How to combine design thinking, lean startup and agile with Pi (π) (Part I)

TL;DR Use Pi(π) as a framework to unlock design innovation mindsets (Part 1) and method (Part 2)

If you have come across design thinking, lean startup, agile, or all three at the same time, you may have seen the famous Gartner’s roller coaster diagram, which is a reference for design innovation practitioners. Yet, I have decided to relook this diagram based on a few premises.

Design thinking is not linear. Often, the double diamond model and IDEO’s 5 Phases of the design process is viewed as a linear process, given that there is a flow of steps from left to right, despite the diagrams actual intention of showing divergence and convergence thinking in each of the phases. The reality is that Design Thinking, just like Lean Startup and Agile, is a non-linear process, whereby iteration and backtracking may happen due to unexpected results on the field.

The need for simplicity. When you take all three frameworks into account, it results in a complicated swirl of steps and distinctions to make every connection as accurate in its meaning and application, sometimes making it too factual with axis and positioning. The reality is that people gravitate towards simplicity, yet it is no easy feat to bring all knowledge together. Steve Job says it best,

Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.

It’s hard to link frameworks with mindsets. Most frameworks come with mindsets. Yet, mindsets are challenging as they are abstract and hard to connect with the framework. Empathy, transparency, trust and failing fast are some examples that are hard to grapple with. Practitioners then use metaphors to relate to some attributes of the mindset. Empathy is like putting yourself in someone’s shoes. Trust is when your team watches your back. While metaphors and mindsets work as standalones, linking them back to the frameworks, which is also another abstract association, become problematic. To link empathy (eg. Shoes) and double diamond becomes hard to assoicate. It’s almost like two or three different stories, leaving the readers to piece and connect the stories by themselves.

I have been dwelling on for the past 7 years, having practised many of these models myself, but I have found it hard to explain how design thinking, lean startup, agile, and their associated mindsets, all come together to my business partners and colleagues. Despite this, my intuition has led me to believe that all of them has a loose connection to one another. At the same time, there hasn’t been a simple and clear framework that best illustrates the models together in a quick manner. Just like aggregators on the Internet, the world is in need of an aggregator to design thinking frameworks.

That is until I came across Pi (π), which has now become my new way of combining design thinking, lean startup, agile and their associated mindsets together with a single metaphor.

What is Pi?

Pi is the 16th letter of the Greek Alphabet. It is also the main ingredient to calculate anything relating to circles. For example, To calculate the circumference of a circle, one uses the formula, C =2πr. If its the area of a circle, one uses the formula, A=πr². PI, however, has many other features and applications, that is often dubbed as the element of everyday life. By stretching our imagination a little further, what if PI can also be used as a leading metaphor for a new design innovation framework, for work and for life? Here is how I have encapsulated it into a single visual framework.

In order to effectively use a framework, one must adopt both the mindset (who you will become) and method (how will you use it). Not only will it help individuals to become better at working on problems or opportunities, it will help their teams to transform holistically. I believe using PI, both as a mindset and a model, can be the new way to design and innovation transformation.

As a mindset

1. Natural: Just like the circularity of natural cycles and feedbacks, such as weather patterns, plant growth and food chains, adopting a natural mindset involves the exchange of values in continuous loops. Iteration is a common practice to indicate the repetitive cycle of improving a product. However, natural cycles also show that an amplification of the iterative cycles, based on positive or negative feedback. To climb with progressive cycles will be an leading indicator that there is a natural mindset.
2. Antifragile: Randomness appears in the calculation of PI due to an irrational pattern of numbers in pi until fully proven. This can make calculation tedious and disruptive, yet, there can be serendipitous discoveries, such as the six successive 9s at position 768, also known as Feynman Point, and 0123456789 at position 17,387,594,880. Similarly, an antifragile mindset is based on the adaptation of unpredictable situations through a modification of a behaviour, which in term may create a newer and better outcome.
3. Infinite: Another characteristic of Pi is its neverending chain of numbers, which led many mathematicians and engineers to excel beyond the known pi chain (in 2019, 31.4 trillion decimal places has been crunched by Google Cloud Engineer, no surprise to the number sequence). Popularised by Simon Sinek, the infinite mindset works on the premise that design innovation is not about winning or being the best, but about how long it can last, which requires a long term view, big picture perspective and courageous leaps, rather than incremental steps.
4. Human enveloping: Lastly, PI grips people in compelling ways, as seen in mathematics, but also in arts and social norms. Martin Krzywinski pays homage to pi with his data visualisation. PI day, as created by a community of nerds, falls on every March 14th (3.14). Even pie recipes are done to symbolise Pi in cooking. The concept of Pi is more than just human centric; it is human enveloping. Just like the air that we breathe, a human enveloping mindset considers people in every aspect. It is not only about user needs, but also about ethical and responsible actions that treats all people fairly.

Mindsets over methods is what I feel is the right approach as building character with new behaviours and perspectives makes the use of the method easier and more effective. In part 2, we will look into how to use the Pi(π) framework in its 5 phases.

Thanks for reading! If you have managed to read this article right to the end, here is an eye candy that encapsulate the Pi(π) framework with both mindset and method as a visual diagram. Would love to hear your feedbacks on this topic I’m really passionate about.