stimulating critical thinking in a tech team to escalate an e-commerce platform

stimulating critical thinking in a tech team to escalate an e-commerce platform

stimulating critical thinking in a tech team to escalate an e-commerce platform

6 min read

project overview

project overview

This workshop was commissioned by a major global retailer that operates multiple e-commerce marketplace stores, including those built on the VTEX* white-label platform. Facing challenges in managing expansion processes and dealing with the technical limitations of the VTEX platform, the client sought to create a parallel solution to enable marketplace growth — without disrupting the experience for existing sellers and customers. However, they were still uncertain about the best approach to achieve this.


* VTEX provides a white label e-commerce platform that enables brands and retailers to launch and scale their digital commerce operations

who was I in the team?

I designed and facilitated a two-day collaborative workshop to guide the client’s technical team through a process of critical thinking and ideation. Our goal was to define a clear, actionable path forward to build a scalable, secure solution for marketplace growth.


As part of Stefanini’s design team, I was responsible for structuring and leading the workshop. My role involved designing interactive activities, conducting the activities, ensuring focus, and stimulating creativity among participants to uncover the best technical solutions for the client’s needs. This project marked my first experience leading a workshop of this scale.

who was I in the team?

I designed and facilitated a two-day collaborative workshop to guide the client’s technical team through a process of critical thinking and ideation. Our goal was to define a clear, actionable path forward to build a scalable, secure solution for marketplace growth.


As part of Stefanini’s design team, I was responsible for structuring and leading the workshop. My role involved designing interactive activities, conducting the activities, ensuring focus, and stimulating creativity among participants to uncover the best technical solutions for the client’s needs. This project marked my first experience leading a workshop of this scale.

day 1 - systems and stakeholders map + CSD matrix

why these activities?

By mapping the client’s systems and stakeholders, we expected to create a shared understanding of the key players and integration points. This helped the team identify critical areas for attention in the new solution. The CSD (Certainties, Suppositions, Doubts) matrix was the following step, clarifying gaps in knowledge and highlighting assumptions that needed to be addressed.

1.
systems and stakeholders map

We began the ideation phase by mapping the client's systems and stakeholders to understand the key players and areas requiring attention. Using FigJam, we created a detailed diagram that visualized all the involved parties and their interactions with the existing systems. This exercise highlighted the complexities of the required integrations and helped pinpoint critical areas that needed to be addressed in building the new solution.


*data is blurred to preserve client's privacy

2.
CSD matrix

Next, we guided the team in creating a CSD matrix (Certainties, Suppositions, Doubts) to map their technical understanding and ensure alignment across the teams and processes. This exercise helped identify knowledge gaps and areas requiring further clarification, while also gathering valuable input on the expected functions of the solution and the limitations of the current systems.


*data is blurred to preserve client's privacy

day 2 - is | isn't | does | doesn't + how might we

why these activities?

On the second day, we defined the scope and boundaries of the solution through the "Is | Isn’t | Does | Doesn’t" exercise, ensuring everyone had clarity on what the solution should and shouldn’t do. We then used "How Might We" questions to tackle specific technical challenges, generating ideas for system integration, data security, and scalability.

3.
is / isn’t / does / doesn’t

At the start of the second day, we asked participants to define what the solution would be, would not be, would do, and would not do. This exercise helped clarify expectations and establish the boundaries of the proposed solution. It enabled the team to clearly define the desired attributes and functionalities, eliminating ambiguities and sharpening the focus on technical feasibility.


*data is blurred to preserve client's privacy

4.
How might we…?

To conclude, we encouraged critical thinking to tackle the three main technical challenges identified in the previous activities. We refined these challenges into multiple, more specific questions to uncover targeted solutions. The questions addressed key areas such as system integration, data security, and scalability. The answers provided helped shape the architecture of the solution defined by the client's team, ensuring that all integrations and technical requirements were thoroughly considered.


*data is blurred to preserve client's privacy

two things were the main obstacles during those two days and activities:

  1. limited knowledge of client's systems

As external facilitators, we had limited knowledge of the client’s systems. We overcame this by investing time in mapping systems and stakeholders, ensuring we had the clarity needed to guide the team effectively.

  1. navigating technical language

The technical expertise of the participants exceeded my own. To manage this, I focused on stimulating critical thinking rather than delving into technical details, allowing the team to generate creative and feasible solutions within their own domain.

results and impact

results and impact

Through the workshop, we identified several key pillars for the project, including:

1.
creating a modular API for seamless backend integration

2.
implementing robust security mechanisms to protect customer and vendor data

3.
developing a scalable architecture to support marketplace growth

next steps

next steps

The client left with a clear understanding of the next steps and felt confident in the direction generated during the workshop. Our facilitation received positive feedback, and the professionalism displayed contributed to the project’s long-term success.

key takeaways and personal growth

key takeaways and personal growth

This experience marked a significant milestone in my career. It not only strengthened my skills in workshop facilitation but also deepened my understanding of how to guide teams through complex, technical decision-making processes. I learned how to navigate ambiguity, maintain focus in highly specialized environments, and bring out the best in diverse teams.

thank you


thank you


________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

if you would like to talk about this project (or other subjects), feel free to send me a message at

stephanierts@gmail.com

project overview

This workshop was commissioned by a major global retailer that operates multiple e-commerce marketplace stores, including those built on the VTEX* white-label platform. Facing challenges in managing expansion processes and dealing with the technical limitations of the VTEX platform, the client sought to create a parallel solution to enable marketplace growth — without disrupting the experience for existing sellers and customers. However, they were still uncertain about the best approach to achieve this.


* VTEX provides a white label e-commerce platform that enables brands and retailers to launch and scale their digital commerce operations

who was I in the team?

I designed and facilitated a two-day collaborative workshop to guide the client’s technical team through a process of critical thinking and ideation. Our goal was to define a clear, actionable path forward to build a scalable, secure solution for marketplace growth.


As part of Stefanini’s design team, I was responsible for structuring and leading the workshop. My role involved designing interactive activities, conducting the activities, ensuring focus, and stimulating creativity among participants to uncover the best technical solutions for the client’s needs. This project marked my first experience leading a workshop of this scale.

day 1 - systems and stakeholders map + CSD matrix

why these activities?

By mapping the client’s systems and stakeholders, we expected to create a shared understanding of the key players and integration points. This helped the team identify critical areas for attention in the new solution. The CSD (Certainties, Suppositions, Doubts) matrix was the following step, clarifying gaps in knowledge and highlighting assumptions that needed to be addressed.

1.
systems and stakeholders map

We began the ideation phase by mapping the client's systems and stakeholders to understand the key players and areas requiring attention. Using FigJam, we created a detailed diagram that visualized all the involved parties and their interactions with the existing systems. This exercise highlighted the complexities of the required integrations and helped pinpoint critical areas that needed to be addressed in building the new solution.


*data is blurred to preserve client's privacy

2.
CSD matrix

Next, we guided the team in creating a CSD matrix (Certainties, Suppositions, Doubts) to map their technical understanding and ensure alignment across the teams and processes. This exercise helped identify knowledge gaps and areas requiring further clarification, while also gathering valuable input on the expected functions of the solution and the limitations of the current systems.


*data is blurred to preserve client's privacy

day 2 - is | isn't | does | doesn't + how might we

why these activities?

On the second day, we defined the scope and boundaries of the solution through the "Is | Isn’t | Does | Doesn’t" exercise, ensuring everyone had clarity on what the solution should and shouldn’t do. We then used "How Might We" questions to tackle specific technical challenges, generating ideas for system integration, data security, and scalability.

3.
is / isn’t / does / doesn’t

At the start of the second day, we asked participants to define what the solution would be, would not be, would do, and would not do. This exercise helped clarify expectations and establish the boundaries of the proposed solution. It enabled the team to clearly define the desired attributes and functionalities, eliminating ambiguities and sharpening the focus on technical feasibility.


*data is blurred to preserve client's privacy

4.
How might we…?

To conclude, we encouraged critical thinking to tackle the three main technical challenges identified in the previous activities. We refined these challenges into multiple, more specific questions to uncover targeted solutions. The questions addressed key areas such as system integration, data security, and scalability. The answers provided helped shape the architecture of the solution defined by the client's team, ensuring that all integrations and technical requirements were thoroughly considered.


*data is blurred to preserve client's privacy

two things were the main obstacles during those two days and activities:

  1. limited knowledge of client's systems

As external facilitators, we had limited knowledge of the client’s systems. We overcame this by investing time in mapping systems and stakeholders, ensuring we had the clarity needed to guide the team effectively.

  1. navigating technical language

The technical expertise of the participants exceeded my own. To manage this, I focused on stimulating critical thinking rather than delving into technical details, allowing the team to generate creative and feasible solutions within their own domain.

results and impact

Through the workshop, we identified several key pillars for the project, including:

1.
creating a modular API for seamless backend integration

2.
implementing robust security mechanisms to protect customer and vendor data

3.
developing a scalable architecture to support marketplace growth

next steps

The client left with a clear understanding of the next steps and felt confident in the direction generated during the workshop. Our facilitation received positive feedback, and the professionalism displayed contributed to the project’s long-term success.

key takeaways and personal growth

This experience marked a significant milestone in my career. It not only strengthened my skills in workshop facilitation but also deepened my understanding of how to guide teams through complex, technical decision-making processes. I learned how to navigate ambiguity, maintain focus in highly specialized environments, and bring out the best in diverse teams.

thank you


__________________________________________

if you would like to talk about this project (or other subjects), feel free to send me a message at

stephanierts@

gmail.com