Design Thinking yields 'Best Imaginable' usability for IT complaint systems
Category: Innovation & Design · Effect: Strong effect · Year: 2026
Employing a Design Thinking approach can lead to highly usable and effective digital systems for managing technical complaints and evaluating team performance.
Design Takeaway
When developing internal IT support systems, prioritize a user-centered approach like Design Thinking to ensure high usability and user acceptance, which are critical for operational efficiency.
Why It Matters
This research demonstrates that a user-centered design process, specifically Design Thinking, can directly address operational inefficiencies in IT support. By focusing on user needs and iterative testing, designers can create solutions that are not only functional but also highly accepted by end-users, leading to improved service delivery and data-driven performance insights.
Key Finding
The new system designed using Design Thinking was rated as exceptionally usable by its intended users, indicating it effectively meets their needs for logging complaints and evaluating IT performance.
Key Findings
- The developed UI/UX prototype for the technical complaint logging and IT team performance evaluation system achieved an average SUS score of 84.58.
- The average SUS score of 84.58 falls into the 'Best Imaginable' usability category.
Research Evidence
Aim: To design and evaluate the usability of a web-based system for logging technical complaints and evaluating IT team performance using the Design Thinking methodology.
Method: Design Thinking methodology (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test) and System Usability Scale (SUS).
Procedure: The study followed the five phases of Design Thinking to develop a UI/UX prototype for a technical complaint logging and IT team performance evaluation system. The usability of the prototype was then assessed using the System Usability Scale (SUS) with participants.
Sample Size: 6 participants
Context: Internal IT operations within a public health department.
Design Principle
Iterative user-centered design processes, such as Design Thinking, are essential for creating effective and usable digital tools that address specific organizational challenges.
How to Apply
Implement a Design Thinking process for any internal system development project, ensuring thorough user research, prototyping, and usability testing with representative users.
Limitations
The study was conducted with a small sample size (six participants) within a single organization, potentially limiting the generalizability of the findings to other contexts.
Student Guide (IB Design Technology)
Simple Explanation: Using a step-by-step creative process called Design Thinking helped make a new computer help desk system really easy and good to use, so much so that users thought it was the best it could possibly be.
Why This Matters: This shows that a structured, user-focused design approach can lead to practical solutions that significantly improve how organizations manage technical issues and track performance.
Critical Thinking: How might the 'empathize' and 'define' stages of Design Thinking have specifically contributed to the high usability score achieved in the 'test' phase?
IA-Ready Paragraph: The application of Design Thinking in this research resulted in a web-based system for technical complaint logging and IT team performance evaluation that achieved a System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 84.58, categorized as 'Best Imaginable'. This highlights the efficacy of iterative, user-centered design in creating highly usable and effective solutions for organizational challenges.
Project Tips
- Clearly document each stage of your Design Thinking process (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test).
- Use quantitative measures like the System Usability Scale (SUS) to objectively assess the usability of your designs.
How to Use in IA
- Reference this study when justifying the use of Design Thinking for problem-solving in your design project.
- Use the SUS score as an example of a strong usability outcome achievable through effective design.
Examiner Tips
- Ensure your Design Thinking process is clearly articulated and demonstrated through your project documentation.
- Quantitative usability data strengthens the evaluation of your design's effectiveness.
Independent Variable: Design Thinking methodology.
Dependent Variable: Usability of the web-based system (measured by SUS score).
Controlled Variables: Number of IT personnel at the organization, type of technical complaints.
Strengths
- Rigorous application of the Design Thinking framework.
- Quantitative measurement of usability using a recognized scale (SUS).
Critical Questions
- What specific user needs were identified during the 'empathize' phase that directly informed the design?
- How might the system's performance evaluation component be further refined based on user feedback?
Extended Essay Application
- Investigate the long-term impact of implementing such a system on IT team efficiency and organizational productivity.
- Compare the effectiveness of Design Thinking against other innovation frameworks for developing internal operational systems.
Source
UI/UX Design for Web-Based System of Technical Complaint Logging and IT Team Performance Evaluation using Design Thinking Method at Bandung City Health Office · Journal of Computing Research and Innovation · 2026 · 10.24191/jcrinn.v11i1.577