Design Thinking for the Future of Finance
About the Program
This curriculum equips mid-career bankers in India with the principles and methodologies of design thinking and innovation, specifically tailored for this environment.
Participants will learn how to apply design thinking techniques and mindset to drive innovation, enhance customer experience, and develop strategy and solutions to solve crucial challenges in the banking industry.
Through a combination of evidence-based theory and knowledge, case studies, simulations, and practical exercises, participants will develop a deep understanding of design thinking principles and their applications in the context of banking.
This step-by-step program will guide the participants through the process of implementing design principles in a real product journey to ensure their learning.
Goal: To bring a product, service, or experience to market within three months.
Summer and Fall 2024
Duration: Immersion week in-person (July 8 – 12), Design sprint (August – October)
Program Faculty
Rupalee Ruchismita
Director of Research, Policy, and Innovation
Dave Rochlin
Lecturer and Executive Director (Innovation, Design, and Responsible Business)
Faculty Experts
Ganesh Iyer
Faculty Director, Center for Growth Markets
Saikat Chaudhuri
Faculty Director, M.E.T. Program and Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Hub
Paul Gertler
Li Ka Shing Professor of Economics
Christine Parlour
Professor, Sylvan C. Coleman Chair in Finance and Accounting
Yaniv Konchitchki
Founder & Faculty Director, Berkeley Fintech Program
Donald Hanna
Lecturer Economic Analysis & Policy
Industry Experts
Janelle Sallenave
Chief Experience Officer at Chime
Katharine Norwood
VP Global Insights & Innovation at Visa
Bharat Melag
Senior Director at Visa
Manish Chandra
VP Product Management at Salesforce
Sridhar Srigiriraju
Director of Infrastructure Engineering at Salesforce
Han Yang
Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Chandra Dhir
Al/ML Director at the Machine Learning Center of Excellence, JPMorgan Chase
Praveen Chandran
Prev. Google, Affirm, PayPal
Randal Romell
Principal Product Manager at TrueML
Shonan Shah
Senior Product Manager at Google
Immersion Week
Schedule
Subject to modification
Day 1
Module 1 – Introduction to Design Thinking in Banking
- Introduction to Design Thinking
- Understanding the key concepts, principles, and mindset of design thinking for both design practitioners and decision makers
- Exploring the relevance and benefits of design thinking in the banking sector.
- International case studies showcasing successful design thinking initiatives in banking.
- Empathy and Human-Centered Design
- Understanding the importance of empathy in design thinking.
- Techniques for developing empathy and understanding customer needs in the banking context.
- Conducting user research and creating customer personas.
Day 2
Module 2: Design Thinking Tools and Techniques in Banking
- Problem Framing and Ideation
- Techniques for defining problem statements and reframing challenges in the banking industry.
- Introduction to brainstorming and ideation techniques.
- Generating innovative ideas to address banking challenges.
Day 3
Module 3: Implementing Design Thinking in Banking Organizations
- Prototyping and Testing
- Introduction to rapid prototyping methods in the banking sector.
- Creating low-fidelity prototypes to validate ideas and gather feedback.
- Techniques for user testing and iterating prototypes.
- Concept Iteration
- We will practice iterating, and introduce the business model canvas as a method of considering testable concepts and key unknowns/variables.
- Work Plan for the Remote Innovation Sprint
- Summarizing content and developing work plans for the remote sprint.
Day 4
Module 4: Immersion with Design Thinking Practitioners: Fintech Design Innovators
- Improving client proximity
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- Chime: Mobile banking app that gives users perks like no hidden fees, early direct deposit and automatic savings.
- VISA: Payment card services company enabling credit, debit, and pre-paid cards.
- Salesforce: The world’s leading CRM platform, including a robust solution for financial services.
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Day 5
Module 5: Immersion with Design Thinking Practitioners: Fintech Design teams
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- Improving Identity protection and Regulatory requirements
- J.P. Morgan: J.P. Morgan Private Bank delivers customized wealth management advice and solutions to individuals and their families.
- Google: Google Cloud for Financial Services provides a range of solutions for the banking and finance industries.
- Improving Identity protection and Regulatory requirements
Design Immersion Semester (12 weeks)
The in-person workshop is followed by a ninety-day design marathon leading to a pilot-tested, real-world minimally viable product or service (MVP/S) or service developed in groups of five participants.
The semester schedule (synchronous and asynchronous) involves faculty guided group projects through weekly live sessions supported by asynchronous video lectures, case studies, and assignments. A certificate of participation will be awarded to those who complete the program.
Design Sprint Tools
Immersion Week Slide Deck
Reccommended Readings
- McKinsey: When Failure is an Option – Fostering Organizational Innovation and Learning
- When Innovation Meets the Language of the Corner Office
- HBR article: Why Design Thinking Works
- So just what is design thinking?
- Building an exploratory interview guide
- Leadership is Not About Having all The Answers
- Getting Started With Prototyping
- Innovation as a Learning Process: Embedding Design Thinking (note this is a foundational peer reviewed paper) (Beckman)
This Summer and Fall 2024, we collaborate with the State Bank of India, India’s oldest and largest bank, to provide its leaders with design thinking tools to craft solutions to address these specific challenges.