate roles, empathizing with the daily tasks of their colleagues.

Strategy

Involvement of various corporate figures in the design of product-services through role-playing activities

Strategy: Involvement of various corporate figures in the design of product-services through role-playing activities

We designed and moderated a generative workshop. The 24 people involved – coming from sales, marketing, research and development, and operations – were divided into 4 working groups heterogeneous. Each participant was then assigned a new professional role to play through a role play, so that they could contribute to the project by adopting the fresh perspective of colleagues from other areas. Selected by Rise 4 markets of interest, each team was assigned a different design challenge. After an initial phase of analyzing the challenge and the target user of reference, the groups conducted rounds of brainstorming to generate possible future product-services for Rise. The ideas were then evaluated, and the one selected as the winner was further developed and described. Each proposal was then presented in a plenary session through a pitch.

Result

Design proposals of interest for potential corporate developments and a retrospective of learnings on others' roles

Result: Design proposals of interest for potential corporate developments and a retrospective of learnings on others' roles
24
people involved
4
corporate areas represented in co-design and role play
4
product-service proposals generated

The results emerging from the workshop during the ApeRise event are:

  • the definition of 4 proposals for potential product-services related to markets in which Rise and Benincà are interested in expanding. Each proposal was described across several aspects: marketing aspects such as the product launch; sales aspects such as the target user and market requirements; R&D aspects such as technical specifications and testing plans; operations aspects such as production phases and timelines; and more. The presentation pitches of the ideas were recorded to further evaluate the interesting proposals for development later on.
  • a retrospective on the role play to gather the learnings that emerged during the session regarding revelations about the roles of colleagues and how to collaborate better in daily work.

Alberto Bonin

Alberto Bonin,
Export Area Manager @ BenincaGroup

"Amploom pushes you out of the comfort of your own work experience and the patterns of daily activities."

"Having to take on a role that was new to me, for which I was not prepared, initially held back my participation in the topics and projects on the table. However, the support of Valentina Dal Brun from Amploom and the importance of the quantity of ideas proposed made me feel more at ease even in the new role. The "filtering" activity between the various products devised and defining all the steps up to the actual launch made me realize how many aspects intertwine before an item can be sold and how small details can lead a project to be successful or not."

What is the Open Innovation component?

What is the Open Innovation component?

Participants explored new potential markets of interest for the company, devising innovative solutions in heterogeneous project teams.

What is the Design Thinking element?

What is the Design Thinking element?

Design Thinking tools were functional both for the generation of innovative proposals, and for putting at the same table and inviting to collaborate different professional figures who had the opportunity to better understand the work of others and empathize with others’ roles.

“>Do the challenges this organization faced seem familiar to you?

Tell us about it, and let’s discover together how we can support you in transforming your organization today into the organization of tomorrow.

    × Circles Circles
    Logo Bianco Amploom

    Nuove risorse e stimoli interessanti

    Attraverso le nostre risorse potrai comprendere come trasformiamo la cultura organizzativa e le esperienze delle persone con il design: immergiti in casi studio, ricevi materiali ispirativi, leggi storie dal grande impatto trasformativo.