Design Planning Workshop

Team-based course to apply innovation methods to a given problem and map out future possibilities.

The goal of this workshop is to plan innovation opportunities in a selected topic of interest. Teams will conceive offerings that an organization can build and map out future possibilities. Teams will go through a structured innovation process that includes researching the potential audience, understanding the context for the innovation, recognizing new opportunities, conceiving systemic solutions, and demonstrating how innovative new offerings will work. The workshop will guide students to build on some key methods described in the book “101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization.”

Learning Objectives

Students will go through all stages of an integrated innovation planning process. Emphasis will be on using structured methods for producing reliable results at all stages. There will also be a focus on combining user-driven and business-driven innovations in the context of an organization. Students will also learn about how best to plan for future opportunities and demonstrate their value.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will become familiar with a variety of methods to plan innovations for organizations.
• They will also learn about creating systemic solutions and strategies for organizations.
• Students will learn about user-driven frameworks to drive concepts and plans
• They will develop capabilities to demonstrate the value of proposed solutions and plans

Format & Grading

There will be specific topic discussions and work plan meetings at the beginning of each class. During the latter part of each class, student teams will focus on their project and share their progress. Students are expected to take a proactive role in defining their work plan and activities throughout the semester. Active participation is expected, both operationally and intellectually.

Students will focus on a single project that runs through the whole course. We will form teams of 3 to 5 students at the beginning of the course. We will make efforts to select a project that is sponsored by an organization to give students a close-to-reality experience.

One-third of the grade will be based on in-class performance, particularly on attendance and contribution. The other two-thirds will be based on the student’s contribution to the project. For this, the emphasis will be on innovative approaches, quality of results, and teamwork. Evaluation of project contribution might also include reviews by teammates.

Enrollment Restrictions

No prerequisites. This course is open to all Institute of Design students. Students may take this course multiple times, non-concurrently, for a maximum of 12 credits towards their degree.