UVA-MOD-0234Y

Jul. 26, 2017

Design Thinking
Syllabus

Course Description

This course allows students to explore an approach to

decision making called design thinking. Design thinking About Darden Course Syllabi
emphasizes deep user understanding, iteration, and a focus on The Darden Graduate School of Business
possibilities as a way to enhance value creation for stakeholders. Administration is regularly recognized as
This collection of course materials includes three mutually having one of the world’s premier teachin g
exclusive case-based classroom simulations (UVA-S-0240, faculties within business education. Darden
UVA-S-0241, and UVA-S-0248), a complete set of videos Business Publishing is pleased to provide
(contact DBP to preview and license video content), two books, current Darden course syllabi for verified
posters for in-class exercises (contact DBP to license full sets of faculty members. These syllabi provide
the ethnographic posters), and a supplemental tool kit instructors with context as to how cases could
containing downloadable PDFs for student assignments. The be used in a particular sequence to achieve the
learning outcomes of the teaching teams at
teaching note for each case is available to faculty members
the Darden School. Use the modules in these
registered at Darden Business Publishing online. See the full list course syllabi as a reference for updating case
of resources in the “Accompanying Materials” section. materials within your school’s programs.

The Design Thinking course employs one of the three

available case-based simulations to create a hands-on and
engaging experience for students, using a variety of design thinking tools, within the constraints of the
classroom. In my class, I use a single case for the entire term, teaching the entire design thinking process over
a 15-session course and usually devoting one 85-minute session to each tool. Any of the three individual case-
based simulations can also be used to teach individual design skills—such as journey mapping, mining
ethnographic data for deep insights, or ethnographic interviewing—rather than the full end-to-end process.

What truly distinguishes the design of this course and these case-based simulations and makes them
valuable for teaching design thinking is that instructors receive additional information in the form of a set of
posters that summarize ethnographic interview findings for each story (see Exhibit TN1 for sample posters
from each of the three cases). Thus the design of the materials allows students to get a brief personal experience
in ethnographic interviewing as a preassignment for class, but then data from multiple other interviews are
supplemented on the posters. This additional information gives students a rich database with which to explore
the full range of design thinking activities; it also allows for experiential exercises in class rather than case
discussions alone. Students get to practice design thinking in a real organizational context. The case-based

This syllabus was prepared by Jeanne Liedtka of the strategy faculty of the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of
Virginia. Copyright  2017 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail
to sales@dardenbusinesspublishing.com. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by
any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation. Our goal is to publish materials of the
highest quality, so please submit any errata to editorial@dardenbusinesspublishing.com.
Page 2 UVA-MOD-0234Y

simulations allow students to see the scope of the project, create a design brief, conduct ethnographic
interviews, mine research data for insights, generate ideas, and design marketplace experiments. The teaching
plan is designed for a “flipped classroom” approach, which works well for this material.

I use the case-based simulations in conjunction with both a workbook, The Designing for Growth Field Book:
A Step-by-Step Project Guide, and a text, Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers. Both the Field
Book and Designing for Growth can be purchased through Amazon.com or through Columbia Business School
Publishing. The lesson plan contained in this note assigns readings from each of these, but the simulations can
be taught without using this material. We have also created an extensive set of video materials (available through
Darden Business Publishing) on the individual steps and tools (see Exhibit TN2).

Academic Course Objectives

 Introduce students to a new approach—design thinking—that enhances innovation activities in terms

of market impact, value creation, and speed.
 Expand students’ thinking about design and innovation beyond the design and development of new
products to other fundamental sources of value creation.
 Strengthen students’ individual and collaborative capabilities to identify customer needs, create sound
concept hypotheses, collect appropriate data, and develop a prototype that allows for meaningful
feedback in a real-world environment.
 Teach students to translate broadly defined opportunities into actionable innovation possibilities and
recommendations for client organizations.

Accompanying Materials

To teach design thinking, you can use one or more of the cases listed below. The teaching note for each
case is available to faculty members registered at Darden Business Publishing online.
1. Case-based simulations:
 “Design Thinking at Arena Industries: Designing an Employee Wellness Approach” (UVA-S-
0240): In this case-based simulation, Arena Industries (Arena) (a real but disguised company) is a
global company seeking to improve the wellness of its employees. As part of the simulation,
students read a short introduction to Arena’s business and operating philosophies, as well as details
concerning the challenges present in the larger health care environment in the United States.
Faculty members receive a supplemental set of posters (UVA-S-0240H) containing details
obtained from ethnographic interviews conducted with Arena employees, as well as an interview
guide for students to use as they practice their ethnography (see Exhibit TN1 for a sample poster).
Students play the role of consultant charged with recommending to Arena’s leaders how best to
address the opportunity to improve employee wellness.
 “Design Thinking at Trenton State College: Designing a Faculty Retirement Experience” (UVA-
S-0241): In this case-based simulation, the vice provost for academic affairs at Trenton State
College (TSC) (a real but disguised college) is tasked with designing a new retirement experience
for faculty. TSC, a public institution that serves the state of Missouri and employs more than 1,500
full-time faculty, faces a wave of upcoming retirements and an existing process that few feel is
working well. Faculty members receive a set of posters (UVA-S-0241H) containing details obtained
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from ethnographic interviews conducted with retired TSC faculty (see Exhibit TN1 for a sample
poster) as well as an interview guide for students to use as they practice their ethnography. Students
play the role of a member of the provost’s office who has been charged with reviewing the
experience of retirees and recommending to college leaders ideas to improve the retirement
experience for faculty.
 “Design Thinking at Great Lakes: The Search for Growth” (UVA-S-0248): In this case-based
simulation, Great Lakes (a real but disguised organization) is a Fortune 200 company and one of
the world’s largest dairy cooperatives. Its CEO reflects on the challenges and opportunities the
company faces as it considers how to tap into a bigger slice of the lucrative market for snack foods
for Millennials, an area its research had identified as a promising first target. Faculty members
receive a set of posters (UVA-S-0248H) containing details obtained from ethnographic interviews
conducted with a cross section of Millennials (see Exhibit TN1 for a sample poster), as well as an
interview guide for students to use as they practice their ethnography. Students play the role of
members of a handpicked innovation team chartered to explore and develop profitable revenue-
growth opportunities.
2. Books:
 Jeanne Liedtka, Tim Ogilvie, and Rachel Brozenske, The Designing for Growth Field Book: A Step-by-
Step Project Guide (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014).
 Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie, Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers (New
York: Columbia University Press, 2011) (referred to below as Designing for Growth).
3. Student Assignment Submission Templates (see Exhibit TN3). Also available as PDF forms for
students to fill out and submit:
 “Design Thinking Template—Design Brief,” UVA-S-0240H1
 “Design Thinking Template—Design Criteria,” UVA-S-0240H2
 “Design Thinking Template—Napkin Pitch,” UVA-S-0240H3
 “Design Thinking Template—Key Assumptions,” UVA-S-0240H4
 “Design Thinking Template—Learning Launch Design,” UVA-S-0240H5
4. Feedback Diagnostics for student submissions (Exhibit TN5)
5. Videos* (see Exhibit TN2)
6. Posters*
 “Design Thinking at Arena Industries: Designing an Employee Wellness Approach” (poster)
(UVA-S-0240H)
 “Design Thinking at Trenton State College: Designing a Faculty Retirement Experience” (poster)
(UVA-S-0241H)
 “Design Thinking at Great Lakes: The Search for Growth” (poster) (UVA-S-0248H)
*Videos and posters are available to qualified adopters. Please contact Darden Business Publishing for
details.
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Course Instructors

Darden Teaching Faculty Cases by Author

Jeanne Liedtka Liedtka Cases

Course Outline

Class Materials Topic

Module I: Design Thinking (UVA-MOD-0234)
1 Designing for Growth, Chapter 1 Why Design Thinking
Video Playlist for Design Thinking Course (UVA-S-
0289)
Video: “What is Design Thinking?” (UVA-S-0260)
Video: “Meet George and Geoff” (UVA-S-0268)
2 Designing for Growth, Chapter 2 The Design Process
Assign Selected Case Study from “Accompanying
Materials: Case-Based Simulations” above
Video: “Step One: Identify an Opportunity” (UVA-S-
0269)
3 Field Book, Step 2: Scope Your Project and Step 3: Design Brief
Draft Your Design Brief
Video: “Step Two: Scope Your Project” (UVA-S-
0270)
Video: “Step Three: Draft Your Design Brief” (UVA-
S-0271)
4 Designing for Growth, Chapter 3 Visualization
Field Book, pp. 76 and 77
Video: “Step Four: Make Your Plans” (UVA-S-0272)
Video: “Design Tool: Visualization” (UVA-S-0262)
5 Designing for Growth, Chapter 4 Ethnography
Field Book, Step 4 and Tools section, pp. 46–61
Video: “Step Five: Do Your Research” (UVA-S-0273)
Video: “Design Tool: Ethnography” (UVA-S-0263)
Video: “Design Tool: Ethnographic Interviewing”
(UVA-S-0264)
6 Designing for Growth, Chapter 6 Identifying Insights
(using Mind-Mapping design tool)
Field Book, Step 6
Video: “Step Six: Identify Insights” (UVA-S-0274)
7 Field Book, Step 7 Design Criteria
Video: “Step Seven: Develop Design Criteria” (UVA-
S-0275)
8 Designing for Growth, Chapter 7 Brainstorming
Field Book, Step 8
Video: “Step Eight: Brainstorming” (UVA-S-0276)
9 Designing for Growth, Chapter 8 Concept Development
Field Book, Step 9
Video: “Step Nine: Develop Concepts” (UVA-S-0277)
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10 Field Book, Step 10 Napkin Pitch

Video: “Step Ten: Create Some Napkin Pitches”
(UVA-S-0278)
11 Designing for Growth, Chapter 9 Assumption Testing
Field Book, Step 11
Case: “Jennifer Parks at PillarPoint Home Loans:
Developing a New-Growth Initiative” (UVA-ENT-
0102)
Video: “Step 11: Surface Key Assumptions” (UVA-S-
0279)
12 Designing for Growth, Chapter 10 Prototyping
Field Book, Step 12 and pp. 78–80
Video: “Step 12: Make Prototypes” (UVA-S-0280)
13 Video: “Step 13: Get Feedback from Stakeholders” Co-Creation
(UVA-S-0281)
14 Designing for Growth, Chapter 12 Learning Launch
Field Book, Step 14
Video: “Step 14: Run Your Learning Launches”
(UVA-S-0282)
15 Designing for Growth, Chapter 13 So What?
Video: “Step 15: Design the On-Ramp” (UVA-S-0283)
Video: “Measuring Impact” (UVA-S-0284)
Video: “What Now?” (UVA-S-0285)
16–30 Group Projects with Real-Life Clients Applying Design Thinking