Is it possible to teach Design Thinking and the agile method Scrum in a one-day workshop? Yes, it is possible! The prerequisite is interest in the topics and the will to want to apply Design Thinking and agile methods. In the case of the management team of the customer management of Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG, these prerequisites were noticeably met.
In a joint workshop with Mr. Christopher Henke, a proven expert from the field, and Prof. Dr. Stephan Weinert from the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, the topic was examined comprehensively and from different perspectives. The workshop consisted of four blocks: a scientific intro, two practice-oriented parts on Design Thinking and Scrum, and a concluding retrospective. The goal of the workshop was to get managers at different levels in particular in the right frame of mind for the coming changes. It was about raising awareness for customer-oriented product development and service orientation, as well as the need to be able to react faster and more flexibly to requirements in the project business.
Agility means for companies: Rethinking organization
The technical intro was vividly presented by Prof. Dr. Stephan Weinert. Through current and global examples from business and politics, he illustrated the need to react to increasing changes. He built the bridge to agility. Prof. Weinert described agility as the ability to react quickly to changes. He formulated the motto "Agility means rethinking organization". With this he expressed that there is a change from classic line organization to a self-organized "living organism". Depending on the industry, this change is more or less pronounced.
Rethinking organization with Design Thinking and Scrum
After the introduction, the practical exercises started. The first part was related to the discovery of customer-centric creativity. Via Design Thinking the fun of developing solutions for customer problems was awakened. The second part was an introduction to Scrum. The agile method Scrum is a "simple" but powerful framework to iteratively develop software, services or products. By means of running through a sprint (development iteration), the workshop participants were introduced to this method first hand.
Teamwork at eye level
Particularly noteworthy is the realization that the participants always worked together at eye level and in a very appreciative manner. The different hierarchical levels of the participants were not noticeable in the mixed groups - an important prerequisite for an organization that is on the way to more self-organization and self-responsibility.
What's next?
At the end of the event there was a short look into the future. It was announced that there will be two projects that the customer management of Stadtwerke AG would like to plan and implement using agile methods. Volunteers were sought for this purpose. Shortly after this announcement, all places were already taken. Possibly this is the starting signal for an agile, motivating and even more successful future.
Mr. Gruben, Head of Customer Management at Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG, was suitably enthusiastic:
"The workshop not only fully achieved the technical goals, but was also a lot of fun.
In particular, I was very positively surprised by the active participation. On this day, we jointly created a solid foundation to sustainably build up the necessary methodological competencies among us - the management team - and the employees concerned. The basis was successfully laid thanks to the professional moderation of Prof. Weinert and Mr. Henke."
