In September 2021, the BMJ has published the article "To improve quality, leverage design " by Crowe B, Gaulton JS, Minor N, et al comparing QI methodologies to design thinking and suggesting the integration of both approaches to make improvement more human centered. and thus, bringing the best of both worlds. For a long time in my career, I had…
Just returned from the 3-day d.confestival under the theme of "Design thinking matters now" which celebrated the official opening of the Hasso Plattner d.school Afrika in its new green building specifically built with design thinking learning in mind. To say that it was an inspiring event is an understatement. The energy was contagious, with the colorful and vibrant atmosphere that…
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Design Thinking ImpAct Conference organized by the Hasso Plattner Institute and its School of Design to celebrate its 15th anniversary. I've attended the online version of this hybrid conference. A great deal of of knowledge and wisdom was shared about the impact and the future of design thinking since 15 years…
My copy of the great book “Creative Acts for Curious People” by Sarah Stein Greenberg from the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford ( d.school ). The book not only gave me a flavor of the famous d.school classes and activities, but provided lots of insights and practical advice on how to think and behave as a designer, not…
One of the most recommended ways to introduce a new methodology to your system is to start small and share easy quick wins.A neighboring team at work asked if I could help with their paper clutter issue as they were one of the few teams who still rely on physical paper work according to some regulations.The clutter represents the obvious…
Design thinking is human-centered. And there is nothing more valuable, precious, or intimate to humans than their well-being and quality of life. That's that short straight-forward version of the answer. If you have few minutes to spare, read on! We all know how healthcare has nowadays become more about medical science and efficiency in delivery, both of which resulted in…
The only reason I'm writing this post is that everyone else had something to say or write about COVID, so I didn't want to miss the crowd!Those of us who worked in QI know how difficult it is to convince others about the need to improve a service or a process in a hospital (even if backed up by data),…
Those who have worked in quality improvement and problem solving know that there is a lot in common between different improvement or problem solving methods (considering that a problem is any gap in performance according to Toyota experts), and that they more or less follow the same reasoning process, starting by understanding the problem, coming up with ideas and implementing…
Despite all the frequent talk about how important is communication in healthcare, there are still gaps that can be easily and simply prevented. All the hospitals I visited as a patient or as a companion, even those considered as top-notch in terms of quality and technology, show signs of communication gaps between healthcare professionals themselves, or between them and other…
Beyond the application of Lean in manufacturing, healthcare or any professional industry, the same principles of reducing waste and getting the maximum value with the minimum resources possible can and do extend to one's personal live. A very famous expert on organizing homes is Marie Kondo, the Japanese lady (no surprise here) who wrote books on the subject, with her…