Summary
In many organizations, design thinking dominates the research process with expansive research processes upfront during discovery. Pharmaceutical research gives us an alternative model that we can adapt based on a fail early and fail often (tech mantra) that should make discovery research an easier sell in any organization. Takeaways: An alternative model to discovery research with reduced upfront costs Starting discovery research when buy-in is difficult Maintaining discovery research when funds tighten up An alternative model to measuring the value of research that takes into account savings
Key Insights
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Business leaders value design primarily for eliminating redundant processes and features, not just for innovation or empathy.
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Michael Porter's concept of strategy as deciding what not to do aligns with focusing design efforts on elimination rather than only ideation.
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Pharmaceutical research methods emphasize quickly failing ideas cheaply to avoid costly late-stage investments, a mindset applicable to UX innovation.
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Integrated discovery involves shorter research cycles embedded in development, enabling continuous de-risking and quicker decision-making.
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Large upfront discovery should be reserved for entering truly new or disruptive markets and requires strong executive support.
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Pivoting research messaging from innovation generation to financial de-risking increases organizational buy-in amid rising capital costs.
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Failing ideas early often meets resistance from product teams, especially during layoffs, but is critical to maximize research value.
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Talking to non-customers and overserved market segments is crucial to identify disruptive ideas that existing customers may reject.
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Quick concept tests using lightweight stimuli like press releases or storyboards can validate ideas and avoid expensive development.
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Working closely with finance to model return on investments is essential as higher inflation demands higher returns to justify innovation spend.
Notable Quotes
"Without drugs people would be sick and without UX it wouldn't be able to use the drugs."
"Business leaders identified elimination of redundant processes as the number one value of design."
"The essence of strategy isn't painting a grand vision of the future, it's deciding what not to do."
"Pharmaceutical research is all about failing ideas as quickly and cheaply as possible."
"The reality is bringing to market quickly at scale is expensive and time-consuming."
"Integrated Discovery reduces the perception of research as a costly endeavor and focuses on de-risking."
"New ideas must align with what customers value enough to pay more for in order to justify investment."
"A truly disruptive idea will often fail the mass-market test, so talk to non-customers as well as existing ones."
"We're not in the business to make friends, we're in the business to help companies make better decisions."
"I helped a company save 12 million dollars by not investing in an iris scanner after just one week of research."
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