Good Kitchen Story
Summary
TLDRThe video script narrates a compelling case study of design thinking applied to address the nutritional challenges faced by elderly citizens in Denmark. It details how the municipality of Christo brow, in collaboration with innovation firm Hatch & Blum, transformed the meal service for seniors. Through ethnographic research, they uncovered emotional and functional needs, leading to a reimagined meal service that enhanced quality, flexibility, and choice. Employing tools like journey mapping, co-creation, prototyping, and visualization, they not only improved the menu but also the entire business model, resulting in a 500% increase in meal orders and increased job satisfaction for kitchen staff.
Takeaways
- 🌍 **Global Perspective**: Design thinking is a universal approach that can be applied across different cultures and countries, as illustrated by the Danish case study.
- 👴 **Aging Population Challenge**: The script highlights the global issue of an aging population and the specific challenge of providing adequate nutrition to elderly citizens in Denmark.
- 🍽️ **Rethinking the Problem**: The initial assumption was to improve the menu, but Hatch & Blum's user-centered design approach revealed a broader issue requiring a complete service redesign.
- 🔍 **Ethnographic Research**: The use of journey mapping as an ethnographic tool helped uncover deeper emotional and functional needs of both the elderly and kitchen workers.
- 👥 **Dual Focus**: The project's scope was expanded to include the emotional well-being of kitchen workers, recognizing their crucial role in meal quality.
- 🤝 **Co-creation**: Engaging stakeholders in the creative process through workshops fostered ownership, engagement, and the generation of innovative ideas.
- 💡 **Prototyping and Experimentation**: The iterative process of prototyping and testing with real customers was essential for refining the service and menu design.
- 📈 **Measurable Impact**: The redesign led to a significant increase in meal orders, demonstrating the tangible business impact of design thinking.
- 💖 **Emotional Connection**: The project emphasized the importance of emotional connection, showing that addressing emotional needs can lead to better service and higher satisfaction.
- 🌟 **Transformation Beyond Menu**: The transformation went beyond the menu to innovate the entire business model, enhancing the relationship between kitchen staff and customers.
Q & A
What is the main problem addressed in the story about Denmark?
-The main problem addressed is the poor nutrition and quality of life among Denmark's elderly population, particularly the more than 125,000 senior citizens who rely on government-sponsored meals.
Why did the municipality of Christo brow invite Hatch & Blum to work with them?
-The municipality of Christo brow invited Hatch & Blum to work with them to improve the nutrition of their elderly population by enhancing the meal service for seniors.
What was the initial assumption of the municipal leadership regarding the project?
-The initial assumption was that improving the nutrition of seniors could be achieved by simply enhancing the current menu and asking elderly clients about their menu preferences.
How did Hatch & Blum's approach differ from the municipality's initial assumption?
-Hatch & Blum took a user-centered design approach, which led to a completely redesigned meal service offering higher quality, more flexibility, and increased choice, rather than just fixing the menu.
What is journey mapping and how was it used in this project?
-Journey mapping is a tool that follows a customer or stakeholder as they receive a product or service, focusing on their functional and emotional experiences. It was used to trace the experience of elderly clients from the meal delivery to consumption, uncovering unarticulated needs.
What emotional needs were identified for both the seniors and kitchen workers?
-Both seniors and kitchen workers experienced feelings of disconnection and alienation. Seniors felt a loss of control over their food choices and embarrassment about receiving assistance, while kitchen workers felt demoralized due to the low status of their job.
What is co-creation and how was it utilized in the project?
-Co-creation is a design tool that involves stakeholders in the creative process, creating ownership and engagement. It was used in workshops to develop insights, generate ideas, and test prototypes with a diverse group of stakeholders.
How did the use of visualization as a design tool contribute to the project?
-Visualization helped make abstract ideas more concrete by using imagery. It allowed participants to see and evaluate different menu options, colors, and presentation styles, making the decision-making process more tangible and effective.
What were some of the significant changes that resulted from the project?
-The project resulted in a new menu, new uniforms for staff, a new name 'The Good Kitchen', improved meal descriptions, new communication channels, and a shift in employees' perception of their work, leading to increased satisfaction for both staff and customers.
What was the impact of the changes on meal orders and staff satisfaction?
-The changes led to a 500% increase in meal orders in the first week and significantly improved the satisfaction of kitchen workers, which in turn led to happier customers and better food quality.
How does the story of 'The Good Kitchen' relate to business model innovation?
-The story illustrates that business model innovation is about more than just developing new products or services; it involves innovating the entire business model to create better value for all stakeholders involved, as seen in the transformation of the meal service for seniors.
Outlines
🍽️ Design Thinking in Action: The Danish Senior Meal Service Challenge
The video script begins by introducing design thinking through a real-world example in Denmark, where the aging population presents challenges, particularly in serving over 125,000 senior citizens who rely on government-sponsored meals. The municipality of Christo brow sought to improve the nutrition of elderly citizens through a redesign of the meal service. Initially, the project was seen as a simple menu improvement task, but it evolved into a broader initiative to enhance the entire meal service experience. Danish innovation firm Hatch & Blum was invited to collaborate, and they employed a user-centered design approach, starting with ethnographic research and journey mapping to understand the behaviors, needs, and wishes of the elderly. This approach revealed unarticulated emotional needs and the importance of addressing both the seniors and the kitchen staff's perspectives.
👵🍲 Uncovering Emotional Needs and Co-Creation for Innovation
The second paragraph delves into the emotional needs of both the seniors and the kitchen workers, highlighting feelings of disconnection and alienation. The seniors felt embarrassed by their reliance on government assistance and had a strong desire for control over their food choices. Kitchen workers, constrained by perceived economic and logistical limitations, were found to be demotivated. Hatch & Blum's research revealed seniors' capabilities in the kitchen and their preference for seasonal foods. The team then moved into the 'what-if' stage, engaging a diverse group of stakeholders in a series of workshops to co-create solutions. This process involved brainstorming and using analogies to shift perspectives, leading to innovative ideas such as enhancing menu descriptions and considering the entire meal delivery process from a restaurant service perspective.
🔍 Prototyping and Experimentation Lead to Transformation
The third paragraph describes the prototyping and testing phase of the project, where Hatch & Blum worked with participants to create and refine menu options, using visualization to make abstract ideas more concrete. They tested different menu presentations, including colors, photos, and illustrations, to gather feedback. The process led to significant changes, such as a new menu, staff uniforms, and a new name for the kitchen service, 'The Good Kitchen.' Communication channels were also established to maintain close contact between kitchen staff and clients. The transformation not only improved meal orders by 500% within the first week but also enhanced job satisfaction among kitchen workers and meal enjoyment for seniors. The story emphasizes the importance of business model innovation, moving beyond product development to innovating the entire service experience.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Design Thinking
💡Ethnographic Research
💡Journey Mapping
💡Co-creation
💡Prototyping
💡Visualization
💡User-Centered Design
💡Stakeholder Engagement
💡Innovation
💡Business Model Innovation
💡Feedback Mechanisms
Highlights
Design thinking is used to solve a wide range of problems, including addressing the nutritional challenges of elderly citizens in Denmark.
The municipality of Christo brow aimed to improve meal services for seniors by initially focusing on menu improvement.
Hatch & Blum's user-centered design approach led to a complete redesign of the meal service, not just a menu update.
Ethnographic research and journey mapping were used to understand the elderly's behaviors, needs, and wishes.
Kitchen workers in public service kitchens faced low job status and demoralization, affecting meal quality.
The project scope was broadened to address both the elderly's and kitchen workers' emotional needs.
Both seniors and kitchen workers experienced feelings of disconnection and alienation.
Seniors valued control over their food choices, which was a significant factor in their nutrition.
Kitchen workers were found to be capable and wanted to do a good job, contrary to initial assumptions.
Seasonal foods and customization were important to the elderly, indicating a desire for variety and personalization.
Co-creation workshops were held to involve stakeholders in understanding challenges and generating ideas.
Brainstorming and analogies were used to shift mental models and stimulate creative thinking.
Prototyping and visualization were employed to test ideas and make them more tangible.
The project evolved to include new uniforms, a new name 'The Good Kitchen', and improved communication channels.
The redesign led to a 500% increase in meal orders in the first week, demonstrating the success of the approach.
The transformation shifted employees' perception of their work, leading to increased satisfaction and better food quality.
The story illustrates the importance of innovating the entire business model, not just developing new products or services.
Transcripts
to illustrate the design thinking
process that we've been talking about
I'd like to tell you a story about
design thinking in action as we go
through that story I will know different
tools and approaches that are being used
then at the end of this session I'll
tell you about some additional resources
we have available so that you can learn
more about them now you can use design
thinking to solve all sorts of problems
let's walk through one example to
illustrate what it looks like in the
real world to do so we're going to
travel to Denmark a country long
recognized for its distinctive attention
to design the Danes like citizens in
most developed countries recognize that
the aging of their population presents
many challenges one of these is serving
the more than 125,000 senior citizens
who rely on government sponsored meals
Danish municipalities deliver subsidized
meals to people who suffer from a
reduced ability to function whether that
is due to illness age or other
conditions many of these seniors have
nutritional challenges and a poor
quality of life because they simply do
not eat enough an estimated 60 percent
of elders living in assisted living have
poor nutrition an estimated 20% are
actually malnourished in response to
this growing social problem the
municipality of Christo brow decided to
dedicate their efforts to improve meal
service for seniors and they invited
Danish innovation firm hatch & Blum to
work with them to figure out how to
improve the nutrition of their elderly
population municipal leadership saw the
project initially as straightforward in
order to get seniors to eat more the
current menu just needed improving and
they wanted Hatchin bloom to ask elderly
clients about their menu preferences
this is a great example of how to narrow
a definition of the problem to be solved
can drive a lot of innovation right out
the window before you even get started
the opportunity turned out to be much
greater
and what Hatchin Blum ultimately
produced was much more than just a new
menu it was a completely redesigned meal
service that offered higher quality more
flexibility and increased choice this
dramatic reframing of the opportunity
emerged from the user centered design
approach that Hatchin Blum brought to
the process in which they discovered
that nearly fixing the menu wouldn't
solve the nutrition problem let's look
at some specifics about how they did it
they began by exploring what is digging
deep into seniors behaviors needs and
wishes using observation and
interviewing to identify their elderly
clients living situation and try and get
at their unarticulated needs the
approach they chose to use was
ethnographic the specific tool they used
was journey mapping the journey mapping
tool follows a customer or stakeholder
as they receive a product or service or
go through a process it pays attention
to what designers called the job to be
done in some ways journey mapping is not
that different than the kind of
flowcharts or supply chains we might use
in business but there are some crucial
differences journey mapping recognizes
that most of us are trying to do jobs
that are both functional and emotional a
lot of the unarticulated needs turn out
to be on the emotional side making this
tool very valuable for uncovering hidden
opportunities to create better value for
people Hatchin Blum used journey mapping
to trace the experience of the elderly
from beginning to end
they rode with food service employees
who delivered the meal they accompanied
them into the homes they watched as
clients prepared the food added
ingredients set the table and then
finally ate the meal they also
interviewed the supervisor of the food
preparation process in her workplace and
what they saw in the kitchen surprised
them
working in a public service kitchen was
a low status job in Denmark and kitchen
employees seemed demoralized and
unmotivated it was not going to be
enough to focus on the needs of the
elderly team members realized they would
need to address the problems of the
employees producing the meals as well
and so the team decided it was important
to broaden the scope of the project
beyond just improving the menu and they
helped the municipal officials
understand why this was necessary from
this dual focus on the people preparing
the meals and on the seniors receiving
them a set of interesting insights began
to emerge they discovered that both the
seniors and the kitchen workers had
important emotional needs that were not
being met
they were both experiencing feelings of
disconnection and alienation the social
stigma of even having to receive such
assistance weighed heavily on the
clients they were embarrassed help for
cleaning was considered acceptable in
Danish culture but helped for more
personal needs was much less so it also
mattered who was providing the help in
Denmark a senior hope to receive
assistance from a relative or friend if
that was not possible perhaps one could
hire someone but it was a last resort to
receive assistance from the government
also painful to seniors was the loss of
control over their food choices we
discovered that deciding what kind of
food they put in their mouths was the
second most important thing for the
elderly after taking care of their
personal hygiene the head of the hatch
and Blum team told us and they hated
eating alone because it reminded them
that their families were no longer
around
all of these factors contributed
directly to the nutrition problem and
put it in a broader context the less
they enjoyed their situation the smaller
their appetites
the kitchen workers Hatchin Blum learned
we're making the same boring low-cost
meals over and over not because they
lack skills or because they just didn't
care but because of the perceived
economic and logistical constraints that
prevented them from doing something more
interesting the team also found positive
things however they discovered that the
generation of seniors they studied was
very responsible and capable in the
kitchen and had a keen sense of the
seasons and positive associations with
seasonal foods such as apples in the
fall and strawberries in the summer they
also often tried to customize their
meals by adding spices or using their
own potatoes or vegetables the Hatchin
Blum team also discovered that the
kitchen workers really did care and
wanted to do a good job once team
members had finished their ethnographic
research they moved into the what-if
stage for this they wanted to enlist a
broader group of stakeholders in
understanding the nature of the
challenges and participating in creating
a new and better meal service they
wanted to co-create with their important
stakeholders to accomplish this they had
a series of workshops that brought
together a diverse set of stakeholders
it included public officials volunteers
experts and elderly issues kitchen
workers and employees of residential
care facilities together they reviewed
the ethnographic research and developed
insights and design criteria to form
idea generation this kind of co-creation
is another important design tool
inviting stakeholders into the creative
process creates ownership and engagement
as well as producing better ideas
the co-creation tool will turn out to be
useful in every one of the four
questions as you'll see later in the
second question
Hatchin Blum used a brainstorming
process in which facilitators used
analogies as trigger questions to help
shift participants mental models of food
service as they generated ideas the
facilitators asked participants to think
of the kitchen as a restaurant
triggering a creative rush the kitchen
workers they assumed then must be the
chef's and if they were the chef's who
were the waiters this began to bring
ideas like the condition of the vehicles
used for meal delivery into the
discussion they continued to work with
the restaurant analogy as they
considered the food itself until that
point the menus had been minimalist
factual descriptions of the food perhaps
detailing how it was prepared for
instance one item red liver potatoes and
sauce that's not exactly a description
that will make your mouth water is it
but now participants in the workshop
started to wonder maybe we should look
at actual restaurant menus maybe we
should describe our meals in a
completely different more enticing way
the third workshop move them into the
what Wow stage and continue to emphasize
the design tool of co-creation
but this time co-creation was used to
test ideas rather than generate them
this third workshop was much more
hands-on and involved prototyping at
least in a rough way the solutions
coming out of the what-if workshops for
example hatch and bloom work with
participants on three different versions
of the menu
asking them which they liked and how
they felt about various aspects such as
the colors they favored and whether they
preferred photos or illustrations they
used a design tool called visualization
to make these different options feel
more real to participants
visualization is one of the essential
design tools it's not about drawing a
skill that many of us don't have it's
about using imagery to make an abstract
idea more public and more concrete so
that it will be more visible clear and
understandable to others
Hatchin bloom didn't talk to people
about the different options they showed
them the different options they then
moved into what works testing prototypes
with different combinations and ways of
presenting the food with actual
customers the learning from this initial
set of experiments resulted in a second
project with some quick packaging design
changes that allowed for more modular
Mills where components were separated
instead of being mixed together the
process also yielded new uniforms for
employees and a new name the good
kitchen that reflected everybody's
aspirations it also included new
communication channels using newsletters
and comment cards to keep clients in the
kitchen staff in close touch with each
other and so a process that began with a
simple mandate fix the menu evolved into
something much more significant as it
moved through the four questions using
design tools like journey mapping
co-creation prototyping and
experimentation that process yielded a
host of dramatic changes a new menu new
uniforms for staff new feedback
mechanisms but equally important it made
everyone involved cognizant of the real
people they were serving or being served
by today poster brows seniors know who
is shaping their meatballs and preparing
the gravy in the kitchen and this
relationship between the kitchen staff
and the customers which is now both
personal and professional has increased
greatly the satisfaction of both
the results speak for themselves
reorganizing the menu and improving the
descriptions of the meals drove a 500%
increase in meal orders in the first
week alone but the results were much
more about the number of meals served
one of the most important elements of
the transformation was the shift in
employees perception of themselves in
their work the kitchen workers are now
much more satisfied in motivate as a
result customers are happier with their
food if you have professional pride
you'll also cook good food and marie
nielsen the director of the good kitchen
told us good food has to come from the
heart what we are talking about in the
good kitchen story is about more than
just developing new products or services
we're talking about innovating the
entire business model I'd like you to
spend a few minutes now listening to
Jeremy Alexis a professor at the Chicago
Institute of design as he shares his
views on the importance of business
model innovation
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