Our team was invited by an internal R&D group at Novartis to help define a new way of working within the company’s laboratories. The project, called Digital Labs, carried an ambitious vision:
To enable our scientists to focus on real science by simplifying how we operate and deploying powerful digital tools that make data accessible to anyone, anywhere. These capabilities would form the foundation for a modular digital lab environment, increasing efficiency and deepening understanding of product quality.
The team’s challenge was to turn that vision into something real, meaningful, and workable.
Learning from the Past
Digital Labs followed a previous initiative called Paperless Labs — a well-funded but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to eliminate paper-based processes in laboratory environments. The earlier project failed because the solution had been predetermined before any genuine user understanding took place. Millions had been spent pursuing a concept that users neither needed nor wanted.
When we joined the new initiative, stakeholders believed that sufficient user research already existed. They asked us to simply repackage the findings, host a few creative workshops, and produce new ideas based on the old data. It was clear from the outset that this approach would only repeat the same mistakes.
Redefining the Approach
We agreed to support the project on one condition: we would conduct our own research using a Design Thinking methodology, not a pre-defined Lean UX validation exercise. Our goal was to uncover the why behind scientists’ behaviours, not just the how.
Over six weeks, our team carried out interviews and observations in laboratories across seven countries, speaking with nearly fifty scientists and support staff. Insights began to converge early, confirming that a smaller, focused sample often reveals the majority of actionable needs.
Our interviews explored what people thought, felt, and experienced in their day-to-day work. Rather than focusing on technology or processes, we asked questions about inspiration, frustration, and motivation. This shift from systems to people revealed root causes rather than symptoms — and in doing so, opened space for real innovation.
From Insight to Ideation
The discovery process transformed scepticism into support. Once stakeholders saw the depth of human insight emerging from our research, they became fully engaged in the new approach. Together, we formed three user teams, each working on two innovation projects supported by our design leads.
Our designers translated these concepts into high-fidelity prototypes, continuously testing and refining them with the same user groups. As ideas matured, we brought in system architects and developers to assess technical feasibility and ensure the essence of each innovation was preserved through iteration.
Managing Innovation with Clarity
To guide decision-making, we introduced a Benefit vs Complexity Matrix — a visual framework that helped the steering group prioritise which innovations to fund next. This balanced portfolio approach ensured that resources were allocated across a mix of transformational, adjacent, and core innovations, aligning risk with business impact.
The Outcome
Digital Labs became more than a recovery project; it became a model for how human-centred design can reset the course of innovation. By shifting focus from assumptions to understanding, from technology to people, the project redefined how Novartis approached R&D transformation.
The result was a scalable design process grounded in the three principles of innovation management — desirability, feasibility, and viability — and a renewed confidence that the right questions lead to the right solutions.
We believe this is what design is for: bringing clarity, confidence, and creativity to complex challenges — and helping organisations innovate from the inside out.