Delivering Prototypes with Design Thinking is Not Enough

Design Thinking has become the go-to methodology for generating human-centered innovations. It excels in identifying user needs, fostering creativity, and rapidly prototyping solutions. However, while design thinking is excellent for exploring possibilities, it often stops short of what decision-makers ultimately need: clear business cases that align with strategy and promise tangible results.

A brilliant prototype, no matter how user-friendly or disruptive, will not win management approval if it lacks a strong business foundation. Executives are accountable for performance and ROI. They want to know how a new idea fits into the company’s long-term goals, its market potential, and its financial feasibility. This is where many innovation projects fail—not because the ideas aren’t good, but because they don’t translate into business-ready solutions.

Decision Makers Focus on Business Results

The success of an innovation project depends on bridging the gap between creative exploration and strategic decision-making. Senior leaders ask questions like:

• Will this idea generate sustainable revenue or impact?

• Does it align with our strategic priorities?

• What is the time-to-market and cost structure?

Design Thinking rarely addresses these aspects thoroughly, leaving innovation teams with great concepts that struggle to gain traction at the boardroom table. To make innovation truly effective, a methodology must combine the user-centric strengths of design thinking with the financial and strategic rigor of business thinking.

FORTH: Connecting Innovation to Strategy from the Start

The FORTH innovation methodology was created precisely to overcome this gap. Unlike other approaches that jump straight into ideation, FORTH begins with a critical first step: composing a strategic innovation assignment through a structured Innovation Focus Workshop.

In this phase, decision-makers and innovation teams jointly define:

• The why: Why is this innovation initiative crucial for the organization?

• The what: What strategic goals must the innovation fulfill?

• The which: What criteria will be used to select successful ideas?

By clarifying these elements before ideation even starts, FORTH ensures that every creative idea generated is connected to a broader business strategy. This alignment creates management buy-in from day one—removing one of the biggest barriers to innovation success.

Delivering Hard Results: Five Concrete Business Cases

FORTH follows a five-step process—Full Steam Ahead, Observe & Learn, Raise Ideas, Test Ideas, and Homecoming—that leads teams through the creative, validation, and business modeling phases. By the end of the process, teams return not just with ideas, but with five fully developed innovation business cases.

Each business case includes:

• A validated concept backed by user insights.

• A prototype or proof of concept.

• A market attractiveness analysis.

• A financial feasibility study.

• A plan for next steps toward implementation.

This final deliverable is exactly what decision-makers need: tangible, data-backed solutions that can be implemented with confidence.

Why FORTH Works Worldwide

FORTH’s combination of design thinking and business thinking has made it a proven success in organizations across industries and countries. Available in 13 languages, the methodology doubles the effectiveness of traditional innovation processes by ensuring that creativity and strategy are never treated as separate silos.

Organizations using FORTH not only generate more successful ideas but also develop a shared innovation culture. Teams and executives collaborate more effectively, creating a “we-nnovation” mindset that unites vision with execution.

Wishing you lots of innovation success

Gijsbertus van Wulfen

Ps. When you want to boost your innovation skills with the proven FORTH Innovation Method join our yearly innovation facilitation training in Italy, June 7-12, 2026. Send me a direct message via LinkedIn to receive a brochure for this event which will double your innovation effectiveness as consultant or project leader.

By Gijs van Wulfen

Keywords: Change Management, Design, Innovation

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