Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2019 - 27

must put customers first." In this case, it's
implied that learners have a current way
of acting or thinking, and the business
wants them to change; in other words,
they want a mindset shift. The empathize
stage of design thinking helps you
understand learners' view of the world.
In this phase, you'll need to focus on how
the business wants to develop learners
by listening to the organization's leaders
and reviewing its vision and mission.
Lastly, determine the program's learning
objectives, which serve as a bridge to
move your learners from their current
mindset to their future mindset. If your
learning objectives are more knowledgebased than application-based, try again.
Even if a project sponsor tells you, "This
is an awareness course; we just need
learners to be aware of this content,"
ask, "Why? What will the learner actually
do with this information?"

Ideate: Exploring
the Possibilities
Now, it's time for the fun part. The goal
of this stage is to generate ideas. To do
so successfully, try the following activity
with another person:
Divide a piece of paper into four sections.
Start by putting your "How might we..."
question in the top section. In the next
section, write a description of one part
of your learning project, as you envision
it, and hand the paper to your partner. In
the third section, your partner will write
all the things that are wrong with your
idea. Then, your partner will give the
paper back to you so you can rewrite

your idea based on his or her feedback.
Repeat this process with all the sections.

Prototype and Test:
The Final Two Stages
The goal of prototyping is to give
your learning project enough form
so that you, your learners and your
stakeholders can envision it. For
example, take a representative chunk
of the project, and sketch or storyboard
it. If you are creating an instructor-led
workshop, you can select some of
the activities and practice them. For
e-learning programs, you can build a
small section of the course.
Prototyping is more than a stage in
design thinking; it's a mindset. If you
take the approach that your work will
always have room for improvement, and
if you share it often and make iterative
improvements, it will improve - which
benefits your learners.
When you test, compare your prototype
to your learning project's constraints,
requirements and business needs. Did
the prototype include the project's musthaves? Did you stay within the allocated
budget and deadline? You may find
that in some areas, you weren't able to
meet the mark or that, now you're in the
prototyping phase, you don't know how
to implement a requirement. This is a
completely normal part of the process.
After prototyping, you should also revisit
your learning objectives. Do the content
delivery and practice activities align
with learning objectives? If they don't,
determine if the objective was off base

or unrealistic or if you need to rework
the activities.
Design thinking is an iterative process,
so looping back to an earlier phase
is part of the plan. When doing so,
make sure you're communicating with
stakeholders so they know how the
project is unfolding.

When Assumptions
and Reality Collide:
Navigating Difficult
Moments
Sometimes, in these sessions, what
you hear from your learners is in
direct opposition to your stakeholders'
opinions. If this happens, try to validate
what you've heard by interviewing
more learners. You can also conduct
empathy interviews with stakeholders
to better understand their views, as
deeper research often makes it easier
to find a middle ground. For example,
if stakeholders are set on a mobile
solution, but your learners hate the idea,
figure out why. By digging deeper, you
will likely find an innovative solution that
satisfies both parties.
With an open mind and a willingness
to improve, design thinking can help
you create learning programs that
authentically connect with learners by
meeting their needs - and that also
meet the business' needs. As a learning
professional, design thinking can take
you from being an order-taker to being
a powerful consultant focused on
developing deeper insights with both
your stakeholders and learners.
Design thinking is a win-win for L&D
professionals and the businesses and
learners they serve.

DESIGN THINKING CAN HELP YOU
CREATE LEARNING PROGRAMS THAT
AUTHENTICALLY CONNECT WITH
LEARNERS BY MEETING THEIR NEEDS.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MAGAZ INE -TRENDS 2020 I WWW.TR AI NINGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

Clare Dygert is the director of instructional
design and Lauren Granahan is the
director of organizational effectiveness
at SweetRush. They are the primary
architects of SweetRush Co-Design, a
design thinking experience that creates
learner-centric solutions. Email Clare.

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Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2019

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