Our Design Thinking course is for anyone who wants to understand business challenges from a creative, customer-centric perspective and gain key design thinking skills.

The study of design thinking is recommended for: business analysts; customer journey analysts; business service designers (including business designers and service designers); user researchers; project leaders; product owners; business engineers; business architects; business change managers and any business professional involved in transformational change projects. Everyone can learn from the design thinking practices. 

The AssistKD Design Thinking course covers the underlying principles of design thinking, bringing the strategies and techniques to life by applying them to a range of real life scenarios. Developing their design thinking skills, delegates learn how to empathise with and engage with the customer, unlock key insights, question assumptions, explore strategies and test ideas. 

Study the design thinking mindset (collaboration, customer centricity, outcome focus, creativity and experimentation); learn how to use the key design thinking practices and develop an understanding of how design thinking techniques  can be applied. 

The AssistKD Design Thinking e-learning course covers the underlying principles of design thinking. Developing their design thinking skills, delegates learn how to empathise with and engage with the customer, unlock key insights, question assumptions, explore strategies and test ideas. 

Study the design thinking mindset (collaboration, customer centricity, outcome focus, creativity and experimentation); learn how to use the key design thinking practices and develop an understanding of how design thinking techniques can be applied. 

To give you more of an idea of what you’ll learn and how the course will help you, here’s a quick guide.

Delegates attending the Design Thinking course are provided with a clear and comprehensive manual that offers a step-by-step guide through the entire course content. Each delegate attending a virtual classroom course is sent a physical copy of the manual to their home address before the course start date. An electronic version of the manual is also provided to every delegate.

Yes. During this three-day course you’ll receive all the training you need to prepare for the examination leading to the A4Q Foundation Certificate in Design Thinking. This is one of the mandatory modules for the new internationally recognised A4Q Service Designer qualification.

All delegates attending a classroom, virtual classroom or eLearning course, sit the examination (ratified by global certification body iSQI) remotely using an online proctoring service. This examination consists of 40 multiple-choice questions with a pass mark of 26/40.

The Design Thinking course forms one part of AssistKD’s Business Service Designer training programme which includes courses on Business Service Design and CX Analysis. It is one of the mandatory modules for the new internationally recognised A4Q Service Designer qualification.

Design Thinking (a three-day course)

Introduction to Design Thinking

• The nature and characteristics of Design Thinking

• The rationale for Design Thinking

• The core elements of the Design Thinking mindset

  • Collaboration

  • Customer Centricity

  • Outcome focus

  • Creativity

  • Experimentation

Fundamental Design Thinking Practices

• Empathy and perspective analysis
• Research and investigation
• Divergent and convergent thinking
• Experimentation and prototyping
• Visualisation
• Validation
• Assumption identification and testing
• Iteration and continuous learning

Design Thinking approaches

• The Design Council 3H approach

  • Head: Problem solving

  • Heart: Humanity centred

  • Hand: Practical skills

• The structure and stages of the Double Diamond approach to Design Thinking

  • Discover

  • Define

  • Develop

  • Deliver

• The structure and stages of the Stanford d.School approach to Design Thinking

  • Empathise

  • Define

  • Ideate

  • Prototype

  • Test

• Design Thinking macro and micro processes

Design Thinking techniques

• Discover

  • Service safari

  • Empathy map

• Define

  • Customer journey map

  • Problem framing

• Develop

  • Service blueprint

  • Assumption reversal

• Deliver

  • High and low fidelity prototyping

  • Feedback capture grid

  • A/B testing

• Generic Techniques

  • Brainstorming and brainwriting

  • Focus groups

  • User role and persona analysis

  • Storyboarding

Implementing Design Thinking

• The relationship between culture and Design Thinking

• The Culture Pyramid 

• Cultural aspects that enable and inhibit the use of Design Thinking

• POPIT™

This course was written by our team of training consultants, who bring their substantial experience of business analysis projects to the programme.

Watch the video below to find out more about our eLearning.

Do you have a question about our e-learning courses? Check out our FAQs section…

Yes. This course prepares participants for the examination examination leading to the A4Q Foundation Certificate in Design Thinking. This is one of the mandatory modules for the new internationally recognised A4Q Service Designer qualification.

All delegates attending a classroom, virtual classroom or eLearning course, sit the examination (ratified by global certification body iSQI) remotely using an online proctoring service. This examination consists of 40 multiple-choice questions with a pass mark of 26/40.