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Inclusive Advantage

Inclusive Product Design

Inclusive product design can help companies reach new communities and audiences and respond to changing demographics. Our product inclusion consulting team helps clients identify gaps in product development.

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To make product design more inclusive, clients must first understand what inclusive products are: goods, services, or ideas that are designed, marketed, and distributed in a way that achieves fairness and equal outcomes for all customers.

Inclusive products can be profitable, scalable, and advantageous. Successful companies embed product inclusion metrics and design thinking into all stages of product development.

Our Approach to Inclusive Product Design

BCG’s experts help clients enable product transformation and deliver heightened performance throughout all four stages of the product-development life cycle.

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Companies should consider design, architecture, and ecosystem principles at each stage to develop an inclusive and equitable product, while asking these relevant questions:

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1. Assess
  • Design. Are we being inclusive of all audiences in our user research?  
  • Architecture. Do specific target populations face technology barriers? 
  • Ecosystem. What motivations and implications should we consider?  
2. Define
  • Design. Are we ensuring cross-discipline collaboration to capture divergent perspectives?
  • Architecture. Have we validated how algorithms will impact all customers?
  • Ecosystem. Do we have a holistic stakeholder map?
3. Enable
  • Design. Have we captured diverse user feedback and iterated appropriately?  
  • Architecture. Have we tested our product’s infrastructure connectivity?  
  • Ecosystem. Have we examined our supply chain to ensure equity throughout?  
4. Develop
  • Design. Is our data inclusive of all customers using the product?
  • Architecture. Are our data and algorithms free of bias?
  • Ecosystem. Have we considered DEI when selecting partners?

In other words, design is just one aspect of equitable product design. Our approach is built around ongoing user engagement. And it is all encompassing, ensuring that all parties in the surrounding ecosystem are following principles of inclusion.

Our Client Work in Inclusive Product Design

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BCG worked with a North American bank to help strengthen its financial wellness initiatives, which lacked a cohesive strategy and focus. As part of its retail and commercial banking transformation, the bank needed help defining a clear strategy that would ensure priority initiatives were linked to business outcomes. BCG collaborated with the bank to define its “North Star” ambition and develop a high-level roadmap to increase financial wellness for up to four million customers.

Our Insights on Inclusive Product Design

Expanding Accessibility with Brain-Computer Interfaces
Video
May 13, 2024
Expanding Accessibility with Brain-Computer Interfaces
Brain-computer interfaces allow people to control computers with thought alone. Michael Mager of Precision Neuroscience and B Capital’s Howard Morgan discuss scaling these technologies.
Play Video
The Importance of Being Equitable in Product Design - Rectangle
Digital, Technology, and Data
Article
February 9, 2022
The Importance of Being Equitable in Product Design
Equitable products, built on the concept of human-centered design, increase value by providing a better customer experience and solidifying brand trust.
Learn More

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