Originally presented at UX Week 2011. Business Origami is a method invented by the Hitachi Design Center. Since I only learned about it over dinner conversation, all method how-to & details have been added by myself and any faults here are my own.
Here's the workshop description:
Business origami is a simple, powerful method for modelling services and systems that you can learn to use quickly and get great results in your own design projects. The simplicity is on the surface. Business origami uses stylized paper cutouts to represent the different parts of a system: the people, the locations, and channels used as well as the specific touchpoints and interactions of individual scenarios. These cutouts are arranged on a horizontal whiteboard, which allows participants to show relationships in the system, including different venues, the flow from one area to another, and the value exchanged at each interaction.
The power comes from participation. Business origami shines in a codesign workshop setting. Since it offers direct, hands-on tokens it’s easy for everyone to contribute instead of requiring skill with diagramming software or flowchart conventions. By involving a cross-section of business representatives, users, and members of the design team you can quickly capture models of current experiences and then explore opportunities for improvement or create entirely new designs. Because the model is immediate and tangible it creates a shared visual reference that builds common understanding, unifying the team and the vision for the project.
This participation increases buy-in, creates common ground, and helps you facilitate a successful solution. The sessions themselves are powerful experiences for participants, but you can also use business origami models to document journey maps, scenarios, service blueprints and other downstream design deliverables.
In this session with Jess McMullin you’ll learn the fundamentals of service design (so we’re on the same page), participate in a modeling exercise yourself for current and future systems, and then analyze that model to document new opportunities. We’ll also share tips and tricks that make for successful business origami sessions and discuss how this method fits neatly into your current design process, whether you’re consciously doing cross-channel design or not.
1. Business Origami
Paper Prototyping for Service & Systems Design
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3. Our Agenda Today
Time Content/Activity Format
0900-0915 Introductions, Ground Rules, Session Expectations Presentation and Discussion
0915-0930 Service Design Concepts & Vocabulary Presentation and Discussion
0930-1000 Business Origami Introduction & Elements Presentation and Discussion
Planning a Business Origami Workshop
1000-1030 Example Case Introduction, Origami Exercise Setup & Start Hands-on Exercise
1030-1100 Morning Break --
1100-1130 Current State Completion & Sharing Hands-on Exercise
1130-1200 Future State Exploration & Sharing Hands-On Exercise
1200-1230 Origami Analysis, Outputs, Q&A Presentation & DIscussion
1230 Lunch --
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4. Welcome and Introductions
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7. WHAT IF I DON’T GET TO DO
THIS STUFF IN MY DAY JOB?
SHOULD I EVEN CARE? OR
SHOULD I TRY TO SNEAK INTO
LUKE W’S SESSION?
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8. SERVICES
http://www.flickr.com/photos/childofwar
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35. How do we sketch or
protoype a service?
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36. Concept Video follow @adaptivepath
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37. 3D Rendering
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38. Bodystorming / Improv / Roleplay
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39. Toy Models or Walkthroughs @brycej
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40. Lego Serious Play ™
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41. Engine Service Design follow @hereAtEngine
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42. Sarah Drummond, Snook follow @rufflemuffin
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48. Creating a shared vision
• Everyone can participate*
• It’s tangible and concrete
• It’s low fidelity
* I have yet to run a remote origami session.
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49. Business Value is Explicit
Value Centered Design
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50. Great at modeling multi-channel
• Works for service design
• Also works for any systems design
with many moving pieces: Twitter,
Facebook, other APIs, mobile, etc.
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51. Integrating with your current design toolkit
Where does this fit?
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52. Back to the Double Diamond
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83. Materials
• Business Origami Cutouts
(~1 set per group per canvas)
• Whiteboards, Dry Erase Sheets, or Plotted &
Laminated Canvas (1 set per group)
• Dry Erase Markers (2+ colors, several per group)
• Tape & Scissors (1 per group)
• Digital Camera
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84. Design the Brief
• Exploratory vs. Structured
• Current vs. Future
• Experimentation vs. Validation
• Shared Vision vs. Concrete
Requirements
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85. What are your goals?
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86. Assemble the Team
• Who should be there?
• How many groups?
– How many facilitators?
• Scaling to large groups
• Include the brief with the invitation so the people
have the right expectations for the session.
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87. Room Setup
• Round Tables work best
• Audio for large workshops
• Decent lighting
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88. Workshop(s)
• Introductions
• Assign Groups if needed
• Share the Brief, emphasize value exchange
• Encourage action vs. simply talking in your groups. People
will often prefer to talk, help them break inertia by
encouraging them to demonstrate their point with the
origami pieces.
• Capture and Next Steps
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89. Capture & Document
• Tape & keep the canvas
• Capture Ideas Generated in a
Separate template
• Photographs, video, diagrams
• Fuel Other Deliverables
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90. EXERCISE:
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IMPROVING
AIR TRAVEL
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92. aerojet project outline + key challenges
Current Project:
As part of the quality improvement team, you are tasked to come up
with a strategy to improve the bottom line as well as the overall
Aerojet Guest experience.
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93. aerojet personas
Winston Roberts Megan O Reilly Frank Kovarick
Business Traveler Young stay at home mom Semi-retired energy consultant
42 years old 25 years old 67 years old
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104. Documenting the Canvas
• Static: photos, Illustrator
• Dynamic: stop motion, video
• Photo Storyboard—sequence your
photos to tell your story
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