Innovation in Project Design

In the heart of downtown Phoenix, we worked on a groundbreaking project that not only preserved city history but set a new standard for civil engineering excellence. Here's a snapshot of this transformative endeavor: ✅ Challenge: Aging box culverts under the Arizona Canal at a major I-10 intersection faced corrosion, threatening the ambitious highway widening project. ✅ Collaboration: Partnering with WSP and the engineers of record, a creative solution was crafted to repair rather than replace, aligning with sustainability and cost-efficiency goals. ✅ Innovation: The project introduced enhanced structural integrity through precise enlargements and the strategic installation of fabric bands, creating an impervious barrier against moisture and oxygen. Impact: Completed at $1.3 million, the cost was merely 5% of the estimated $25 million for total replacement. The swift 2.5-month repair ensured zero traffic disruption—a silent victory under the bustling city life. This project not only saved millions but demonstrated how innovative engineering can seamlessly blend with urban dynamics. Have you encountered a project where a creative solution dramatically altered the outcome? Share your experiences below! #UrbanEngineering #InfrastructureInnovation #CivilEngineering #Sustainability #PhoenixProjects

When empathy meets design, magic happens. Doug Dietz's story is proof. Discover how he did it. As product managers, we are constantly looking for ways to improve user experiences and create meaningful results. At GE Healthcare, Doug Dietz transformed the MRI experience for paediatric patients, providing a compelling example. The Problem Despite building a cutting-edge MRI scanner, Dietz noticed a young patient's tremendous anxiety while using it. This revealed a key flaw in the machine's design: it did not account for children's emotional needs. The Use of Design Thinking Dietz used design thinking to redesign the MRI experience. 1/ Empathise: He spoke with kids in daycare centres and sought advice from child life experts to understand their viewpoints. 2/ Define: It was shown that 80% of young children needed anaesthesia because they were afraid of the MRI process. 3/ Ideate: To generate creative ideas, a varied team comprising volunteers, hospital employees, and specialists from a nearby children's museum worked together. 4/ Prototype: Developed the "Adventure Series," which turned MRI rooms into spaceships and pirate ships. 5/ Test: The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh piloted the updated experience, which resulted in notable enhancements. The Results ↳Patient satisfaction scores increased by 90% ↳The need for sedation dropped from 80% to 10% ↳Anxiety levels in children decreased, making it easier for them to remain still during procedures ↳The reduced need for anesthesiologists allowed more patients to be scanned each day, improving efficiency and reducing costs The Key Takeaways for Product Managers 1/ Innovation Is Driven by Empathy: A thorough comprehension of user experiences can reveal unmet requirements and stimulate game-changing solutions. 2/ Reframe the problem: Dietz switched from focussing on the machine to developing the complete patient experience. 3/ Holistic Problem-Solving: More thorough solutions result from addressing the user experience's emotional and functional elements. 4/ Collaborative Ideation: Including a range of stakeholders encourages innovation and reveals fresh viewpoints. 5/ Iterative prototyping: Creating and testing prototypes in real-world contexts to validate ideas and inform necessary refinements. 6/ Measurable impact: The redesign enhanced operational effectiveness and patient experience. Doug Dietz's case study highlights how effective design thinking leads to transformative solutions for challenging problems in healthcare and beyond. Dietz and his colleagues developed a solution that not only soothed children's anxieties but also enhanced operational effectiveness and medical results by prioritising empathy and rethinking the entire process. Your Turn: ↳ How have you applied design thinking principles in your projects?  Share your thoughts in the comments below! 👍 LIKE this post, 🔄 REPOST this to your network and follow me, Monica Jasuja

Tailoring your approach to the level of innovation ambition (Horizons) Not all innovation is revolutionary. The complexity of your challenge—and the level of ambition—will shape how you apply customer-centric methods. Here’s a framework to help you think about and apply it: 🚀 Incremental (5 days to 3 months*) Optimising existing products, services, or business models for current customers.  Example: Smartphone camera improvements. 🚀 Evolutionary (3 to 6 months*) Creating new offerings for existing customers or entering adjacent markets. Example: Apple introducing AirPods as a new, complementary product for iPhone users. 🚀 Revolutionary (6 to 12+ months*) Breakthrough new products, services, processes, or business models for new customers. Example: The introduction of the smartphone. * Timeframe refers to the front end of innovation. A healthy innovation portfolio should include a mix of all three types—delivering both today’s revenue and tomorrow’s revenue. And as a bonus, regardless of the ambition level you’re focusing on, you’ll often uncover ideas that span all three levels. 👉 Don’t rush the front end Evidence shows that quality up-front work in the front end of innovation leads to higher success rates. Yet many organisations underinvest in this critical phase, jumping too quickly into development. The result? More rework, delays, and costly failures downstream. Paradoxically, taking the time to explore the problem thoroughly often speeds up the overall timeline—reducing rework and decision paralysis later on. Investing more time up front can dramatically improve outcomes. Once you’ve tailored your approach to your the level of innovation ambition, the next step is to appropriately resource the effort. Stay tuned, or check out my newsletter to read the full article. #innovation #leadership #designthinking #productdiscovery

Imagine being able to stroll through every room, hallway, and outdoor area of a building that hasn't been constructed yet - all at their actual sizes. Thanks to the project floor plan at a true 1:1 scale, this is now possible! This innovative "real-scale walkthrough" uses integrated projection systems to display full-sized layouts, including upper and lower floors, landscaped gardens, common areas, and detailed renderings. It's like stepping into a life-sized blueprint where you can physically explore and interact with the design. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥? - Test Before You Invest: Get a genuine feel for the space, proportions, and flow of the design before committing to construction. This can help identify potential issues or adjustments needed, saving time and resources down the line. - Enhanced Collaboration: Architects, designers, and clients can walk through the space together, making it easier to discuss ideas, preferences, and changes in real-time. - Bridging Imagination and Reality: While 3D models and virtual reality offer visual insights, nothing compares to physically moving through a space at its actual size. This technology is changing the way we approach architectural design and construction planning. By providing a tangible experience of future spaces, it brings us one step closer to turning visions into reality with greater confidence. What do you think about this approach to design and planning? Could this reshape how we build in the future? #innovation #technology #future #management #startups

One of our PMs at Revv needed a mobile prototype. Engineering was deep in core platform work. No React Native bandwidth for weeks. So she grabbed Cursor and decided to experiment over the weekend. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲. 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝟴 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀! Not perfect. But real. Functional. Something our team could actually test with users. This wasn't supposed to be possible. But here's what hit me: This is exactly how breakthrough companies get built. Not through perfect resource allocation or pristine roadmaps. Through people who see roadblocks and find ways around them. We've now carved out dedicated "innovation time" across engineering, product, and design. Because these moments compound. Ten micro-innovations like this don't just add up—they create exponential leaps in what's possible. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁. The willingness to experiment. To try something low-stakes that might 10x your output. To build a culture where "let me try something" is always the first response to a constraint. Great companies aren't built by teams that execute perfectly within boundaries. They're built by teams that continuously expand what those boundaries can be. This is how you build faster than the market expects. How you ship solutions that seemed impossible last quarter. How you create the kind of momentum that turns startups into category leaders. The future belongs to companies that don't just build great products—they build great builders.