“Innovation means moving into uncertainty. To foster innovation we need to embrace that. Learning only occurs when we step away from the familiar and accept the uncertainty that inevitably accompanies new experiences.”— Jeanne Liedtka, Darden Business School, Batten Briefing, January 2015
Design thinking: Human centered design
Design thinking is human centered design. The goal is to gain a deep knowledge of customers to uncover their pain points and unarticulated needs and create products or services to fill those needs. Companies such as Procter and Gamble, PepsiCo and Apple use this approach to increase their innovation effectiveness. Learning organizations can use design thinking to create more impactful learning programs.
Standard learning design: Expert centric
Often learning programs are designed by an expert who has an idea, designs a course, tells the marketing team to sell it, and expects learners who sign up to love it.
Sometimes this approach works, but not always, especially on the first try. The idea may not be fully aligned with learner needs. Prospective applicants may provide this feedback to the marketing team, but it may not reach or be considered to by the learning design team. Post-program feedback indicates that some elements are great and others could be better. And those providing the strongest feedback are categorized as “complainers” as compared to “program enhancers”.
Learning design with design thinking: learner centric
Learning design using design thinking, in contrast, considers learner needs through the entire learning journey (before, during and after the program) to design an effective program.
As an example, the Darden Business School redesigned the curriculum and admissions process using design thinking tools. The team mapped out the student learning journey, involved faculty, staff and students, and redesigned the approach to insure that admitted students also were satisfied with the learning experience and outcomes.
Design thinking tools applied to curriculum design were:
- Map the learning journey: before, during and after the program
- Interview a small number of learners: Study the themes and create learner personas
- Create prototypes: Attempt to resolve the “pain points” and gather user feedback
- Test a small scale version: Experiment and enhance before a full-scale launch
Understanding learner needs: Innovative programs
Creating programs based on the needs of learners relates to innovation. Programs are aligned with learner needs, learning is more impactful, faculty knowledge is better appreciated and satisfied alumni sing the praises of the program to make marketing easier. Innovative programs aligned with learner needs create differentiation in the marketplace – a must in today’s competitive world.
Sources:
Glinska, Malgorzata (2015) Innovation and growth: Understanding the power of design thinking, Batten Briefing, Darden School of Business, January, 1-12.
Kolko, Jon (2015) Design thinking comes of age, Harvard Business Review, September, 66-71.
Liedtka, Jeanne and Tim Ogilvie (2011) Designing for Growth, Columbia University Press.
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