Strategic Design Course

Lesson 1 • Stakeholder and Context Mapping

Teaches methods for identifying all relevant actors and environmental forces before design begins. Prevents blind spots in later strategic decisions.

Lesson 2 • Defining Strategic Design

Clarifies what strategic design is and how it differs from tactical or aesthetic design. Establishes shared vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • The Strategic Design Process

Outlines the end-to-end process from problem framing to solution deployment. Connects process stages to real organizational outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Sense-Making and Synthesis

Transforms raw research data into strategic insights through structured synthesis methods. Directly feeds the problem-framing stage of the design process.

Lesson 2 • Research Ethics and Bias Mitigation

Addresses informed consent, participant privacy, and researcher bias in design research. Ensures research integrity and organizational trust.

Lesson 3 • Qualitative Research Techniques

Covers interviews, ethnography, and observation as primary tools for uncovering latent user needs. Connects human insight to strategic opportunity identification.

Lesson 1 • Problem Diagnosis Techniques

Applies root-cause analysis and causal mapping to distinguish symptoms from underlying problems. Prevents premature solution jumping.

Lesson 2 • Point-of-View and Design Brief Writing

Teaches how to craft a compelling point-of-view statement and a structured design brief. Aligns teams around a shared strategic intent before ideation begins.

Lesson 3 • Wicked Problems and Complexity

Explores wicked problems—ill-defined, interconnected challenges that resist standard solutions. Equips students to navigate ambiguity with structured approaches.

Lesson 1 • Divergent Ideation Methods

Introduces brainstorming variants, analogical thinking, and provocation techniques to maximize idea volume. Builds creative confidence and fluency.

Lesson 2 • Creative Facilitation Skills

Builds skills to lead ideation sessions with diverse, cross-functional teams. Ensures psychological safety and productive creative output.

Lesson 3 • Convergent Evaluation and Selection

Applies structured criteria to evaluate and prioritize ideas without losing creative momentum. Connects idea selection to the design brief and strategic goals.

Lesson 1 • Assumption Testing and Experiments

Structures experiments to test the riskiest assumptions underlying a strategic concept. Connects experimental results to go/no-go decisions.

Lesson 2 • Iteration and Learning Loops

Establishes disciplined iteration cycles that incorporate feedback without losing strategic direction. Prevents endless iteration without progress.

Lesson 3 • Prototyping Principles and Fidelity

Explains the purpose of prototypes and how fidelity level should match the question being tested. Prevents over-investment in premature detail.

Lesson 1 • Service and Experience Design

Applies service design tools—blueprints, journey maps, and touchpoint analysis—to organizational offerings. Improves both internal and external experiences.

Lesson 2 • Building Design Capability Internally

Addresses how to embed design thinking as an ongoing organizational capability rather than a one-time project. Covers team structures, training, and governance.

Lesson 3 • Designing for Culture Change

Explores how design interventions can shift organizational culture and behaviors over time. Links culture design to strategic outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Design Metrics and Performance Tracking

Establishes key performance indicators for design initiatives and methods for tracking progress. Builds accountability and demonstrates ongoing design value.

Lesson 2 • Business Case Development for Design

Teaches how to build a compelling business case for design investments using financial and strategic evidence. Enables designers to secure resources and executive buy-in.

Lesson 3 • Linking Design to Business Strategy

Maps design outputs to strategic objectives, competitive positioning, and value creation logic. Prevents design from operating in isolation from business goals.

Lesson 1 • Portfolio-Level Design Strategy

Applies strategic design across a portfolio of products, services, or initiatives rather than a single project. Develops coherence and synergy across design investments.

Lesson 2 • Ecosystem and Platform Design

Addresses design challenges that span multiple organizations, partners, and user communities. Builds skills for designing value networks and platform ecosystems.

Lesson 3 • Reflective Practice and Continuous Growth

Establishes habits of critical reflection, peer feedback, and ongoing skill development for long-term mastery. Closes the course with a personal development framework.