
Empathy is at the heart of the design thinking approach. When designers have empathy, they discover pain points that are initially difficult to identify, and come up with designs that address users’ needs and bring a positive, lasting impact.
Stepping into other people’s shoes is the key to driving innovation and promoting cooperation within companies. By developing a people-centric attitude, designers can solve problems and create smarter and more successful businesses.
In the design thinking approach, user shadowing is the gateway to developing that empathy and understanding the way users think and behave.
By quietly observing a user’s interactions and behaviour for a day, designers gain valuable insights on their routines and decision-making patterns, and develop ideas to improve them.
At CLP, Norman Chan and his colleagues in the Customer Success Experience (CSE) team used this method to design a smart solution with AI tools to help colleagues handle applications for the CLP Eco Building Fund (EBF).