Design Thinking Training Course

Participants can convert broad organisational concerns into focused design opportunities.

• Problem statements separate symptoms, causes, needs and desired outcomes
• Five Whys analysis exposes assumptions behind stated business problems
• Stakeholder maps identify influence, interest, dependency and potential resistance
• Systems maps reveal handoffs, feedback loops and unintended consequences
• How Might We questions create actionable opportunity boundaries
• Design principles establish non-negotiable criteria for later concept decisions

Participants can prepare a proportionate research plan for a design challenge.

• Research objectives distinguish discovery questions from validation questions
• Sampling plans define participant segments, recruitment criteria and sample limits
• Interview guides sequence opening, behavioural, probing and closing questions
• Observation protocols capture actions, context, workarounds and environmental cues
• Consent forms record participation agreements, data use and withdrawal rights
• Research plans allocate roles, timelines, incentives, access and risk controls

Participants can conduct interviews that produce usable behavioural evidence.

• Contextual interviews examine actual behaviours rather than stated preferences
• Laddering questions uncover motivations, consequences, values and decision criteria
• Critical incident technique reconstructs memorable successes, failures and workarounds
• Active listening uses silence, paraphrasing and neutral follow-up prompts
• Interview notes separate direct quotations from researcher interpretation
• Bias controls reduce leading questions, confirmation bias and social desirability effects

Participants can gather observational evidence about user tasks, environments and service interactions.

• Shadowing reveals task sequences, interruptions, delays and informal adaptations
• AEIOU framework records activities, environments, interactions, objects and users
• Service safaris document friction points through direct customer experience
• Behavioural traces identify repeated actions, abandoned steps and exception handling
• Field notes distinguish observable facts from preliminary explanatory hypotheses
• Accessibility considerations identify barriers affecting different user capabilities

Participants can turn qualitative research material into prioritised insights.

• Affinity mapping clusters observations, quotations, behaviours and recurring needs
• Coding schemes organise evidence by task, motivation, barrier and context
• Insight statements connect observed patterns to unmet user needs
• Tension mapping identifies conflicts between user goals and organisational requirements
• Evidence ladders distinguish facts, inferences, assumptions and design implications
• Opportunity areas rank needs by significance, frequency and strategic relevance

Participants can model user needs and experiences for design decision-making.

• Evidence-based personas describe goals, behaviours, constraints and relevant contexts
• Jobs to Be Done captures functional, emotional and social progress
• Job stories express situations, motivations and expected outcomes clearly
• Journey maps visualise stages, actions, emotions, channels and pain points
• Moments of truth identify interactions shaping trust and perceived quality
• Current-state journeys expose duplication, waiting, uncertainty and service gaps

Participants can define a defensible design direction from research findings.

• Point-of-view statements combine user, need and evidence-based insight
• Design criteria translate insights into testable concept requirements
• Assumption mapping separates known evidence from critical unknowns
• Constraint analysis identifies regulatory, technical, operational and budget boundaries
• Problem reframing tests alternative explanations before concept generation begins
• Opportunity statements link target outcomes to measurable user improvements

Participants can generate a broad and relevant range of response options.

• Brainwriting 6-3-5 produces ideas before group discussion influences choices
• SCAMPER prompts adaptation, substitution, combination and reversal of existing solutions
• Crazy Eights creates rapid alternatives around a defined opportunity
• Analogous inspiration transfers patterns from unrelated services and industries
• Concept posters describe users, value proposition, mechanism and evidence
• Divergent thinking rules suspend judgement while expanding possible responses

Participants can select concepts using transparent evidence and decision criteria.

• Dot voting provides initial convergence after structured concept discussion
• Weighted decision matrices compare concepts against agreed design criteria
• Value proposition canvases connect customer pains, gains and proposed benefits
• Desirability-feasibility-viability scoring identifies concepts requiring further evidence
• Pre-mortem analysis anticipates implementation failures and mitigation actions
• Concept portfolios balance incremental improvements with higher-uncertainty propositions

Participants can select and create prototypes appropriate to their learning questions.

• Prototype fidelity matches the uncertainty being tested and available resources
• Paper interfaces test information hierarchy, task flow and user language
• Role-play prototypes simulate staff behaviours, handoffs and service interactions
• Storyboards communicate end-to-end experiences across channels and touchpoints
• Service blueprints connect frontstage interactions with backstage operational activities
• Wizard of Oz prototypes test demand before technical development

Participants can run structured prototype tests and interpret user feedback.

• Usability test plans define tasks, participants, measures and observation roles
• Think-aloud protocols reveal expectations, confusion and decision-making during tasks
• Task completion rates identify critical usability barriers and failure patterns
• System Usability Scale provides a standardised perception measure
• Severity ratings prioritise defects by impact, frequency and persistence
• Test debriefs separate observed evidence from participant solution suggestions

Participants can connect proposed experiences to operational requirements and accountabilities.

• Service blueprints map customer actions, employee actions and support processes
• Swimlane diagrams clarify handoffs, ownership and escalation points
• Failure mode analysis identifies service breakdowns and recovery requirements
• Frontstage-backstage dependencies reveal operational implications of new experiences
• RACI matrices assign decision, delivery, consultation and information responsibilities
• Standard operating procedures translate service concepts into repeatable work

Participants can design experiments that reduce important uncertainties before delivery.

• Hypothesis statements specify expected behaviour, audience and measurable condition
• Assumption tests prioritise uncertainty by impact and evidence gaps
• Minimum viable experiments test demand, comprehension, usability or operational feasibility
• Success metrics define thresholds before results influence investment decisions
• A/B test principles compare alternatives while controlling relevant variables
• Learning backlogs record questions, evidence, decisions and next experiments

Participants can plan and facilitate productive cross-functional design workshops.

• Workshop canvases sequence individual thinking, sharing, critique and convergence
• Divergence-convergence cycles prevent premature decisions and unproductive discussion
• Participation structures reduce dominance by senior or vocal contributors
• Design critiques assess work against criteria rather than personal preference
• Conflict protocols surface competing priorities without losing user evidence
• Decision logs record choices, rationale, dissent and follow-up actions

Participants can translate a validated concept into a practical delivery plan.

• Opportunity solution trees connect outcomes, opportunities, solutions and experiments
• Roadmaps sequence discovery, pilot, scale-up and operational handover activities
• Pilot plans define scope, participants, safeguards, measures and review points
• Change impact assessments identify affected roles, processes, systems and controls
• Adoption plans specify communications, training, support and feedback channels
• Risk registers document threats, owners, responses and escalation thresholds

Participants can establish measures and governance for design work beyond initial delivery.

• Outcome metrics distinguish user value from activity and output measures
• North Star metrics align teams around a meaningful customer outcome
• Balanced scorecards track customer, operational, financial and learning measures
• Design reviews examine evidence quality, ethics, accessibility and delivery readiness
• Research repositories preserve findings, participant details and reusable insight assets
• Governance cadences define decision forums, evidence thresholds and accountability

Participants can build, review and present a complete design proposal for a live organisational challenge.

• Challenge briefs consolidate scope, users, outcomes, constraints and sponsor expectations
• Research evidence supports a prioritised problem definition and opportunity area
• Personas, jobs and journeys demonstrate target-user needs and pain points
• Concept rationale addresses desirability, feasibility, viability, risks and assumptions
• Prototype findings justify refinements, priorities and unresolved learning questions
• Implementation roadmap specifies pilots, owners, measures, governance and next decisions