Design Thinking and Innovation Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Strategy Managers, Product Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-IC-007

Before you join: Participants should have experience contributing to projects, services, products, policy initiatives or improvement work.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Strategic innovation often fails before ideas are tested: teams begin with an assumed solution, rely on internal opinion, or cannot connect customer insight to investment decisions. Managers need a disciplined way to identify unmet needs, reframe ambiguous problems, generate credible options and move selected concepts into delivery. Design thinking provides that discipline when it is linked to strategy, operating constraints, financial value and implementation ownership.

This course teaches design thinking as a management approach for service improvement, product development, policy design and business model renewal. Participants learn to define innovation challenges, conduct stakeholder research, map journeys, identify Jobs to Be Done, synthesise evidence, formulate opportunity statements and generate concepts. They assess ideas using desirability, feasibility and viability criteria, develop prototypes, test assumptions and build a case for investment. The course also addresses innovation portfolios, governance, adoption risks and metrics for managing innovation beyond the initial concept.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with case analysis, facilitated group work, research simulations, concept development and decision-making sessions. Cases can be adapted to public services, banking, healthcare, infrastructure, technology, consumer services or NGO programmes. Participants work through a realistic strategic challenge and leave with reusable templates for research, problem framing, idea selection, prototyping, business modelling and implementation planning.

The course is suited to managers and professionals responsible for improving services, developing offerings, leading transformation initiatives or translating organisational strategy into customer-centred action. It is particularly useful where multiple stakeholders, uncertain needs or entrenched processes make conventional project planning insufficient.

What you will be able to do

  • Frame strategic innovation challenges using stakeholder, customer and organisational evidence
  • Conduct qualitative user research using interviews, observation and journey mapping
  • Synthesize research findings into personas, insight statements and Jobs to Be Done
  • Generate and prioritise concepts using structured ideation and selection methods
  • Develop low-fidelity prototypes that test critical customer and delivery assumptions
  • Assess concepts through desirability, feasibility, viability and risk criteria
  • Build a Business Model Canvas and investment case for selected concepts
  • Plan innovation implementation using experiments, governance milestones and adoption measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • A repeatable method for moving from ambiguous problems to testable concepts
  • Stronger evidence-based conversations with customers, executives and delivery teams
  • Practical templates for leading discovery workshops and innovation sessions
  • Greater confidence presenting prototype evidence and investment recommendations
  • A personal action plan for applying design thinking to current priorities

For your organisation

  • Earlier identification of customer needs before major delivery commitments
  • Better prioritisation of innovation investments against strategic and operational constraints
  • Reduced risk of funding solutions based solely on internal assumptions
  • Clearer collaboration between strategy, operations, technology and customer-facing teams
  • A common process for documenting, testing and governing innovation initiatives

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can position design thinking within strategy, innovation management and operational decision-making.

  • Design thinking principles linked to strategic management and innovation outcomes
  • Double Diamond phases from discovery through definition, development and delivery
  • Innovation types: incremental, adjacent and transformational opportunity choices
  • Desirability, feasibility and viability as balanced concept evaluation criteria
  • Strategic intent translated into focused innovation challenge statements
  • Innovation horizons and portfolio choices using the Three Horizons model

Participants can define an innovation challenge with clear scope, evidence and decision boundaries.

  • Problem framing distinguishes symptoms, causes, constraints and desired outcomes
  • Five Whys analysis exposes assumptions behind stated business problems
  • Systems mapping identifies actors, dependencies, feedback loops and intervention points
  • How Might We questions convert evidence into actionable opportunity prompts
  • Challenge briefs specify users, context, constraints, sponsors and decisions
  • Assumption mapping separates known facts from testable beliefs and risks

Participants can plan and conduct focused research that produces decision-relevant stakeholder evidence.

  • Stakeholder maps identify users, buyers, influencers, partners and gatekeepers
  • Research objectives define evidence required for strategic innovation decisions
  • Semi-structured interviews uncover behaviours, motivations, barriers and workarounds
  • Contextual observation records actual tasks, environments, tools and interactions
  • Interview guides use neutral prompts and laddering questions effectively
  • Research ethics covers consent, confidentiality, bias and sensitive information
  • Sampling plans balance user segments, access limitations and research time

Participants can convert qualitative evidence into prioritised insights and opportunity areas.

  • Affinity mapping groups research observations into recurring themes and patterns
  • Personas represent evidence-based user goals, contexts, behaviours and frustrations
  • Customer journey maps reveal moments, pain points and service breakdowns
  • Jobs to Be Done captures functional, emotional and social progress
  • Insight statements connect observed evidence, underlying need and strategic implication
  • Opportunity mapping ranks needs by importance, satisfaction and organisational relevance

Participants can produce varied concepts and develop promising ideas beyond initial suggestions.

  • Divergent and convergent thinking manage idea quantity, variety and selection
  • Brainwriting 6-3-5 produces concepts without early discussion dominance
  • SCAMPER prompts systematic modification of existing products, services and processes
  • Analogous inspiration transfers patterns from unrelated industries and contexts
  • Crazy Eights accelerates visual concept generation under time constraints
  • Concept posters articulate users, value proposition, mechanism and evidence
  • Morphological analysis combines solution components into alternative concept configurations

Participants can compare concepts using transparent strategic, customer and delivery criteria.

  • Selection criteria align strategic fit, customer value, risk and investment
  • Impact-effort matrices distinguish quick wins from resource-intensive opportunities
  • Weighted decision matrices compare concepts against agreed scoring criteria
  • Desirability assessment tests relevance, usability, trust and willingness to adopt
  • Feasibility analysis examines capabilities, technology, processes and delivery dependencies
  • Viability assessment considers revenue, cost, funding and economic value
  • Pre-mortem analysis anticipates failure modes before committing resources

Participants can design prototypes and experiments that reduce critical uncertainty efficiently.

  • Prototype fidelity selected according to the assumption being tested
  • Paper prototypes test service flows, interfaces and customer understanding
  • Storyboards communicate future experiences across channels and touchpoints
  • Service blueprints connect frontstage interactions with backstage operational processes
  • Hypothesis statements specify assumptions, expected behaviour and measurable evidence
  • Experiment canvases define participants, method, metrics, thresholds and decisions
  • Minimum viable products distinguish learning objectives from full product delivery

Participants can run structured tests, interpret findings and decide what to change next.

  • Usability testing observes task completion, errors, confusion and participant comments
  • Think-aloud protocols reveal participant reasoning during prototype interactions
  • Test scripts maintain consistent prompts while allowing useful follow-up questions
  • Behavioural metrics measure completion, conversion, retention and repeat use
  • Evidence logs distinguish participant quotes, observations, interpretations and decisions
  • Iteration cycles prioritise changes using learning value and implementation cost
  • Pivot, persevere or stop decisions follow predefined evidence thresholds

Participants can articulate how a selected concept creates value and justifies investment.

  • Business Model Canvas links customer segments, value propositions and operations
  • Value proposition canvases match customer jobs, pains and gains
  • Revenue and funding models identify sources, timing and collection mechanisms
  • Cost structures separate fixed, variable, implementation and operating costs
  • Unit economics tests contribution logic, volumes and break-even assumptions
  • Benefits cases quantify financial, service, risk and strategic value
  • Investment narratives combine evidence, assumptions, options and recommended decisions

Participants can plan the transition from validated concept to governed implementation.

  • Innovation roadmaps sequence experiments, decisions, dependencies and implementation milestones
  • Stage-gate governance assigns evidence requirements before investment release
  • RACI matrices clarify sponsor, owner, contributor and approval responsibilities
  • Innovation portfolios balance risk, return, time horizon and strategic fit
  • Adoption planning addresses stakeholder resistance, capability gaps and communications
  • Outcome metrics track customer, operational, financial and learning measures
  • Ninety-day application plans assign actions, evidence targets and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Strategic innovation challenge brief
  2. Stakeholder research plan
  3. Customer journey map template
  4. Jobs to Be Done statement set
  5. Prototype experiment canvas
  6. Ninety-day innovation application plan

Who should attend

  • Strategy Managers — translate strategic priorities into tested customer-centred initiatives
  • Product Managers — improve product discovery, concept selection and market validation
  • Service Design Managers — redesign complex customer and employee service journeys
  • Transformation Leaders — structure innovation work alongside operational change programmes
  • Public Sector Managers — develop policy and service responses around citizen needs
  • Innovation and R&D Managers — govern idea pipelines, experiments and investment choices

Skills and tools covered

Strategic problem framingUser researchConcept developmentPrototype testingBusiness model designInnovation governance

Tools and standards

Double Diamond, Jobs to Be Done, Business Model Canvas, Service Blueprint

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce each method, followed by cases, group analysis, facilitated exercises and structured review. Participants practise research planning, insight synthesis, concept generation, prototyping and strategic evaluation using realistic organisational scenarios. Decision simulations show how customer evidence, delivery constraints, financial logic and risk affect innovation choices. Facilitated reflection connects each method to participants' own roles. The final sessions focus on application planning, governance and communicating a credible recommendation to senior stakeholders.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience contributing to projects, services, products, policy initiatives or improvement work. Familiarity with their organisation's customers, stakeholders, operating processes and strategic priorities will help them apply the methods to a relevant challenge. No previous design thinking training is required. The course does not require graphic design ability, coding, advanced financial modelling or specialist market research qualifications. Participants should be prepared to discuss a real business, service or organisational challenge during group work and application planning.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have experience working on projects, services, products, policy or organisational improvement. Previous design thinking training is not required, and no design or technical qualification is expected.

Bring a current or recent challenge involving customers, stakeholders, service delivery or strategic change. A laptop is useful for accessing course materials, although specialist software is not required.

It is designed for managers and professionals who need to develop, improve or test products, services, policies or operating models. It is relevant to private, public and third-sector organisations.

Creativity is one part of the programme, but the course begins with research and problem framing. It also covers prototyping, testing, business models, investment logic and implementation governance.

Participants can use the templates to frame a challenge, plan research, map journeys, select concepts and test assumptions. The final application plan identifies a practical first use within the next 90 days.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, with about 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided across instruction, case work, group exercises, simulations, feedback and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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