Ratiopharm

In the design thinking workshop specially designed for Teva/ratiopharm, the participants familiarized themselves with the theoretical basics and content of the individual phases of the design thinking process and applied what they had learned in practical teamwork sessions. 

First of all, the priority was to create a common understanding of the exercise challenge. Two teams were then formed to conduct real user interviews at nearby Ulm University. The knowledge they gained of user requirements led to increased opportunities for finding solutions. The focus was on creative approaches to addressing problems and needs in the most innovative and user-centered way possible. Using a variety of creative methods, the team quickly came up with an interactive, testable and simple prototype by “fleshing out and visualizing” the situation. 

The idea of the “First Aid Training Truck” was born, took shape and immediately entered the prototype testing phase. Additional Teva/ratiopharm employees acted as testers and gave valuable and unfiltered user feedback. 

The test scenario was unusual in that it was designed so that the testers could immerse themselves as far as possible in the setting, experience it in a realistic way and interact with it. Roleplays made the user feedback even clearer on desirability and additional specifications of the basic, user-centered idea. 

Another “aha moment” was the translation of an initially conceptual draft solution for user needs, deduced from field research, into an interactive and testable prototype. 

Firming up the selected idea with simple prototype materials and creating a test scenario in the workshop, as well as simulating the idea in a roleplay, was a completely new and unfamiliar approach for the Teva/ratiopharm employees. 

It was also noteworthy that the team began to communicate more visually as the prototype construction phase began. This non-verbal form of communication and the creative implementation of an idea in the workshop also proved to be a very positive experience. 

The somewhat sceptical attitude of some employees towards design thinking initially changed, when they applied and experienced the process themselves. Once they recognized the added value and innovation potential of the agile and user-centered approach, the scepticism gave way to great enthusiasm. 

The team members also got to know each other better through their creative work within a protected space, thereby discovering their strengths and new skills and putting them into practice. 

The initiator of the design thinking method workshop, Elmar Kreutzer (Senior Director of Infrastructure & Processes & Data | Portfolio Europe) and his team originally had only one sample application in mind for the workshop on the subject of first aid. But in an exchange of views with the marketing department, colleagues recognized the great potential inherent in the idea that came from the HPI Academy Design Challenge. 

The “unplanned” product idea was picked up and pursued by the marketing department. Thanks to the good, cross-departmental collaboration between teams, employees were able to develop a design thinking lighthouse project that addresses the areas of health, education and digitalization. It is in this way that the “#10000LebenRetten” initiative was born, which trains people all over Germany in first aid and therefore helps to save lives. Supported by the Teva/ratiopharm workforce – and under the professional guidance of our design thinking coach Marc Stussak – the “First Aid Training Truck” emerged from this teamwork and has since been successfully developed and made market-ready. 

www.10000lebenretten.de