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KnowledgeCity

Design Thinking

Learn to apply design principles to your business
Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 14 lessons.
Course: On-Demand
Advanced Provider KnowledgeCIty  4 chapters ·  14 Lessons ·  28m  in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese 

Course Description

You've probably heard the term “Design Thinking” as something innovative companies use to improve their competitiveness and stay one step ahead of their competition. This course will explain what Design Thinking is and the creative edge it can give to your team. It will also lead you through the steps of the Design Thinking process, which you can implement immediately on your next business strategy or product launch. The benefits of Design Thinking provide you with a more customer-driven understanding of your product or services, as well as a way to uncover new, innovative ideas.

Design Thinking combines critical thinking and creativity. It’s a proven method that shifts a team’s mindset to focus on what’s possible — and to get away from the same tired ideas. This course will help you understand the benefits of Design Thinking, as well as some broader principles of good design. This course also gives you a walk-through of the Design Thinking process. You'll start by discovering how to empathize with your customers’ needs, and how to create journey maps to better understand their habits. Then you'll learn how to take their concerns and frame the problems you need to solve, creating solutions through various brainstorming methods like brain dumps, sketching, mind maps, and prototyping. The skills you learn in this course will help you apply more creative and impactful solutions to your customers’ problems.

What You'll Learn

  • Define what Design Thinking is and how it can be an asset for your organization
  • Apply a Design Thinking mindset and the broader principles of good design
  • Empathize with customer needs and create customer journey maps to understand their habits
  • Frame and define the problems you need to solve based on customer concerns
  • Generate solutions using brainstorming tools such as brain dumps, sketching, mind maps, and prototyping
  • Work through the full Design Thinking process, including ideation, prototyping, testing, and design sprints

Key Takeaways

  • Design Thinking combines critical thinking and creativity to shift a team's mindset toward what's possible and away from tired ideas.
  • Design Thinking gives a more customer-driven understanding of your product or services and a way to uncover new, innovative ideas.
  • The process begins with empathizing with customers' needs and creating journey maps to better understand their habits.
  • Brainstorming methods covered include brain dumps, sketching, mind maps, and prototyping to create solutions.
  • The skills taught can be applied immediately to your next business strategy or product launch.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Design Thinking and why do companies use it?

Design Thinking is a proven method that combines critical thinking and creativity to shift a team's mindset toward what's possible. Innovative companies use it to improve their competitiveness and stay one step ahead of their competition.

What does this course cover?

The course explains what Design Thinking is, its benefits, and broader principles of good design, then walks through the Design Thinking process, including empathizing with customers, creating journey maps, defining problems, ideating, prototyping, testing, and design sprints.

What skills will I gain from this course?

You'll gain a variety of brainstorming tools such as brain dumps, sketching, mind maps, and prototyping, and learn to apply Design Thinking principles to create more creative and impactful solutions to customers' problems.

Can I apply what I learn right away?

Yes. The course leads you through the steps of the Design Thinking process so you can implement it immediately on your next business strategy or product launch.

Professional Certifications and Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Project Management Institute (PMI®)

Professional Development Units (PDUs): 0.5

Certification Program Categories:
Ways of WorkingPower SkillsBusiness Acumen

KnowledgeCity has been reviewed and approved by the PMI® Authorized Training Partner Program. Users can maintain your PMI credentials by earning PDUs from KnowledgeCity qualified courses in Project Management, Business Management, Leadership and many others.

Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM®)

Professional Development Credits (PDCs): 0.5

Certification Program Categories:
Leadership & NavigationBusiness AcumenConsultationGlobal MindsetEthical PracticeRelationship ManagementAnalytical AptitudeCommunicationDiversity, Equity & Inclusion

KnowledgeCity is approved by SHRM as a Recertification General Provider to offer SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP professional development credits (PDCs). By taking the courses approved by SHRM, KnowledgeCity can award SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for HR knowledge and competency programs related to the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge™ (the SHRM BASK™).