System thinking is the core of successful continuous discovery.

Before the rise of design thinking, system thinking played a crucial role in shaping software projects. With the emergence of the internet, these systems naturally evolved into social systems. However, introducing design thinking shifted the focus toward empathy, emphasizing a more user-centric approach to product development.

Yet, even before this shift, the essence of web experiences was already centered around people. While agile movements and design thinking made these concepts more accessible to a broader business audience, they might also have inadvertently distanced us from the fundamental nature of systems, which inherently revolve around interactions and solving problems.

Maybe we just need to lean into the systems.

Systems thinking is a holistic approach to problem-solving that emphasizes understanding the interconnectedness and patterns within complex systems. This method of thinking is particularly useful in addressing challenges with multiple stakeholders, competing incentives, or no clear solutions.

Here are some aspects of systems thinking:

→ Patterns: Systems thinking helps us see how different system parts are connected. Understanding how a change in one area can affect others is essential.

→ Multiple perspectives: This approach involves listening to different people's views. This makes our understanding of a problem deeper and helps us look at the situation more thoroughly.

→ Expanding choices and seeing problems differently: Systems thinking lets us think of problems in new ways. This can show us more possible solutions.

→ Informed decision-making: By knowing how parts of a system are linked, we can make better choices, considering how these choices might affect the system.

→ Anticipating trade-offs and unintended consequences: It helps us think ahead about the possible effects of our choices, reducing the chances of unexpected problems.

→ Building support for solutions: Including many different viewpoints helps gain more support for the solutions we come up with. It ensures that these solutions take everyone into account.

→ Holistic solutions: The aim is to create solutions that meet the needs of everyone involved and consider the whole system.

Sound familiar? It should. The concept of design thinking has its roots deeply embedded in systems thinking.

Systems thinking can help your organization return to the basics of creating and doing customer discovery without all the empathy jargon. With Helio, you can connect with large groups of people who can quickly reveal if your ideas are working (or not).

The benefit of this approach is that you don't have to overhaul your approach to building products – you can start by simply sharing your work with an audience!

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