Application of the Design Thinking Approach to Process Redesign at an Insurance Company in Brazil José Ricardo Cereja Flavia Maria Santoro Elena Gorbacheva Martin Matzner

Summary Introduction Situation faced Action taken Results achieved Lessons learned

INTRODUCTION

The Case Scenario (1/2) The largest independent insurance company in Brazil (the “Insurer”) Founded more than 100 years ago Employs more than 5,000 people In 2014, the company generated R$16.9 billion of revenue (around US$4.2 billion), serving about 7 million customers

The Case Scenario (2/2) Significant changes in health insurance market in Brazil, especially in the process of purchasing raw materials for medical treatments Consequence: The Insurer had to review its health insurance information system Faced challenge: Part of the material-purchasing process was done informally instead of being implemented through the information system Search for a solution: The Insurer employed ADDTECH, a business consultancy that specializes in the areas of business, management, and technology New approach: ADDTECH suggested using Design Thinking techniques to collect requirements for the new information system and a new process for material purchasing

SITUATION FACED

Identified Challenges The Insurer had to restructure its purchasing process; however, issues were identified with the Authorization Not Required (ANR) materials, which were classified as “basic” and required an immediate release Over time, four major problems emerged: ANR materials were purchased outside the information system using a manual process and using phone and email for communication and decision-making ANR materials did not have a standard definition The share of ANR items increased to 40 percent of all ordered materials The number of frauds involving ANR materials increased

Initial Attempts to Address the Identified Challenges The Insurer could not handle the development of a new information system through conventional techniques, because the employees could not reach a common understanding of the existing challenges and how they should be addressed in the information system Therefore, ADDTECH was hired to address the revealed challenges using an innovative approach

ACTION TAKEN

Application of Design Thinking for Process Redesign The Design Thinking approach was applied throughout the BPM lifecycle: redesign the material purchasing process, particularly the purchasing of ANR materials gather requirements for the new information system

Overview of Workshops and Tools Applied at each Design Thinking Stage

RESULTS ACHIEVED

Main Outcomes Empathize stage: the as-is process model of the existing purchasing process was designed Define stage: A common definition of ANR materials was achieved The to-be purchasing process was designed, including the sub-process for the procurement of ANR materials Important aspects of the information system were formalized (including value propositions, direct customers, aspects of user support service, key activities and features, and key partners) Ideate stage: the requirements to the information system and associated features to be implemented were identified and approved Prototype stage: the prototype of the new features of the information system supporting the to-be process was developed

Examples of the Applied Design Thinking Tools

LESSONS LEARNED

Final Remarks Design Thinking added useful instruments to BPM analysts’ tool set, as the case demonstrated the successful application of Design Thinking for process redesign and improvement The BPM lifecycle phases correspond well with the stages of Design Thinking The case described here is likely to render a methodological contribution to the Design Thinking approach Design Thinking techniques could be applied in a flexible way The case provided organizations with general insights on how to apply Design Thinking for process redesign