61. Integrating Systems Thinking and Design Thinking for Innovation in the Context of Industry 4.0

There is an increase in complexity from the initial period of the digital age as we move on to the industrial revolution 4.0 bringing in more interconnectedness, cloud-based computing, rapid dynamic changes, and the coming together of the physical, digital, and biological worlds in an unprecedented way. The paper examines the complexities of industrial revolution 4.0 and analyzes them through the lens of both systems thinking and design thinking. The study elaborates on aspects of systems thinking which could help toward understanding the complexities of industrial revolution 4.0. This includes an understanding of wicked problems, life cycle, interrelationships, and interdependence between components of a system; system dynamics; understanding systemic challenges through multiple perspectives. The study further examines various characteristics of design thinking including the human centric, empathetic, creative approach, and the evolution of systems thinking approaches in design. Innovation requires not only a broad understanding of macro-context for meaningful opportunity mapping but also a creative approach for humane tangible interventions. The paper puts forth the argument for the need to use systemic thinking for understanding the multilayered complexities of IR 4.0 and design thinking for a generative creative approach to find meaningful intervention possibilities at various levels: product, process, service, systems level. The paper interweaves design and systems thinking and proposes constructs to change mental models for innovation in the context of IR4.0. This includes design approaches to deal with challenges of IR 4, relation between understanding complexities through a systems approach, and the resulting design solutions; and new design directions responding to the needs of IR 4.0