Understanding customer needs in the age of AI: A conversation with Jim Kalbach

In this episode of Catalyst, Jod Kaftan sits down with Jim Kalbach, author, educator and Chief Evangelist at Mural. Jim, a defining voice in design innovation and research, shares his perspective on how AI is reshaping the way teams discover problems, build solutions and stay connected to their customers. Jod and Jim explore the evolving role of frameworks like the Double Diamond and Jobs to Be Done in an age of intelligent agents and adaptive interfaces.

Highlights from the episode include:

• The Double Diamond is becoming a single motion. AI has drastically reduced the cost and effort of building prototypes, which means the solution side of the Double Diamond no longer dominates the process. Jim argues that discovery and delivery are converging so quickly they may soon be indistinguishable from each other.
• Real interviews still have their place. Synthetic research can accelerate discovery and reduce the number of interviews needed, but it cannot replace them entirely. Jim points out that without real-world conversations, teams have no way of knowing where AI got it wrong. An organization cannot genuinely claim to be customer centric if it never talks to customers.
• Jobs to Be Done is more relevant now, not less. One of the core themes in the episode is the value of understanding what people are really trying to get done before jumping to product features. Jim explains that the jobs to be done framework gives teams a durable way to study customer problems without viewing everything through the lens of their current product.

Check out the full episode to hear strategies for keeping customer insights top of mind and why design has an ethical role to play as organizations build more intelligent systems.

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Please note that the views expressed in this episode may not necessarily be those of NTT DATA.