Design Thinking and Agility - MIISS

 
Objectifs du cours/Learning objectives:

The world and its challenges demand a new breed of professionals—those who are trained to drive innovation, no matter the situation, industry, or problem. Design Thinking is a process pioneered at the IDEO and the Stanford d.school. This process draws on methods from engineering and design and combines them with ideas from the arts, tools from the social sciences, and insights from the business world

Design thinking is a method of applying creativity to come up with novel solutions to tough problems. It's the process of immersing yourself in a problem space, thinking creatively around pain points and opportunity areas, then iteratively prototyping totally new solutions. Focused on listening, user empathy, whole-brain thinking, collaboration, and experimentation, design thinking can be applied within any team and in any field—from architecture and design to healthcare and product development. This intensive course delves into the fundamentals of this creative approach by immersing you in dynamic discussions, relevant readings, and team exercises. Throughout the course, students learn how to empathize with the needs and motivations of the end-users, come up with a large number of ideas for solving a problem, hone in on the right value proposition, and start to prototype a new offering.

This course will be taught in an Active Learning model, with intensive and mandatory presence to each of the sessions; no exceptions can be granted.  You may not arrive late or leave early. 

The course is delivered in a hybrid format: combining virtual synchronous, asynchronous, and in-classroom lectures. 

Students will work on different design challenges for products and services. Students start in the field, where they discover the needs of the target audience. They then iterate ideas on teams to develop a range of promising possible solutions, create rough prototypes to take back out into the field, and test with real people in the target audience.

The course will be teamwork-oriented, but students will also complete readings and independent activities that support the group work and ensure individual depth of knowledge.

·       Define Creativity and Innovation

·       Recognize the significance of innovation

·       Discuss both individual and contextual factors that are linked to creativity

·       Discuss key concepts and principles that guide innovative practices

·       Examine approaches to innovation practiced by various organizations

·       Discuss the need for and significance of adopting a design thinking mindset

·       Expose students to the design process as a tool for innovation.

·       Explain the fundamental principles that guide design thinking

·       Explain design thinking practices and their applications

·       Describe the design thinking process

·       Apply the design thinking principles and process

·       Develop students’ professional skills in client management and communication.

·       Provide an authentic opportunity for students to develop teamwork and leadership skills. 

Compétences managériales/Managerial competencies:

1. Students develop a strong understanding of the Design Process and how it can be applied in a variety of business settings

2. Students learn to research and understand the unique needs of a company around specific challenges

3. Students learn to build empathy for target audiences from different “cultures”

4. Students learn to develop and test innovative ideas through a rapid iteration cycle

5. Students learn how to create physical prototypes / a visual representation of an idea

6. Students develop the willingness to take a risk and the ability to deal with failure

7. Students develop professional communication skills such as interviewing and crafting professional emails

8. Students learn to take ownership of the quality of their work and final products

9. Students understand their duty to maintain ethical standards in product and strategy design.

10. Students understand the long term impact of design decisions

11. Students develop self-awareness of personal leadership style and how to effectively work as a member of a team

12. Students develop communication skills necessary to facilitate high performance team formation and maintenance (e.g., leveraging the skills and abilities of all team members, valuing cross-disciplinary

Plan du cours/Contents:

Lecture 1

Introduction to Design Thinking and Agile Methods

Introduction to Challenges

Initial self-assessment questionnaire

Exercise: Sprint 1: Challenge Definition and Problem Understanding

Lecture 2

Introduction to Design Research Strategies

Research tools and Immersion techniques

Exercise: Complete Design Research plan

Introduction to Synthesis, Problem Definition and POV

Activity: Sprint 2 ourney mapping, brainstorming and ideation

Assignment on flipgrid

Lecture 3

Introduction to Ideation, brainstorming and ideas mapping

Creativity seminar

Exercise:  Sprint 3: Idea Selection and Voting

Assignment : Idea Evaluation and selection

Lecture 4

Prototyping Strategies

Business Model Canvas

Building a Mockup, MVP and Prototype

Exercise: Sprint: Build MVP 

Assignment: Business Model Canvas design

Lecture 5

Effective Presentation and communication

Communicating and visualizing ideas effectively

Effective Storytelling

Exercise: 2 min Pitch Perfect competition

Lecture 6

User Testing tools

Exercise: Prototype testing

Assignment: Gather feedback from stakeholders

Improve/ Modify Prototype and BM canvas

Prepare Final presentation

Exam Day:

5 minutes presentation pitch

Self and peer assessment

Final self-assessment questionnaire

Evaluation/Assessment

- 20% attendance and participation

- 20% Continuous Assessment

- 60 % Final Oral Presentation

Mots Clés/Key words

Bibliographie/Bibliography  :

 - Jake Knapp, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days, Simon & Schuster, 2016

-        Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie, Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011) (referred to below as Designing for Growth)

-        “Informing Our Intuition: Design Research for Radical Innovation,” by Jane Fulton Suri, Rotman Magazine, Winter 2008

-        “Re-Framing Opportunities: Design Thinking in Action,” by Jeanne Liedtka, Andrew King and Kevin Bennett, Rotman Magazine, Fall 2013

-        “Question Everything,” by Roberta Cruger, HowDesign, June 2007: https://www.ideo.com/images/uploads/news/pdfs/QuestionEverything.pdf