Skill Platform For

Entrepreneurs
SKILLFRONT
WWW.SKILLFRONT.COM
© COPYRIGHT SKILLFRONT

 PROGRAM BOOK
SkillFront Entrepreneur Program:

Certi ed Professional In
Design Thinking (CPDT)
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 Dedication
To all of the SkillFront Entrepreneurs, thank you for inspiring us, keeping us
focused, and making sure we do our best to guide you to execute ideas,
grow businesses, and dominate your markets online and of ine.

We are proud of seeing you while you serve your clients at your highest levels
possible and positively in uence their lives that wouldn't happen otherwise.

Without you, your engagement, and your loyal support, SkillFront could not
come where it is today.


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 Table Of Contents CLICKABLE

Table Of Contents _________________________________________________________5

Welcome To The SkillFront ________________________________________________12
Become A Bit Better Than You, Everyday ______________________________________17
Skill 1. Four Core Principles Of The Design Thinking: Importance Of Establishing Goals _23
Skill 2. Four Core Principles Of The Design Thinking: Set Your Goals For Success ______24
How To CHOOSE A Goal? ______________________________________________________24
Are You Willing To Pay The PRICE?_______________________________________________25
Skill 3. Four Core Principles Of The Design Thinking: How You Achieve Your Goals _____27
Step 1: Intensify DESIRE _______________________________________________________27
Step 2: Develop BELIEF ________________________________________________________28
Step 3: De ne Your OBJECTIVE _________________________________________________29

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 Step 4: WRITE It Down! _______________________________________________________30

Step 5: Set A DEADLINE ________________________________________________________31
Step 6: De ning Your REASONS _________________________________________________33
Step 7: De ning Your SUB-GOALS________________________________________________34
Step 8: De ning Your TASKS ____________________________________________________35
The Secret Of SUCCEEDING With The Design Thinking ______________________________36
Skill 4. Four Core Principles Of The Design Thinking: How You Keep Yourself Motivated _37
Using SUCCESS ENHANCEMENTS _______________________________________________37
Reward Technique __________________________________________________________________38
Visualization Technique _____________________________________________________________38
A rmations Technique______________________________________________________________39
Skill 5. Design Thinking = Analytical Thinking _________________________________41
Core Ideas & Main Steps ________________________________________________________41
Example ___________________________________________________________________43
Pros And Cons _______________________________________________________________44

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 Skill 6. Design ≠ Design Thinking ___________________________________________45

Skill 7. The Formal Introduction To The Design Thinking _________________________46
Origins Of The Term __________________________________________________________46
Solution-Based Thinking ______________________________________________________47
Bryan Lawson – Architects vs. Scientists ___________________________________________47
Analysis And Synthesis ________________________________________________________48
Divergent Thinking Versus Convergent Thinking ____________________________________49
Di erences From Science And Humanities _________________________________________49
The Languages Of Design _______________________________________________________51
Skill 8. Design Thinking As A Process For Problem Solving ________________________52
Skill 9. Attributes Of Design Thinking ________________________________________54
Principles __________________________________________________________________54
Wicked Problems ____________________________________________________________54
The “a-ha moment” ___________________________________________________________55
Methods And Process _________________________________________________________55
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 The Use Of Visual Analogy In Design Thinking And Learning___________________________56

Skill 10. Design Thinking in Education _______________________________________58
Uses In K-12 Education ________________________________________________________59
Stanford University’s Taking Design Thinking to Schools Initiative ______________________60
The K12 Lab at Stanford _______________________________________________________62
The Design Thinking For Educators Toolkit ________________________________________62
AIGA ______________________________________________________________________63
Uses In Higher Education ______________________________________________________63
Obstacles To Implementing Design Thinking In Schools ______________________________64
Design thinking in teaching and learning through ICT ________________________________65
Skill 11. Design Thinking In Business _________________________________________67
Design Thinking Applies To All Organizational Functions _____________________________68
Skill 12. Business Frameworks: PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) _______________________69
Stage 1: Plan ________________________________________________________________70
A. Recruit The Team ________________________________________________________________70

 B. Draft an Aim Statement____________________________________________________________70

C. Describe Current Context and Process ________________________________________________70
D. Describe the Problem _____________________________________________________________71
E. Identify Causes and Alternatives _____________________________________________________72
Stage 2: Do __________________________________________________________________73
Stage 3: Study________________________________________________________________73
Stage 4: Act__________________________________________________________________74
Re ect on Plan and Outcomes _________________________________________________________74
Celebrate Improvements and Lessons Learned ____________________________________________74
Skill 13. Business Frameworks: IDEAL (Initiate, Diagnose, Establish, Act, Learn) _______75
The IDEAL Model ____________________________________________________________77
Initiating Phase ______________________________________________________________77
Stimulus for Change ________________________________________________________________77
Establish Context ___________________________________________________________________77
Build Sponsorship __________________________________________________________________77
Charter Infrastructure ______________________________________________________________78

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 Diagnosing Phase ____________________________________________________________78

Characterize Current and Desired State _________________________________________________78
Develop Recommendations___________________________________________________________78
Establishing Phase ___________________________________________________________78
Set Priorities ______________________________________________________________________78
Develop Approach __________________________________________________________________79
Plan Actions ______________________________________________________________________79
Acting Phase ________________________________________________________________80
Create Solution ____________________________________________________________________80
Test/Pilot Solution _________________________________________________________________80
Re ne Solution ____________________________________________________________________80
Install Solution ____________________________________________________________________80
Learning Phase ______________________________________________________________81
Analyze and Validate ________________________________________________________________81
Propose Future Actions ______________________________________________________________81
Skill 14. Business Frameworks: Scrum _______________________________________82

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 What is Scrum? ______________________________________________________________82

The Agile Manifesto (Manifesto for Agile Software Development) _______________________84
Scrum Inspect and Adapt ______________________________________________________85
Sprints ____________________________________________________________________86
Skill 15. Business Frameworks: DMAIC (De ne, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) 88
Introduction to DMAIC - De ne Phase ____________________________________________88
Introduction to DMAIC - Measure Phase __________________________________________90
Introduction to DMAIC - Analyze Phase ___________________________________________91
Introduction to DMAIC - Improve Phase ___________________________________________91
Introduction to DMAIC - Control Phase ___________________________________________92
Next Steps For The Pursuit Of Growth ________________________________________93
Thanks For Learning With The SkillFront _____________________________________96

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Welcome To The SkillFront

“ As to methods, there may be million and then some, but
skills are few. The one who grasps skills can
successfully select his or her own methods. The one
who tries methods, ignoring skills, is sure to have
trouble.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essayist and Poet

New Year's Eve 2010.
As the rest of the world went about celebrating the
dawn of a new year heading into 2011, I lay in my bed,
next to my baby, who was born less than four short
months ago.
My husband sat next to me, and I can still remember the
sound of reworks set off in the neighborhood.
I could see the colors of reworks, re ecting off my
husband's face. He turned and looked at me, while tears
were pouring down my cheeks, and he said, "You didn't
sign up for this. We're going to x it!"
I lay down and put my hands back behind my head;
closing my eyes, I felt every aspect of my being lled
with rage.

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 My mind raced back to the winter, nearly twelve months
before, to me getting promoted to a leadership position
at one of Switzerland's largest local banks. As the
manager of the busiest branch in the middle of the city
of Zurich, I was leading thirty to forty employees,
contractors, and agency staff. To this day, I can't help but
marvel at the thousands of working hours, the millions of
Swiss francs, and the enormously complex processes
necessary to make a simple nancial investment product
shown in our portfolio of products.
And yet, there I was lying, heading into 2011, with the
termination letter in my hand. It turned out that my
employer didn't want to occupy their demanding
positions with mothers of newborn babies. They couldn't
wait any longer and quickly sent me my noti cation at
the end of my twelve-weeks of of cially deserved
maternity leave.
At this moment, you may be wondering why I didn't go
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back to my corporate career, although I could have
reasonably quickly nd another job, given my
quali cations and job experiences, even if I had this big
"obstacle" of having a few months old baby.
Let me tell you this. The shock of getting red helped
me admit three very important things that I haven't been
entirely honest to myself before:
1. Large companies move slowly. Good ideas often died
on the vine simply because they had to be approved
by too many people.
2. Climbing the corporate ladder is an obstacle to doing
great work. I wanted to focus on getting things done
and making things better, not constantly positioning
myself for promotion. Politics and turf wars are an
inescapable part of the daily experience of working
for a large company.
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3. Frustration leads to burnout. I wanted to enjoy my
daily work experience, but instead, I felt like I was
running a gauntlet each day. It began to affect my
health during my pregnancy, happiness, and
relationships with my husband, friends, and family.
The longer I thought of these facts, the more I realized I
wanted out. I desperately wanted to work on my own
terms, as an entrepreneur.
The next ten years took me on a journey, trying to bring
up my baby, become a good wife, and transform myself
into the practical scientist to unlocking measurable
results in every area of my life every day. A scientist I call
the SkillFront Entrepreneur.
My name is Yeliz Obergfell.
I am a married woman.
I am a mother.
I am a businesswoman.
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And most important:
I am a SkillFront Entrepreneur.
I train entrepreneurs at all levels —from want-to-be
entrepreneurs to owners of large enterprises— to
execute ideas, grow businesses, and dominate their
markets online and of ine.
I wasn't trying to become an expert.
In fact, I wasn't even sure what being an expert meant. I
was, and I am still trying to be a student of my own
passion; helping and serving other entrepreneurs
succeed in business.
I wanted to set myself free after getting laid off. I had no
clue that what would start with a decision to change my
life would transform into a global movement thanks to
the principles, frameworks, and support of SkillFront, the
Skill Platform for Entrepreneurs.
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 I started the idea of SkillFront in 2011 with zero
knowledge of marketing, sales, persuasion, closing, e-
commerce, or automated digital marketing systems.
On top of that, I had never delivered a service that was
100 percent created by me, and I had spent most of my
career selling other services.
From 2011 to 2014, I struggled to get the message I felt
in my heart and soul out to the world. Although we were
having some mild success, I was paralyzed trying to
gure out not only the psychology of being a female
leader with my message, but also the science and
technology to sustain and scale my business.
I have always been an avid learner, but before I decided
to learn everything I could about how I can succeed as
an entrepreneur, most of what I read was ction. If there
is one thing I am good at it, it is taking in a huge amount
of information and distilling it into essentials. I am a
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synthesist by nature, and my travels through the
business literature quickly became an exercise in
separating the diamonds from the rough.
The more I learned, the more helpless I felt. For every
great resource I found, I had to process ten other
resources to gure out how to apply that resource in
practice to excel on my own entrepreneurship journey.
I started to wonder: how much of what's out there —and
there is a lot out there— I really needed to know. How
could I separate practical business and entrepreneurship
skills from the dry theory and technobabble? I only had
so much time and energy, so I started searching for a
lter: something that would direct me to the useful skills
and keep me away from the chaff. The more I searched,
the more I realized it didn't exist — so I decided to
create the SkillFront.
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As of this moment, 143,487 SkillFront Entrepreneurs are

actively using the SkillFront Platform to quickly get their
ideas, products, and services out to the world!

I don't share that with you to impress you. To some of

you hearing this, that is a big thing, and to others, it's
nothing. I share it to demonstrate what is possible
when you learn, live, and leverage the practical science
and art of being an entrepreneur while combining
those skills with lessons you are going to earn in real
practice.

So take a deep breath. It's time for you to unlock the

blueprint of success as an entrepreneur and get to work.

Welcome to the SkillFront.

Yeliz Obergfell, SkillFront

Cofounder, Vice President – Entrepreneur Experience

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 Become A Bit Better Than You, Everyday

“ Before you can be great, you must be good. Before you
can be good, you must be bad. Before you can be bad,
you must try.”

— Jim Edwards, Copywriter and Digital marketer

The Key To Success: Model The Best
During one of the seminars I attended more than a
decade ago in Nashville, Tennessee, I had one of the
most signi cant aha moments in my personal and
entrepreneurial growth journey, which impacted my
business more than everything else I learned until today.
That was the discovery of thoughtful modeling to build
my own skills and career. Children use modeling all the
time to learn how to speak, use tools, or tie their shoes.
If you look at it carefully, modeling is not only essential
to build new skills, but also it's necessary for the
continuity of skills, lessons, know-how, and the world's
intellectual and cultural legacy from one generation to
another.

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 One caveat here: I have seen and met many people who
mix modeling with copying someone else's materials,
patents, works, ideas as they’re, and use them for their
own goals. Don't do this. That is illegal and unethical.
What I mean with thoughtful modeling is:
1. Look for a business that is already successful in
your chosen eld or a leader who has created the
kind of life you want to live.
2. As Tony Robbins rightly put out there: Success leaves
clues. Find them. There's no need to reinvent the
wheel. Those who have succeeded before you have
done so, followed a plan, and you can do the same
thing. Look into their history and their rise to the
top. How did they get to where they are today? What
kind of obstacles and setbacks did they face, and
how did they overcome them? What are their
philosophies about their work and their life?
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3. Use this information to build the path of your
success that mirrors theirs. Your strategy may be
similar to the business or leader you're modeling, or
you adjust it for your present circumstances.  
So, I started looking at other businesses, studying how
they came to where they're today. After all, their
techniques worked for them, they could work for me.
But for some reason, my efforts made very little (if any)
success and income. I was frustrated because I could
see others making money successfully. What was I doing
wrong?
It took me almost four years of studying, researching,
and interviewing successful business people before I
realized that what I was seeing on the surface wasn't
their full arsenal of skills and strategies. The
entrepreneurs who were making decent money were
doing it through steps and processes invisible to the
naked eye.
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 While I had learned and modeled the part of their
businesses that I could see, multiple things were
happening behind the scenes that made the magic
work.

I found that the difference between a $10,000 and

$1,000,000 business was all the things happening after a
buyer initially contacted those businesses.

It took me years to discover and master these hidden

skills below the surface of the iceberg, but when I did it,
the results spoke for themselves. I wanted to launch
SkillFront because I know there are entrepreneurs like
me who have been trying to be successful, yet are not
having much success.

This and other SkillFront programs are the culmination

of a decade spent analyzing thousands of companies
I was modeling what I could see happening on the
and their success models. I have built a number of
surface of successful businesses, but they made
successful companies of my own, and I have worked with
the real money in ways I couldn't see.

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 tens of thousands of students and clients to guide them
to build businesses in every industry you can dream of -
both online and of ine.
This and other programs in the SkillFront platform will
unlock the practical skills and frameworks that are
mastered and continuously used by champion
businesses and leaders in their industries.
I hope that while you're learning those skills, you will
realize your dreams of success are a lot closer than you
think. You will soon see that by providing a ton of value,
communicating effectively with your audience, and
building out your sales processes and ows in a very
strategic way, you can get your product, service, and
message out to the world. And you can get paid what
you're worth while doing it.
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All Skills You're Going To Learn Are
Evergreen
If you've tried to learn how to build and grow your
company in the past, you've probably purchased courses
and courses that teach systems that worked when they
were created but became outdated. Often, before they
even reached a wider audience and found their way to
you.
SkillFront programs, on the other hand, are playcourses
for creating and scaling successful businesses that will
exponentially increase your sales and income. SkillFront
teaches evergreen skills, frameworks, and strategies that
will be just as useful 20 years from now as they are
today. It's the mission of the SkillFront to focus on
principles and methods that are timelines, even if
technologies and tools change.
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 We don't just teach this stu ;

We actually do it.

There are many people teaching business and

entrepreneurship from one or another angle, and the
vast majority of them are making money by teaching
other people’s business strategies. Russell Brunson calls
those people "shovel sellers" because during the gold
rush, the people who made the most money were the
ones selling the shovels. Today's modern shovel sellers
are selling you those strategies without actually using
any of the techniques themselves.

The difference between SkillFront and most others is
that we actually do this for real. That's right. The skills
we're going to reveal to you have been learned and then
veri ed by our own real-world practices, or we have
earned them after thousands of tests, sleepless nights,
mistakes, trials, errors, successes, as well as failures.
One of our amazing partners MicroTrain from
Chicago, the United States of America, and their
valuable trainees for their successful course and
certi cation programs.

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 We have tried these skills in countless different

industries, from law practices to multinational e-
commerce giants, from coaching services to software-
as-a-service providers, from physical product retailers
online and of ine to real estate brokers, from healthcare,
tness, wellness and leisure providers to sports clubs
and educational institutions, and everything else you
ever imagine in between.

We also directly work with hundreds of other businesses,

advising them and increasing their pro tability in almost
every niche and industry you can dream of.

I am excited for you to dive in and have some fun with

this. So, let's get started!

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 The moral of this story is:

Skill 1. Four Core 1. Goals work.

Principles Of The 2. Almost nobody uses them.

Design Thinking: I assume that you already want more from life than what
you have and you're searching for a way to get it. That's
exactly what you'll nd here: a way to get it, whatever

Importance Of your background, whatever your age, whatever your

circumstances.

Establishing Goals
In 1953, researchers surveyed Yale's graduating seniors
to determine how many of them had speci c, written
goals for their future. The answer: 3%. Twenty years
later, researchers polled the surviving members of the
Class of 1953 -- and found that the 3% with goals had
accumulated more personal nancial wealth than the
other 97% of the class combined!
This course shows you step-by-step how to invest the
time and effort necessary to get whatever you want
from life and business. But you have to make that effort
and invest that time. So don’t just complete this course!
Simply completing this course won’t help you. Follow
simple step-by-step plan! Take action!
Apply powerful techniques! And I promise that all your
wishes will come true.

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 We all want better life. We all have wishes. Wishes are

Skill 2. Four Core goals - but goals with snap, crackle, and pop.
Goals provide the process that can take you where you

Principles Of The want to go, but too often they don't provide the
inspiration to get you there.

Design Thinking: Wishes are different. They have impact - like being
struck by lightning instead of by a lightning bug. They let

Set Your Goals For you dream. They let you soar. They let you tap into a
source of limitless possibility and boundless energy that

Success gives you the power to accomplish what you might

otherwise never have imagined.

How To CHOOSE A Goal?
Do you have problems choosing a goal? Do you have too
many? Or don’t you have any goals at all?
Then this chapter is for you!
If you want to make things happen in your life, don't
think about goals - think about making your wishes come
true.
Before you can make your wishes come true, you must
rst decide what to wish for. Many people grind through
one work week after another, daydreaming about the

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 good life, but they rarely master a clear idea of what that
“good life” should be.
Not what you’re supposed to want, not what someone
else wants for you, but what you in your heart want for
yourself.
Are You Willing To Pay The
PRICE?
At a cocktail party one evening, a famous pianist gave a
recital. Afterward, her hostess said, “I would gave
anything to be able to play like you.”
The pianist looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and
replied, “No you may not.”
The hostess, surprised and embarrassed in front of her
guest, said, “I most certainly would.”
The pianist shook her head. “You would love to play as I
play now, but you may not be willing to practice eight
hours a day for twenty years to learn how to play that
way.”
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Take whatever you want, said God, but pay for it.
- Spanish Proverb

Every wish has its price. You can have anything you want
if you are willing to pay that price. The price may be
time, money, or efforts. It may be in what you have to
give up in order to get what you want.

Your willingness to pay the price is what gives you the

power to cause your wish to come true. If you are 100%
willing to pay the price, then you are 100% likely to
succeed. Pay the price and your wish will come true.

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 WHY?
Skill 3. Four Core The answer is simple: Because we did not have a strong

Principles Of The enough desire.

Design Thinking: Some may argue with that. "But I did have a strong
desire and still I didn't get there."

How You Achieve Sorry, but the desire was still not strong enough.

Your Goals How do you identify intense desire, passion?

It's what keeps people working all hours, up early, late to

Step 1: Intensify DESIRE bed. The desire dominates conversation, thinking,

actions.
“Desire is the rst step of goal achievement and the
foundation.” Take a moment to think about the goals you've set for
yourself.
Have you set personal or business goals and failed to
achieve them? Here is a crucial question: How committed are you to achieving these goals?

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Under what conditions would you give up? Strong desire is success power.
What if you could signi cantly increase your desire to
achieve these goals?

What if you wanted them so badly that you knew with

Step 2: Develop BELIEF
absolute certainty that you would absolutely, positively
If you don't believe you can reach a goal, it will remain a
never ever give up?
pipe dream as much as if you didn't bother planning the
route to the goal, or do what's required to get there.
When you are truly 100% committed to reaching your
goals, you move from hoping to knowing. If you want
If there is any doubt in your mind that you may not be
something badly enough, then quitting is simply not an
able to achieve something, you don't give it your all. In
option. You either nd a way or make one. You pay the
fact, you may very well just set it aside. In order to fully
price, whatever it takes.
achieve anything, you must believe it is possible at a
cellular level.
By creating intense desire you can realize the impossible
dream. Develop a sincere desire to achieve the goal. A
Believing is seeing. Seeing is believing.
wish or daydream has no substance; it is vague,
unformed, and unsupported by action. Desire puts
If you are willing to accept that you can be successful,
action into your plan.
that you'll enjoy being successful, and if you are willing

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 to establish and work on an exhilarating, enjoyable, and important step, though, was not Neil Armstrong's, it was
rewarding path to your goals, then we're con dent you'll John F. Kennedy's setting of the Objective.
reach those goals.
We de ne the Objective as the nal goal. It is what all
your efforts are going to lead to.
In Investing, for example, it could be to have $5 million
Step 3: De ne Your by retirement.
OBJECTIVE
While some people may want to only have an Objective
In May of 1961, John F. Kennedy pledged that America in one area of their life, most successful people set
would land a man on the moon "before the decade is Objectives in many areas:
out." It was a brave and bold objective, perhaps one of
the greatest of all time. • Career
• Family
Just making the statement, however, did not lead to its • Financial
achievement. • Health
• Knowledge
Putting a man on the moon required immense amounts • Material
of intelligence, research, planning, money, people, risk, • Retirement
and commitment, amongst other things. The most • Spiritual

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 These are just some categories you should set Commit to making SMART goals and start working
Objectives in. Objectives are generally long-term, toward them today.
sometimes even lifetime, although they don't have to be.
They do have to be important to you, and something you
feel is worth pursuing, or establishing a goal setting
routine wouldn't be worth doing.
Step 4: WRITE It Down!
Write your goal out in complete detail.
In starting a goal-setting routine, we recommend you set
Objectives in one or two areas to begin. As you start
- Why is it so important to write it down?
realizing small successes, you'll probably add more
Objectives as you will want to be successful in all areas
Words are an integral part of the thinking process.
of your life.
Words convey images, pictures, feelings, emotions to
the mind. By clothing it in words that abstract thought
Remember, don't hold back:
now takes on body, shape, form, substance.

Make your Objectives as large as you can realistically

It is no longer just a thought!
realize.
It becomes something, which motivates us, or creates a
gut feeling inside.
Make sure that your goals are S.M.A.R.T.!!!

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- Why is the mechanical act of writing so important? helps guaranty their achievement.

Building on what we have already stated, putting pen to Write it down!

paper now transfers those expressions, which embody
thoughts onto something tangible. We can now
physically look at it.
Step 5: Set A DEADLINE
Even the act of using the eye in coordination with the
Set a date for the achievement of your goal.
hand holding the pen makes a much rmer impression
on our mind as we write out the phrase or expression.
Setting a date for the attainment of your goal is the
ignition for the goal-seeking missile in your mind. Make
Now when we read and re-read that phrase or sentence
sure that your date is realistic... not too soon that it's
the impression on the mind becomes deeper and
impossible, but not so delayed that it's not interesting.
deeper.
Make sure you write the date of your goal down next to
your goal. Once you’ve set this date, you should never
Written goals are directives to the unconscious mind,
change it.
which obeys them blindly. There is something semi-
magical about writing one's goals down which makes
Can we see then why dead lining is another crucial step
achieving well-written goals an almost certainty. The real
in the goal achievement process?
trick is to write ones goals down in a special way which

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Yes, deadlines crystallize thinking and increase
motivation. However, it would be a mistake to think
deadlines perform miracles.
Setting a deadline by saying, "In seven days from now I
will have made an extra $5,000" is not going to
miraculously deliver unless you have a strategy and a
realistic plan based on your present circumstances.
Set a deadline. Deadlines move us to action.
When we fail to include a deadline for our goal, when we
commit to achieving it "as soon as possible", the goal
winds up in our "as soon as possible" pile of things I will
do another day, which is probably never. Why? Because
we all too much to do and not enough time to get it all
done. The items that have deadlines for completion tend
to bubble up in priority and importance so that we
take action and achieve them.
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The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single
step. No goal achievement is a leap across some huge
canyon. Many are intimidated and driven away from
going after what they really want in their lives for fear
they will have to take a giant leap across that canyon
and, hey, what if I don’t leap far enough? Disaster.
But until you write out your goal, quantify it, and set a
deadline so that you break it down to its small steps, it
will forever appear to be too big a stretch and therefore
unattainable. But every time you follow these three
steps and break the goal down, you will always nd that
you have within your control what it takes to accomplish
that next step. And once you begin, you are on your way!
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Step 6: De ning Your
REASONS
In studying goal setting, and the keys to success, it was
discovered that many people fail to achieve success
simply because they lack clear REASONS for doing so.
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Don't let this hold up your success. Give serious thought
as to why you want to achieve an Objective, and write
down what you've decided.
Do you want $5 million at retirement? Why? You say you
want to live in a mansion? Why? The more compelling
your Reasons are, the greater your chances will be for
meeting your Objectives.
Conversely, if you can't come up with "good" Reasons,
you might as well set another Objective, as this one
won't be achieved.
Remember, every person has different Reasons for
wanting something. What one person thinks is vain or
stupid, another will think is worthy or great.
You must come up with Reasons that are honest, strong,
and motivating to you.
Write them down below the appropriate Objective,
leaving plenty of space to expand or add to them. The
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more Reasons you have the better. Just make sure they
really represent the Reasons you have for desiring
something.
Step 7: De ning Your SUB-
GOALS
Once you've written an Objective, and your compelling
Reasons for achieving it, you must start planning the
route towards the Objective.
Ask yourself: “What steps do I need to take to………….?”
These steps will be your Sub-goals.
Say you've set an Objective for having $5 Million by
retirement (which could be 20+ years away).
First, you must gure out how you can achieve that. Do
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you need to learn more about investing? Will you have to
start saving $500 a week? Do you have to get a new job?
Will you have to more actively watch your existing
investments? Whatever needs doing, to progress
towards your Objective, will become your Sub-goals.
Sub-goals can be speci c or broad in scope, but they
must always lead directly towards the Objective they
support. They must also always have a deadline. A date
you plan to accomplish the Sub-goal by, a realistic date
that not only motivates you into action but also ensures
progress towards your Objective.
Usually you will have many Sub-goals at a time, and in
the case of a real long- term Objective, some of the
Sub-goals will not be clear at the start, with others
coming about when certain existing Sub-goals are
achieved.
Always write your Sub-goals and their Accomplishment
Dates down. Never make your Sub-goals too long or too
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 dif cult, as you don't want to be overwhelmed by them.
If a Sub-goal is long-term (as in taking a four-year degree
towards a larger Career Objective), break it down into
smaller parts (each year for example), and revise and/or
renew them when accomplished.
By making suf cient and reasonable Sub-goals, and
always accomplishing them on time, you'll nd yourself
making great progress towards Objectives, which may
look intimidating, or even impossible, by themselves.
Step 8: De ning Your TASKS
setting really work.
Tasks are usually the simple things you must do to
accomplish a Sub-goal.
If you've set a Sub-goal, for example, to have a complete
understanding about investing in bonds by next June
15th, you will have to accomplish a number of Tasks for
acquiring that knowledge.
Choosing to go to the library and get a book on bonds
would be a Task.
Reading the book for one hour each this Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday, could be three separate Tasks.

Just as we break large or long-term Objectives down

Visiting the a website for its information, would be
into smaller supporting elements called Subgoals, we
another Task.
further break our Sub-goals down into even smaller
elements. These small elements are called Tasks, and
Calling your buddy who's had success in a speci c
accomplishing them is what makes the practice of goal
market would be a Task as well.

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 All of these Tasks, which should be written down on the
same paper as the Sub-goal they support, must be set
with an Accomplishment Date, for if you procrastinate
calling your buddy, never get around to completely
reading the book, or don't even bother checking the
website, you won't reach your Sub-goal of learning about
bonds, or won't meet it by its Accomplishment Date.
And this, unfortunately for you, will turn your $5 Million
by retirement Objective back into the pipe dream it
didn't have to be.
By focusing your mind on the easy-to-accomplish Tasks,
and completing those Tasks, you'll be making great
progress towards your Sub-goals and Objectives without
feeling overwhelmed.
Make sure to write down ALL Tasks, even those that take
only minutes to complete. Then, when they're
accomplished, check them off. As more and more Tasks
are successfully accomplished, and checked off, you'll
nd yourself becoming more encouraged, and more
con dent about your abilities.
The more you believe, the more you will strive to
accomplish, and the more you will enjoy completing
even more Tasks. And the more Tasks you complete on
time, the closer you'll be to that success you have real
Reasons for wanting. The success you originally de ned
as your Objectives.
The Secret Of SUCCEEDING
With The Design Thinking
Do you know the most important secret of goal setting?
The beginning is the half the journey. Just get started to
get things done!

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 The rst, as we've described, is the practice of goal

Skill 4. Four Core setting, which is simply: Setting Objectives, Developing
compelling Reasons for wanting the Objectives,

Principles Of The Breaking the Objectives down into not so overwhelming

Sub-goals, Breaking the Sub-goals down into easy-to-

Design Thinking: accomplish Tasks.

The second key element involves training your mind to

How You Keep think positively.

Yourself Motivated In order to accomplish what you set out to do, you must
develop an achievement mindset. While reviewing your
Reasons, and checking off completed Tasks are two

Using SUCCESS things you should be doing to keep your mind focused
on the success you desire, there are other Success
ENHANCEMENTS Enhancements we recommend you become familiar
with.
What Are Success Enhancements?

There are really two key elements to achieving success.

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 visualization. I guarantee, that "visualizing your results is

Reward Technique
the key to realizing your results”.

When you are able to keep your mind on success, you

will be virtually certain to reach that success. Visualizing is one of the most important techniques you
will ever learn and one that is utilized by all high
performers.

Visualization Technique One of the reasons goal setting doesn't work for people
is because they don't understand or utilize the power of
The brain often thinks in pictures.
this one critical factor. Often times, you may set a goal,
write it down, you may even read it aloud every day, but
The human eye captures an incredible amount of
if you can't see yourself in possession of your goal, you
information with just one glance and relays it all to the
will never realize it long term.
brain that then translates that information into a form we
‘see'.
Visualizing is your key to success for two reasons:

It would be more accurate to say we see with our brains

1. Your mind thinks in pictures and images;
than with our eyes.
2. Your subconscious mind drives your behavior.

The success technique to which I am referring is

When something is hammered into your mind in clear

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 detail, it becomes part of your reality.

Your subconscious mind doesn't know the difference

between something that is real and something vividly
imagined. Whatever picture (goal) you consistently think
about will drive your actions to create that exact picture.

When you continually see yourself in possession of your

goal, your subconscious mind will move you into actions
that align with the mental image you hold.

Af irmations Technique
Af rmations are words we say to ourselves. They’re
verbal suggestions we say silently or out loud.

The truth is that if you tell yourself something often “Things like this are always happening to me!”
enough, you’ll eventually believe it.
Af rmations, or self-talk, is a very common activity. “I just can’t lose weight!”

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“I’m so clumsy!”

Does it sound familiar?

But we can af rm our strengths too. We can even af rm

strengths we don’t yet have.

Develop daily af rmations that support the goals you

developed in your goal setting. You need to gure out
what you need to change about yourself to make it
easier to practice or keep the commitments you made in
your goal-setting.

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Skill 5. Design
Thinking =
Analytical
Thinking
Design Thinking is an approach that used for practical
and creative problem-solving. It not only works for
designers but also helps people who aren't trained as
designers to use creative tools to deal with challenges
they meet in works and lives. We can describe design
thinking as a human-centered approach to innovation
that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate the
needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the
requirements for business success. My estimation is that
design thinking is in the second wave as we can see the
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rise of human-centered design and design-centered
business management. This is not a static idea and it
develops all the time.
Core Ideas & Main Steps
The most important feature of design thinking is a
human- centered core. Design thinking focusses on
understanding people’s need.
A ve-phase description of the design innovation
process is described as: (re)de ning the problem, need-
nding and benchmarking, ideating, building, testing.
The Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, which
is at the forefront of applying and teaching design
thinking, gives four principles of design thinking:
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 1. The Human Rule: Design is inherently.
2. The Ambiguity Rule: Problems are ambiguous and
open to interpretation. Removing ambiguity limits.
3. The Redesign Rule: Design thinking posits that all
design is re-design. Humans are constantly looking for
new ways to solve variations on old.
4. The Tangibility Rule: The best way to communicate
design ideas is through tangible ideas and Tangible
ideas and products allow improved dialogue,
understanding, and problem-solving.
innovative solutions (brainstorming is a useful tool).
4. Prototype: Build a representation of one or more of
your ideas to show to
5. Test: Return to your original user group and testing
your ideas for
6. Implement: Fully implement the working solution and
keep on innovating.

Based on the above principles, a ve-stage model is

proposed:

1. Empathize: Understanding the needs of those you’re

designing for.
2. De ne: Construct a point of view that is based on
user needs, and
3. Ideate: Challenge assumptions and come up with

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From the picture above, we can see it is not a linear

progress because of the non-linear nature of design
thinking. It may be thought of as a system of overlapping
spaces rather than a sequence of orderly steps:
inspiration, ideation, and implementation.

Example
One application that we can feel and experience in our
daily life is in computer science. Design thinking is
central to recent conceptions of software development
in general. Most Apps that are installed on our
smartphones bene t from design thinking a lot. How do
those creative Apps t our needs? Take a popular
English-reciting App in China as an example. According
to the design thinking model, designers should
recognize students’ needs in reciting English words.

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As it is usually a boring task, designers should nd a

method that makes it interesting and ef cient.
Pros And Cons
Pros: signi cantly reduces time-to-market; cost savings;
Brainstorming then begins, and they also need to build
improves customer retention and loyalty; fosters
prototypes that embrace these creative ideas. They will
innovation; can be applied company-wide.
invite some users to test.

Cons: design thinking is quite different from analytical

Designers interpret the information received from tests
thinking. Decisions made through design thinking are
and see what step they may need to go back to in their
based on what potential customers really want, not just
design thinking process.
historical data or evidence. Intuition plays a vital role
here. The shortcoming can be oversimplifying the design
In this process, prototypes are combined, expanded on,
process and trivializing the role of technical knowledge
or discarded based on users’ insights. All these efforts
and skills (Kolko, 2018).
give birth to a successful and popular App. People love
it because it knows what they really want! Reciting
English words is no longer horrible!

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 • Creating teams with multi-disciplinary skills.
Skill 6. Design ≠ • Gaining a greater level of insight into customer
desires, brand usage, and brand values.

Design Thinking
Design is the action of bringing something new into
existence. And it starts with imaging the outcome of
what the users expect from us.
Business, brand, and marketing professionals who create
strategy already do this, and they are, in essence,
designing.
• Coming up with the right process for your business.
• Including customers early and throughout the
process.
• Building ideas up, continuously cycling the process to
achieve better outcomes.
• Challenging and re ning everything based on user
evaluations.

Anyone can think like a designer. But learning to be

good at it takes time.

Design thinking is the action of transforming processes

and evolving organizational design and capabilities:

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Skill 7. The Formal Origins Of The Term

Introduction To
The notion of design as a “way of thinking” in the
sciences can be traced to Herbert A. Simon‘s 1969 book
The Sciences of the Arti cial, and in design engineering

The Design to Robert McKim’s 1973 book Experiences in Visual

Thinking. Peter Rowe’s 1987 book Design Thinking,

Thinking which described methods and approaches used by

Design thinking refers to design-speci c cognitive
activities that designers apply during the process of
designing.
Design thinking is a methodology not exclusive for
designers, that helps people understand and develop
creative ways to solve an speci c issue, generally
business oriented.
architects and urban planners, was a signi cant early
usage of the term in the design research literature.
Rolf Faste expanded on McKim’s work at Stanford
University in the 1980s and 1990s, teaching “design
thinking as a method of creative action.” Design thinking
was adapted for business purposes by Faste’s Stanford
colleague David M. Kelley, who founded IDEO in 1991.
Richard Buchanan‘s 1992 article “Wicked Problems in
Design Thinking” expressed a broader view of design

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thinking as addressing intractable human concerns method, which begins by thoroughly de ning all
through design. parameters of a problem to create a solution. Design
thinking identi es and investigates with known and
ambiguous aspects of the current situation to discover
hidden parameters and open alternative paths that may
Solution-Based Thinking lead to the goal. Because design thinking is iterative,
intermediate “solutions” are also potential starting points
Design thinking is a formal method for practical, creative
of alternative paths, including rede ning of the initial
resolution of problems and creation of solutions, with
problem.
the intent of an improved future result. In this regard it
is a form of solution-based, or solution-focused thinking
– starting with a goal (a better future situation) instead
of solving a speci c problem. By considering both Bryan Lawson – Architects
present and future conditions and parameters of the
problem, alternative solutions may be explored
vs. Scientists
simultaneously. Nigel Cross asserted that this type of
In 1972 psychologist, architect and design researcher
thinking most often happens in the built, or arti cial,
Bryan Lawson conducted an empirical study to
environment (as in artifacts).
investigate the difference between problem-focused
solvers and solution-focused solvers. He took two
This approach differs from the analytical scienti c
groups of students – nal year students in architecture

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 and post-graduate science students – and asked them to next most favourably coloured block combination would
create one-layer structures from a set of colored blocks. be substituted and so on until an acceptable solution
The perimeter of the structure had to optimize either was discovered. [solution-focused]
the red or the blue color; however, there were
unspeci ed rules governing the placement and Nigel Cross concluded that Lawson’s studies suggested
relationship of some of the blocks. Lawson found that: that scientists problem solve by analysis, while designers
problem solve by synthesis. Kelley and Brown argue that
The scientists adopted a technique of trying out a series design thinking uses both analysis and synthesis.
of designs which used as many different blocks and
combinations of blocks as possible as quickly as
possible. Thus they tried to maximise the information
available to them about the allowed combinations. If
Analysis And Synthesis
they could discover the rule governing which
The terms analysis and synthesis come from (classical)
combinations of blocks were allowed they could then
Greek and mean literally “to loosen up” and “to put
search for an arrangement which would optimise the
together” respectively. In general, analysis is de ned as
required colour around the layout. [problem-focused]
the procedure by which we break down an intellectual or
substantial whole into parts or components. Synthesis is
By contrast, the architects selected their blocks in order
de ned as the opposite procedure: to combine separate
to achieve the appropriately coloured perimeter. If this
elements or components in order to form a coherent
proved not to be an acceptable combination, then the

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 whole. However, analysis and synthesis, as scienti c
methods, always go hand in hand; they complement one
another. Every synthesis is built upon the results of a
preceding analysis, and every analysis requires a
subsequent synthesis in order to verify and correct its
results.
Divergent Thinking Versus
Convergent Thinking
Design thinking employs divergent thinking as a way to
ensure that many possible solutions are explored in the
rst instance, and then convergent thinking as a way to
narrow these down to a nal solution. Divergent thinking
is the ability to offer different, unique or variant ideas
adherent to one theme while convergent thinking is the
ability to nd the “correct” solution to the given
problem. Design thinking encourages divergent thinking
to ideate many solutions (possible or impossible) and
then uses convergent thinking to prefer and realize the
best resolution.
Di erences From Science
And Humanities
Although many design elds have been categorized as
lying between Science and the Arts and Humanities,
design may be seen as its own distinct way of
understanding the world, based on solution-based
problem solving, problem shaping, synthesis, and
appropriateness in the built environment.
One of the rst design science theorists, John Chris
Jones, postulated that design was different than the
arts, sciences and mathematics in the 1970s. In response
to the question “Is designing an art, a science or a form

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 of mathematics?” Jones responded:
The main point of difference is that of timing. Both
artists and scientists operate on the physical world as it
exists in the present (whether it is real or symbolic),
while mathematicians operate on abstract relationships
that are independent of historical time. Designers, on
the other hand, are forever bound to treat as real that
which exists only in an imagined future and have to
specify ways in which the foreseen thing can be made to
exist.
Design can be seen as its own culture in education, with
its own methods and ways of thinking, which can be
systematically taught in both K-12 and higher education.
Nigel Cross set out to show the differences between the
humanities, the sciences, and design in his paper
“Designerly Ways of Knowing”. He observed that:
The phenomenon of study in each culture is:
• in the sciences: the natural world
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• in the humanities: human experience
• in design: the arti cial world
The appropriate methods in each culture are:
• in the sciences: controlled experiment, classi cation,
analysis
• in the humanities: analogy, metaphor, evaluation
• in design: modeling, pattern-forming, synthesis
The values of each culture are:
• in the sciences: objectivity, rationality, neutrality, and a
concern for “truth”
• in the humanities: subjectivity, imagination,
commitment, and a concern for “justice”
• in design: practicality, ingenuity, empathy , and a
concern for “appropriateness”
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The Languages Of Design

Conventionally, designers communicate mostly in visual
or object languages. Symbols, signs, and metaphors are
used through the medium of sketching, diagrams and
technical drawings to translate abstract requirements
into concrete objects. The way designers communicate,
then, is through understanding this way of coding design
requirements in order to produce built products.

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 elements and ambiguities in the situation and

Skill 8. Design discovering potentially faulty assumptions.

Thinking As A
Process For
Problem Solving
Unlike analytical thinking, design thinking includes
“building up” ideas, with few, or no, limits on breadth
during a “brainstorming” phase. This helps reduce fear of
failure in the participant(s) and encourages input and
participation from a wide variety of sources in the
ideation phases.

One version of the design thinking process has seven

The phrase “thinking outside the box” has been coined
stages: de ne, research, ideate, prototype, choose,
to describe one goal of the brainstorming phase and is
implement, and learn. Within these seven steps,
encouraged, since this can aid in the discovery of hidden

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 problems can be framed, the right questions can be
asked, more ideas can be created, and the best answers
can be chosen. The steps aren’t linear; can occur
simultaneously and be repeated. A simpler expression of
the process is Robert McKim’s phrase “Express–Test–
Cycle”.
The path through these process steps is not strictly
circular. Meinel and Leifer state: “While the stages are
simple enough, the adaptive expertise required to
choose the right in ection points and appropriate next
stage is a high order intellectual activity that requires
practice and is learnable.”

An alternative ve-phase description of the process is

described by Christoph Meineland Larry Leifer:
(re)de ning the problem, need- nding and
benchmarking, ideating, building, testing. Yet another
way to look at it is Shewhart‘s “Plan-Do-Study-Act” PDSA
cycle.

Although design is always in uenced by individual

preferences, the design thinking method shares a
common set of traits, mainly: creativity, ambidextrous
thinking, teamwork, user-centeredness (empathy),
curiosity and optimism. These traits are exempli ed by
design thinking methods in “serious play“.

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 Skill 9. Attributes Wicked Problems

Of Design Thinking
Principles
Christoph Meinel and Larry Leifer assert that there are
four principles to design thinking:
• The human rule: All design activity is ultimately social
in nature
• The ambiguity rule: Design thinkers must preserve
ambiguity
• The re-design rule: All design is re-design
• The tangibility rule: Making ideas tangible always
facilitates communication
Design thinking is especially useful when addressing
what Horst Rittel referred to as wicked problems, which
are ill-de ned or tricky (as opposed to wicked in the
sense of malicious). With ill-de ned problems, both the
problem and the solution are unknown at the outset of
the problem-solving exercise. This is as opposed to
“tame” or “well-de ned” problems where the problem is
clear, and the solution is available through some
technical knowledge.
For wicked problems, the general thrust of the problem
may be clear, however considerable time and effort is
spent in order to clarify the requirements. A large part of
the problem solving activity, then, consists of problem
de nition and problem shaping.

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 between the two.

The “a-ha moment”
The “a-ha moment” is the moment where there is
suddenly a clear forward path. It is the point in the cycle
where synthesis and divergent thinking, analysis and
convergent thinking, and the nature of the problem all
come together and an appropriate resolution has been
captured. Prior to this point, the process may seem
nebulous, hazy and inexact. At this point, the path
forward is so obvious that in retrospect it seems odd
that it took so long to recognize it. After this point, the
focus becomes more and more clear as the nal product
is constructed.

Methods And Process Design methods are techniques, rules, or ways of doing
things that someone uses within a design discipline.
Design methods and design process are often used Methods for design thinking include interviewing,
interchangeably, but there are signi cant differences creating user pro les, looking at other existing solutions,

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 creating prototypes, mind mapping, asking questions Compendium of Models summarizes a large number of
like the ve whys, and situational analysis. design process models.

Because of design thinking’s parallel nature, there are
many different paths through the phases. This is part of
the reason design thinking may seem to be “fuzzy” or
“ambiguous” when compared to more analytical,
Cartesian methods of science and engineering.
Design thinking calls for considering the given user case
from various perspectives, empathizing with users, and
addressing various stakeholders.

Some early design processes stemmed from soft

The Use Of Visual Analogy In
systems methodology in the 1960s. Koberg and Bagnall Design Thinking And
wrote The All New Universal Traveller in 1972 and
presented a circular, seven-step process to problem- Learning
solving. These seven steps could be done lineally or in
Ill-de ned problems often contain higher-order and
feed-back loops. Stanford’s d.school developed an
obscure relationships. Design thinking can address these
updated seven step process in 2007. Other expressions
through the use ofanalogies. An understanding of the
of design processes have been proposed, including a
expected results, or lack of domain-related knowledge
three-step simpli ed triangular process (or the six-part,
for the task, may be developed by correlating different
less simpli ed pyramid) by Bryan Lawson. Hugh
internal representations, such as images, to develop an
Dubberly’s free e-book How Do You Design: A

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understanding of the obscure or ill-de ned elements of

the situation. The process involves several complex
cognitive mechanisms, as the design task often has
elements in multiple cognitive domains—visual,
mathematical, auditory or tactile—requiring the usage of
multiple “languages”, like visual thinking.

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Skill 10. Design
Thinking in
Education
Design thinking has been suggested for use in schools in
a variety of curricular ways, as well as for redesigning
student spaces and school systems.
Design thinking in education typically takes three forms:
helping school administrators solve institution-based
problems, aiding educators develop more creative
lesson plans, and engendering design thinking skills in
students.
There are currently many researchers exploring the
intersection of design thinking and education. The
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REDLab group, from Stanford University‘s Graduate
School of Education, conducts research into design
thinking in K-12, secondary, and post-secondary
settings.The Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research
Program is a collaborative program between Stanford
University and the Hasso Plattner Institute from
Potsdam, Germany. The Hasso Plattner Design Thinking
Research Program’s mission is to “apply rigorous
academic methods to understand how and why design
thinking innovation works and fails.”
SPJIMR, a top B-school in India, offers a road map to
build design thinking culture in the organisation and has
implemented the approach across its different
management programs.
In addition to enriching curriculum and expanding
student perspectives, design thinking can also bene t
educators. Researchers have proposed that design
thinking can enable educators to integrate technology
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 into the classroom.
Design thinking as a viable curricular and systemic
reform program is increasingly being recognized by
educators. “Much of today’s education system guides
students toward nding the correct answers to ll-in-the
blanks on standardized tests, as this kind of instruction
facilitates streamlined assessments to measure success
or failure… It is critical that, particularly in under-served
schools this model of learning does not continue to
prevail. Students need both the skills and the tools to
participate in a society where problems are increasingly
complex and nuanced understandings are vital.”
Uses In K-12 Education
In the K-12 arena, design thinking is employed to
promote creative thinking, teamwork, and student
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responsibility for learning. The non pro t Tools at
Schools aims to expose students, educators, and
schools to design thinking. The organization does this by
facilitating a relationship between a school and a
manufacturing company. Over a minimum of six months,
representatives from the manufacturing company teach
students the principles of design and establish the kind
of product to be designed. The students collaborate to
design a prototype that the manufacturer produces.
Once the prototype arrives, the students must promote
the product and support the ideas that lead to its
design.
An example of the Tools at Schools partnership is the
redesign of school equipment by 8th grade students at
The School at Columbia University. The students were
divided into groups and asked to redesign a locker, chair,
or a desk to better suit the needs of 21st century pupils.
The students’ nal products were displayed at the
International Contemporary Furniture Fair where they
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demonstrated their product to fair attendees and
industry professionals. Overall Tools at Schools not only
introduces students to the design process, it exposes
them to the design profession through their interactions
with designers and manufacturers. Since the students
work together in groups, design thinking in education
also encourages collaborative learning.
Another organization that works with integrating design
thinking for students is the corporation NoTosh. NoTosh
has a Design Thinking School to teach instructors how to
implement design thinking into their curriculum. One of
the design thinking techniques NoTosh adopted from
the corporate world and applied to education is
hexagonal thinking. Hexagonal thinking consists of
gathering cut-outs in hexagon shapes and writing a
concept or fact on each one. Students then connect the
hexagons by laying related ideas or facts together. The
visual representation of relationships helps students
better conceptualize wicked problems. Another
concrete example of design thinking in action is
NoTosh’s “Googleable vs NonGoogleable Questions”
exercise. Given a speci c topic, students brainstorm
questions on that issue and divide their questions into
“Googleable and NonGoogleable.” Students research
the Googleable questions and present their ndings to
the class while the NonGoogleable questions are used
to create a project.
Stanford University’s Taking
Design Thinking to Schools
Initiative
Apart from non pro t entities and corporations, research
universities are also involved in deploying design
thinking curriculum to K-12 schools. Part of Stanford
University‘s efforts to incorporate design thinking in

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 education into a hands-on setting is the Taking Design
Thinking to Schools initiative. The Stanford School of
Education and d.school partner with K-12 teachers in the
Palo Alto area to discover ways to apply design thinking
in an educational setting. “Teachers and students
engage in hands-on design challenges that focus on
developing empathy, promoting a bias towards action,
encouraging ideation, developing metacognitive
awareness and fostering active problem solving.”
Taking Design Thinking to Schools identi es the
following design thinking process:
• Understand: students explore the topic through
research and develop familiarity with the subject
matter
• Observe: this phase consists of students taking note
of their environment, which includes physical
surroundings and human interactions; students gather
more information about peoples’ actions and possible
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motivation through discussion
• Point of view: students consider alternate points of
views to better understand the problem and to inform
their ideas in the next phase
• Ideate: this phase consists of students brainstorming
ideas without criticism or inhibition. In this phase, the
focus is on generating lots of ideas with an emphasis
on creativity and enjoying the process.
• Prototype: in this phase students create quick
prototypes to investigate ideas generated during the
ideation phase
• Test: students test their ideas in a repetitive fashion
and determine which aspects of the design are
effective and which could be improved.
By employing this process, the Stanford team and Taking
Design Thinking to Schools participants collaborate to
develop coursework that students will nd engrossing
and “hands-on.” Thus, the program at Stanford combines
both design thinking for teachers who must create
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alternative curriculum and students who must complete
the design thinking-based projects.
d.school and according to its website its mission is to
“inspire and develop the creative con dence of
educators and support edu innovators catalyzing new
models for teaching and learning.” The K12 Lab Network
publishes a wiki with information on creating design
challenges for K-12 schools. The wiki provides tools for
thinking about design challenges as well as criteria for
implementing design challenges.

The Design Thinking For

Educators Toolkit
The Design Thinking for Educators toolkit was
developed in 2011 by the design rm IDEO in

The K12 Lab at Stanford
The K12 Lab network is a part of the Stanford University
partnership with the PreK-12 independent school
Riverdale Country School. The Design Thinking for
Educators toolkit that is currently offered to the public
for free download is the second version. The Design

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Thinking for Educators toolkit is a comprehensive
resource for educators to use, which includes a “walk-
through of the design thinking process complete with
examples and a downloadable workbook”. The toolkit
has been used in academic research to aid in the
creation of an “iPad learning Ecosystem” to help design
a program to aid at-risk youth in the transition from
elementary to secondary school, as well as to redesign
libraries.
AIGA
AIGA has implemented a movement, DesignEd K12, to
take designing thinking to schools. This movement is
guided by volunteers and there is not a speci c program
to follow; instead volunteer designers introduce
students to the design eld and consequently, design
thinking. DesignEd K12 intends to motivate students to
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use design thinking to solve problems; to create a
network where designers, students, and educational
professionals share best practices; to shape a
recommended approach to teaching design; and to
cultivate a passion for design among young people.
Across the nation, many of AIGA’s chapters are working
with school districts. The programs range in scope;
some mentor students who have shown an interest in
design, while other programs offer students the
opportunity to explore design and participate in design
thinking projects within scheduled classed or through an
after-school activity.
Uses In Higher Education
Design thinking is currently being taught in “workshops,
supplemental training, courses, or degree programs” in
over 60 universities and colleges.
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Design thinking is used by colleges as a way to instruct
students on the phases of design, and to help develop
innovative solutions to existing problems. The d.school
at Stanford University is a well-known design thinking
program in higher education, with students from
Stanford’s departments of engineering, medicine,
business, law, and education utilizing the d.school to
develop innovative solutions to problems.
The University of Kentucky also has formalized
instruction on design thinking through its dLab. The
dLab serves a multitude of functions from helping
schools resolve their issues with design thinking to
conducting empirical experiments on design thinking to
collaborating with outside organizations to provide
issues that plague their organization. Radford University,
located in Radford, Virginia, currently offers a Master of
Fine Arts (MFA) degree in design thinking. The MFA
degree offered is a completely online degree that
emphasizes design thinking, design history, design
research, design management, and design doing.
The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School
and the Maryland Institute College of Art began offering
an MBA/MA in design leadership in 2012. Students
simultaneously earn a master of arts degree in design
leadership from an art school as well as an MBA from a
research institution.
Obstacles To Implementing
Design Thinking In Schools
The accountability to succeed on high-stakes
standardized tests in K-12 environments prevents the
implementation of design thinking curriculum. Educators
feel that focusing on classic curriculum will better
prepare their students to perform well on these exams.
Resistance to design thinking also springs from concerns
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 about the appropriateness of applying design thinking
to an educational setting. It has been argued that design
thinking is best applied by professionals who know a
eld well. Therefore, K-12 students who are limited by
their reduced understanding of both the eld and their
still developing intellectual capacities may not be best
suited to design thinking activities.
Another more subtle obstacle to design thinking in
schools may come from members of the academic
community who believe design thinking should remain in
the milieu of avant-garde companies. Other issues that
may prevent the implementation of design thinking in
scholastic settings may be a lack of awareness of the
eld, educators’ uncertainty in implementing new
approaches to teaching, and lack of institutional
support.
Even for institutions that see the value of design
thinking, there is the issue of implementing these new
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approaches to education successfully. Admittedly
“creating an effective thinking and successful team
learning experience is a sticky wicked problem.”
Design thinking in teaching
and learning through ICT
The integration of ICT (Information and Communication
Technologies) into teaching and learning presents many
challenges that go beyond issues dealing with technical
implementation. Some researchers have already claimed
the limited effects of ICT adoption in learning;
Considering the emphasis and the investment that has
been placed on the use of ICT in formal learning settings
(schools and higher education institutions) it is
important to identify where the problems are. In this
regard, some voices of the educational community focus
on the methods used for integrating ICT in teaching and
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learning; In this sense, the adoption of a design thinking design mindset helps understand that there can be
mindset is regarded as a promising strategy to develop many solutions for a given situation and that any design
holistic solutions. requires testing. From this perspective, bringing design
thinking to learning design and design expertise to the
Design thinking in teaching and learning through ICT can development process of technological learning solutions
be considered as similar activities. First, it’s important to can contribute to the creation of more holistic solutions
acknowledge that the type of problems faced by the in learning through ICT.
educational community when adopting learning
technology are unique, ill-de ned and do not have clear
solutions; This de nition corresponds very well to the
term wicked problems used by the design community.
Secondly, similarly to what happens in design, the
diversity of actors brings another layer of complexity
that should be recognized. In this regard, collaboration
between different stakeholders during the design
process is another key issue that could contribute to
develop more meaningful technologies for learning.

Design thinking has been outlined as a meaningful

approach for facing wicked problems. The adoption of a

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 The limits of the rst kind of design thinking in business

Skill 11. Design are also being explored. Not all problems yield to design
thinking alone, where it may be a “temporary x”.

Thinking In Design thinking companies including IDEO and Sense

Business Worldwide are responding to this by building business

thinking capabilities.

Design thinking has two common interpretations in the
business world:
• Designers bringing their methods into business by
either taking part themselves in business process, or
training business people to use design methods.
• Designers achieving innovative outputs or products
(for example, the iPod).
The rst interpretation has been described by Tim
Brown, CEO of IDEO, at a TED lecture, though his blog
also considers the second interpretation.
Tim Brown has argued that design thinking is now
widely, but sporadically, used in business. He argues that
competitive advantage comes from sustained use of
design thinking, from becoming “masters of the art.”
In organization and management theory, design thinking
forms part of the Architecture/Design/Anthropology (A/
D/A) paradigm, which characterizes innovative, human-
centered enterprises. This paradigm also focuses on a
collaborative and iterative style of work and an
abductive mode of thinking, compared to practices
associated with the more traditional Mathematics/

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 Economics/Psychology (M/E/P) management paradigm.
A study by the London Business School found that for
every percent of sales invested in product design,
pro ts rose by an average of 3 to 4 percent.
Design Thinking Applies To
All Organizational Functions
customers and repeat the process continuously. That
improves the traditional new product development
lifecycle and saves product creators time, money and
reduces the risk of failure.
By adopting a greater design thinking level, business
leaders can help accelerate innovation, nd new ways to
reach and speak to customers, lead research and
development, grow market share, diversify products,
solidify customer relationships, and much more.

For marketers, enormous objectives with limited

budgets are a common business challenge, and most
businesses don't have massive advertising budgets to
market their brand. And even if they do, it can be money
wasted if teams don't strive to explore new ways to
reach and speak to people continuously.

For product development teams, design thinking can

help them learn and test new ideas quickly, with real

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 you're unsure about, who your customers are, you may

Skill 12. Business want to create a customer chain to assist in
identi cation.)

Frameworks: PDSA
(Plan, Do, Study,
Act)
PDSA, or Plan-Do-Study-Act, is an iterative, four-stage
problem-solving model used for improving a process or
carrying out change.

When using the PDSA cycle, it's important to include

internal and external customers; they can provide
feedback about what works and what doesn't. The
customer de nes quality, so it would make sense to also
involve them in the process when appropriate or
feasible, to increase acceptance of the end result. (If

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 In applying PDSA, ask yourself three questions: schedule.

1. What are we trying to accomplish?

2. How will we know that a change is an improvement?
3. What changes can we make that will result in an
improvement?
B. Draft an Aim Statement
Describe what you want to accomplish in an aim
statement. Try to answer those three fundamental
questions:

Stage 1: Plan 1. What are we trying to accomplish?

2. How will we know that a change is an improvement?
3. What change can we make that will result in
A. Recruit The Team improvement?

Assemble a team that has knowledge of the problem or

opportunity for improvement. Consider the strengths
each team member brings—look for engaged, forward- C. Describe Current Context and
thinking staff. Process
After recruiting team members, identify roles and Brainstorm
responsibilities, set timelines, and establish a meeting

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Examine your current process. Start by asking the team Creating a process ow or at least depicting the current
these basic questions: process can be very useful. If your team runs into road
blocks, you might have found where the problem is
• What are we doing now? occurring—or maybe the right person for identifying a
• How do we do it? missing step is not at the table.
• What are the major steps in the process?
• Who is involved?
• What do they do? Gather More Detail
• What is done well?
• What could be done better? Once the general structure is completed, these can be
some more helpful questions to ask:
You might have already answered the last two questions
if you have performed a SWOT analysis. • How long does the process currently take? Each step?
• Is there variation in the way the process is currently
completed?
Try a Swim Lane Map

You may nd it helpful to construct a swim lane map to

D. Describe the Problem
visually describe your process.

Using the aim statement created in Step B, state your

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 desired accomplishments, and use data and information

E. Identify Causes and Alternatives
to measure how your organization meets/does not meet
those accomplishments. Analyze Causes

For example: If your objective is to maximize your staff's
quality of work life, you might nd evidence by surveying
employees on workplace stressors.
Write a Problem Statement
For the problem in your problem statement, work to
identify causes of the problem using tools such as
control charts, shbones, and work ow process maps
(e.g., owcharts, swim lane maps). The end of the cause
analysis should summarize the cause analysis by
describing and justifying the root causes.

Write a problem statement to clearly summarize your
team's consensus on the problem. You may nd it helpful
to prioritize problems, if your team has identi ed more
than one, and/or include a justi cation of why you chose
your problem(s).
Examine your process, and ask:
• Is this process ef cient? What is the cost (including
money, time, or other resources)?
• Are we doing the right steps in the right way?
• Does someone else do this same process in a
different way?

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 Develop Alternatives
Stage 2: Do
Try to mitigate your root causes by completing the
Start to implement your action plan. Be sure to collect
statement,
data as you go, to help you evaluate your plan in Stage 3:
Study. Your team might nd it helpful to use a check
"If we do __________, then __________ will happen."
sheet, owchart, swim lane map, or run chart to capture
data/occurrences as they happen or over time.
Choose an alternative (or a few alternatives) that you
believe will best help you reach your objective and
Your team should also document problems, unexpected
maximize your resources.
effects, and general observations.

Develop an action plan, including necessary staff/

resources and a timeline. Try to account for risks you
might face as you implement your action plan. Stage 3: Study
Using the aim statement drafted in Stage 1: Plan, and
data gathered during Stage 2: Do, determine:

• Did your plan result in an improvement? By how

much/little?

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• Was the action worth the investment?
• Do you see trends?
• Were there unintended side effects?
You can use a number of different tools to visually
review and evaluate an improvement, like a Pareto chart,
control chart, or run chart.
Stage 4: Act
Reflect on Plan and Outcomes
• If your team determined the plan resulted in success,
standardize the improvement and begin to use it
regularly. After some time, return to Stage 1: Plan and
re-examine the process to learn where it can be
further improved.
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• If your team believes a different approach would be
more successful, return to Stage 1: Plan, and develop
a new and different plan that might result in success.
• The PDSA cycle is ongoing, and organizations become
more ef cient as they intuitively adopt PDSA into their
planning.
Celebrate Improvements and
Lessons Learned
• Communicate accomplishments to internal and
external customers.
• Take steps to preserve your gains and sustain your
accomplishments.
• Make long-term plans for additional improvements.
• Conduct iterative PDSA cycles when needed.
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 IDEAL serves as a kind of roadmap for initiating,

Skill 13. Business planning, and implementing process improvement
actions in the context of the CMMI product suite. It is a

Frameworks: process-improvement and defect-reduction

methodology.

IDEAL (Initiate, The IDEAL model realises a methodical infrastructure

framework to guide organisations in planning and

Diagnose, implementing effective process improvement programs

for CMMI and alike initiatives. It is a process-

Establish, Act, improvement and defect-reduction methodology serving

as the founding strategy employed by SEI in delivering

Learn)
many of their services.

The IDEAL model is named for the ve phases an

The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie
Mellon Univ. has published the IDEAL method as an
organisational improvement model for the CMMI
product suite and alike process improvement initiative
e.g. ISO 15504.
organisation runs through in performing a change
initiative: Initiating, Diagnosing, Establishing, Acting,
Learning.
• Initiating: Lay the groundwork for a successful

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 improvement effort: Typically the Initiating phase is ability to adopt new improvements in the future:
the direct response of some stimulus showing a need During the Learning phase lessons learned are
of urgency to change the current way of doing collected that can then be applied to subsequent
business. In return to this stimulus, the appropriate rounds of the IDEAL change cycle.
sponsorship is established, and the appropriate
resources are allocated.
• Diagnosing: Determine where you are relative to
where you want to be: In the Diagnosing phase, a kind
of analysis is performed to baseline the current
practices and to probe potential improvement
opportunities. For the CMMI Product Suite this is a
SCAMP Appraisal, for ISO 15504 an assessment.
• Establishing: Plan the speci cs of how you will reach
the objectives: In the Establishing phase, the
recommendations of the analysis are prioritized,
change implementation teams are established, and
plans are developed to conduct the activities.
• Acting: Do the work according to the plan: In the
Acting phase, the planned activities are implemented.
• Learning: Learn from the experience and improve the

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The IDEAL Model
The IDEAL model structure is described best by the
picture above:
Initiating Phase
Stimulus for Change
Blow-by-blow, the stimulus for change is not part of any
IDEAL activity. Rather it is the trigger event or condition
indicating that some kind of change is needed. This
stimulus also could come from outside, driven by market
and/or business competition.
To be ready to initiate a change initiative, the enterprise
CEO or Board of Directors must perceive a need to
improve within the company. This need initiates the
IDEAL cycle.
Establish Context
Establishing context ensures that the considered
change initiative is aligned to business, i.e it is tied to
key business drivers or critical success factors, such as
market drivers.
This activity is part of the risk management process to
determine what level of risk is acceptable to the
organisation, knowing who it affects and what mission is
affected if the risk is realized.
Build Sponsorship
Building sponsorship is a process of convincing all
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groups related to the change initiative and obtaining
their agreement to become active, visible sponsors of
the change initiative.
Charter Infrastructure
This activity identi es exactly who will be taking action,
including the coordinator for this effort.
Diagnosing Phase
Characterize Current and Desired
State
Although the stimulus for change activity, listed above,
may have identi ed one or more problems, the outcome
from this activity is a more thorough assessment of the
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organisation's process capability posture. In the context
of CMMI Product Suite, SCAMPI appraisals are used, in
ISO 15504 context assessments.
Develop Recommendations
Based on links and resources provided by the
assessment results for speci c areas of improvement,
the assessment team develops recommendations, that
is, the ways and means employed to get from the
current state to a desired state.
Establishing Phase
Set Priorities
Prioritization criteria are developed based on business
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 drivers, business area impact, and perhaps a recent risk
assessment or audit. Each recommendation is evaluated
against the criteria. Priorities could include funding,
timely completion, and operational impact. Note that
priorities are not always derived from recommendations,
for example, employee safety may be a priority but not a
recommendation.
Develop Approach
Up to this point, the recommendations are based only
upon the results of the Establish Context and
Characterize Current and Desired State activities. The
IDEAL methode accounts for recommendations but is as
exible enough to expand or alter them as necessary to
meet the priorities that have been set for the effort.
Expansion may include requirements (awareness/
training) for new skills and knowledge to adopt a
particular improvement or aspects of the organisation's
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culture such as sources of resistance and market forces.
Plan Actions
The plan for an improvement program might differ from
both the recommendations and the approach both in
degree and in substance. First, it takes the necessary
level of detail to come to the point. Everyone is told
what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and so on.
Second, it translates an approach that exists outside of
time and space into a scheduled event that is tied to
speci c days and hours. The execution of the plan is
structured and managed like any project with schedules,
tasks, assigned responsibilities, committed resources,
milestones, decision points, reviews, measurement,
status tracking, and risk management.
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 Acting Phase Re ine Solution

Create Solution
This is the procedure or act required to take action and
execute the implementation project plan.
Any problems found in the Test/Pilot Solution activity
may or may not be corrected; this is a decision made by
the project manager/coordinator based on risk,
resources, and other business and rollout
considerations.

Test/Pilot Solution Install Solution

This activity involves implementing and observing the
This activity can be repeated more than once; multiple
candidate solution in one or more pilot situations in
revisions of the solution can occur. But there is a
which the risk can be contained. Notice that this activity
difference between errors in the solution (which were
should be one of "veri cation" rather than of "validation".
identi ed and corrected in the past two activities) and
The Analyze and Validate activity described below
errors in implementation.
provides a formal opportunity for comparing the
solution as implemented against the initial goals.

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Learning Phase
Analyze and Validate
The purpose of this activity in any effort is to compare
the results of the improvement effort with its goals and
requirements, in other words, to determine whether the
original objective of the exercise had been met. One
purpose of this IDEAL process is to collect and analyze
the lessons learned from an effort and apply these to
subsequent interactions.

Propose Future Actions

This activity identi es what additional actions need to be
planned in the future.

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Skill 14. Business
Frameworks:
Scrum
Here in this section, I am going to give you brief
summary about the Scrum Framework, and yet request
Your Free Of Charge Scrum Training Course Book from
International Scrum Institute’s Homepage.
What is Scrum?
First of all, I would like to emphasize that I didn't intend
to write this section of this course as a go-to reference
to answer all questions about the scrum framework.
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Nonetheless, the substance we're discussing here will
give an in-depth headstart for most of the beginner and
intermediate level scrum professionals.
However, for the ones who are looking for a more
advanced, but still practical guide to learn scrum
framework quickly, we have got something as well. I
suggest you go and download our guide for the scrum
framework from this link here.
What is Scrum? Well, without making things too
complicated, the scrum framework can be de ned as
the following:
Scrum is an iterative software engineering process to
develop and deliver software.
Although the software is the main focus of the scrum
framework, iterative and agile scrum process can be and
is being applied outside the software industry too.
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Most people in the IT industry believe that the term by Harvard Business Review in January 1986. Hirotaka
"Scrum" was coined early in the 2000s as a parallel track Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka coined the term "Scrum"
of emerging agile software development and delivery with their article: The New New Product Development
trends. That's is a piece of incorrect information! Game. (Yes, two News)

The term "Scrum" was rst used and of cially published You should have a look at "The New New Product

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 Development Game" to see how everything all about scrum process.
Scrum got started!

When the IT industry talks about the scrum framework,

It's also often we hear the term "Agile Scrum" along the
The Agile Manifesto
same lines as "Scrum". It led some of us in the industry (Manifesto for Agile Software
to think and look for differences between the terms
"Agile Scrum" and "Scrum". Development)
Agile manifesto values:
Here is good news for you. "Agile Scrum" and "Scrum"
terms do both refer to the same thing. They both refer
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools,
to the scrum software engineering process. Then why do
• Wo r k i n g s o f t wa r e o v e r c o m p r e h e n s i v e
we sometimes use the word "Agile" in front "Scrum"?
documentation,
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation,
It's because the scrum framework fully embraced and
• Responding to change over following a plan.
embedded Agile Manifesto (Manifesto for Agile Software
Development) to its core process, principles, and
While the factors on the right-hand side do still possess
underlying philosophy. That brings us to understand the
signi cant values, the agile manifesto appreciates and
agile manifesto and the values of the scrum process
prioritizes the factors on the left-hand side higher.
better before we deep-dive the technicalities of the

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The elements favored by the agile manifesto have been
carefully time-tested and chosen to:
• Serve clients and stakeholders better and create value
for them with software,
• Enhance the profession of software engineering
regardless of your role, title, and career level.
Scrum Inspect and Adapt
This is the core aspect of the Scrum framework where
the real design thinking are happening.
Scrum Inspect and Adapt is a straightforward concept to
comprehend, but the hardest to properly implement and
master.
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Companies have nally con rmed that none of their
project managers can fully foresee the big picture of
complex systems. They were unable to do reliable end-
to-end planning. It was evident for them that they
needed to try something different.
Together with lean manufacturing (also known as lean
movement), companies needed to develop a process to
empower them strategically. They needed a standard
operating procedure to help them learn and x their
courses of action while they're running their projects
and even operations.
That was the birth of Toyota Improvement Kata, which
we today call "Inspect and Adapt" while we talk about
scrum software development and delivery framework.
According to "Scrum Inspect and Adapt":
Step 1. Inspect: We do our best to grasp the current
status of the project with our current level of knowhow
and understanding about it.
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Step 2. Adapt: We de ne a direction and vision about
the next steps of our project and then strategize and
Sprints
execute our vision.
In the scrum framework, all activities including design
Step 3. Learn: We carefully observe, learn, and teach
thinking to implement the requirements happen during
each other while we do so. We continuously log what
sprints. Sprints are cycles of work activities to develop
works and what doesn't work while we do our work.
shippable software product or service increments.
Step 4. Restart: Start over from Step 1 once again.
Sprints are also sometimes called iterations.

Note that those four steps described above are analog,

You think about sprints as if they're micro-projects. As
but not limited to the following scrum rituals (scrum
the term "Sprint" implies, a sprint doesn't take long, and
events).
it's maximum for four weeks.

• Step 1. Inspect is analog to Sprint Review Meetings

Different from a running race, at the end of a sprint, the
and Sprint Retrospective Meetings.
scrum team shouldn't be out of breath and power.
• Step 2. Adapt is analog to Sprint Planning Meetings.
Instead, the scrum should be fresh, and they should
• Step 3. Learn is analog to Daily Scrum Meetings.
energetically start the next sprint.
• Step 4. Restart is analog to the closure of a sprint and
The scrum software development and delivery
the start of a new sprint.
framework has nothing to do to create pressure and
stress for its team members. It's a well-known fact that

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people perform best when they can work focussed,
relieved, and undistracted. If it's applied correctly this
what sprints help us accomplish.
Every sprint starts with a Sprint Planning Meeting.
During the sprint planning meeting, the scrum team
decides what and how many requirements they will
implement in this given sprint. Subsequently, the scrum
team starts the execution of activities to deliver
requirements.
Daily Scrum (Daily Scrum Meeting) happens every day at
the same time in the same place. The goal of this
meeting is to align all member of the scrum team
regularly. Scrum team members can also ask help from
the scrum master to remove any impediments which may
potentially slow down or block the progress of a sprint.
The scrum team nalizes a sprint with Sprint Review and
Sprint Retrospective meetings. The Sprint Review
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Meeting enables the scrum product owner to review and
control the work results the scrum has created during
the sprint.
During the Sprint Retrospective Meeting, the scrum
team re ects the way they work together, how they use
the Scrum framework, and how they can improve.
So the scrum team jointly takes these improvement
potentials and feedback into account during the next
Sprint Planning Meeting. Sprints enable such feedback
loops during short periods with small batch sizes of
work. That's one of the signi cant reasons why and how
the Scrum framework helps teams and organizations to
improve themselves continuously.
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 Institute’s Homepage.
Skill 15. Business DMAIC (an acronym for De ne, Measure, Analyze,

Frameworks: Improve and Control) (pronounced de-mike) refers to a

data-driven improvement cycle used for improving,

DMAIC (De ne, optimizing and stabilizing business processes and

designs. The DMAIC improvement cycle is the core tool
used to drive Six Sigma projects. However, DMAIC is not
Measure, Analyze, exclusive to Six Sigma and can be used as the
framework for other improvement applications.

Improve and
Control) Introduction to DMAIC -
De ne Phase
Here in this section, I am going to give you brief
summary about the Six Sigma’s DMAIC Framework, and De ne Phase of Six Sigma DMAIC Process consists of
yet request Your Free Of Charge Six Sigma DMAIC following activities:
Training Course Book from International Six Sigma

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Step 1: Validating Business Opportunity and Project • Capturing Voice of Customer (VOC).
CTQ (Critical To Quality) Identi cation. • Translating VOC into Y’s.

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 • Selecting key Y(s) for the project. Step 4: Identify Possible Project Y's and Data
• Initiate Project Charter for each “Y”. Collection Strategy.
• Collect data on performance of y.
Step 2: Project Storyboarding and Team Charting. • Collect data on y for stability.
• Create a business case.
• Problem and Goal Statement. Step 5: Validate Measurement System.
• Scoping the Project. • Study the Measurement System of y.
• Project Milestone. • Review R&R (Repeatability & Reproducibility) to
• Resource Plan – Roles and Responsibility. validate the Measurement system.
• Improve R&R if variation is high.
Step 3: SIPOC and As-Is Process Mapping.
Step 6: Determine Process Capability.
• Evaluate the capability of y (Calculate present Z value
for y).
Introduction to DMAIC - • Review Baseline Performance with set target and
Measure Phase revise Targets if required.
• Update project charter and obtain Management
Measure Phase of Six Sigma DMAIC Process consists of approval.
following activities:

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Introduction to DMAIC - Introduction to DMAIC -

Analyze Phase Improve Phase
Analyze Phase of Six Sigma DMAIC Process consists of Improve Phase of Six Sigma DMAIC Process consists of
following activities: following activities:

Step 7: Identify Vital Project X’s and statistically Step 8: Generate Potential Solution and Assess their
validate them. Failure Mode.
• Develop a Detailed business process map. • Develop “Feasible solutions’ to improve y.
• Analyze the process map to identify variation sources. • Determine operating limits of X’s.
• Determine the x’s (the potential causes). • Analyze cost-bene ts aspects of the feasible
• Prioritize and collect data on x’s. solutions.
• Quantify the relationship [Y = f(x)].
• Identify the vital x’s from the potential x’s. Step 9: Validate Pilot Solution(s).
• Validate the vital x’s. • Develop a pilot plan to validate selected solution.
• Conduct pilot run to con rm the performance results
of y with set targets [New Z value].
• Study the in uence of solution on the other measures
(y’s) and on overall measure (Y).

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• Evaluate nancial gains. occurred.

• Finalize the modi ed process ow. • Ensure ongoing process monitoring system is in place.

Step 10: Process Control and Risk Analysis. Step 12: Communicate to Business Results and sign off
• Develop risk mitigation plan and Process Control to close the Six Sigma Project.
Systems.
• Develop roll out plan and Implement solution.

Introduction to DMAIC -
Control Phase
Control Phase of Six Sigma DMAIC Process consists of
following activities:

S t e p 1 1 : E xe c u t e c o n t r o l P l a n a n d F i n a l i z e
Documentation.
• Monitor post implementation process performance to
ensure expected improvement in project y has

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 Next Steps For The Pursuit Of Growth

“ The Life You Want, The Marriage You Want... The
Family That You Want, Is Going To Be Fueled By The
Business You Build.”

— Russell Brunson, Author and CEO of ClickFunnels

How to Guarantee Your Position As A The economy most likely doesn't even know you exist;
up until now, you only operated as a small part of it, or
Successful Entrepreneur you're just getting started.

I feel that it's now my job to inspire you to actually
implement and execute what you have learned from this
program.
Let's face it: The big, vast economy is not going to
accommodate you with more opportunities and more
business without you taking some serious initial steps.
The government is not going to bail you out on your
dif cult days, and they certainly are not going to help
you to advance and conquer on your entrepreneurship
journey while you are setting yourself free.
Something tells me that you didn't pick up this program
because you are comfortable or satis ed with where

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 you're in your career and business. Chances are you
want to change or improve your career, build a side
h u s t l e , i n c r e a s e yo u r l eve l o f ex i b i l i t y a n d
independence, or you want to simply have much security
and more available options in life and business.
Otherwise, you wouldn't have nished this program.
Taking the time to pick up this program and study it
suggests that you truly do want to do something
different. For this, I acknowledge and congratulate you.
Well done to you on getting this program. I applaud you
for starting it and even more for nishing it. Now, if you
want the world to give you a standing ovation, put
lessons in it to work.
Interestingly, one of the most effective ways of
perfecting these disciplines is to help others attain
success and implement these actions themselves. When
people with common goals and motivations come
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together, they tend to learn faster and become a
support system for one another. So gather a group of
like-minded and highly driven people who refuse to live
by the norms of the mediocre. Assemble a group to
discuss this program and brainstorm it with you. Ask your
family, friends, and other like-minded entrepreneurs to
make this program as a team.
Then help one another apply and commit to using the
actions, hold one another accountable to these
commitments. This is the game, and it's the most fun
game that I've ever played. You now started getting the
skills you need to start building your empire or make it
bigger.
During this journey that we've been on together through
this program, we've covered a lot of things, but there
are still a lot I am going to provide you. Everything
you've learned in this program is literally the same thing
we would discuss and do with you if one of my SkillFront
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 advisors or I had a chance to y to you and sit in your
of ce. You now have access to the skills that will unlock
the path of success in your business and ultimately in
you life.
You've just learned what took me a
decade to discover and master
Tony Robbins often talks about how reading a course is
like taking a decade of someone's life and compressing
it down to a day.
My entrepreneurial journey hasn't been all sunshine and
roses. There have been many ups and downs, and I
fought hard to learn all these skills in this program you
have in your hands, and all other programs we have
released, and we're going to release. It is my honor and
privilege to be able to share them with you.
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I still remember the excitement as I learned each of
these skills and used them for the business for the rst
time. Whenever I meet someone talking about our
programs and skills they are learning from SkillFront, I
get slightly jealous about how much fun it would be to
rediscover all these skills.
At this moment, you just of cially became our latest
SkillFront Entrepreneur. I hope that you had as much
fun learning as I did when I started my own journey.
We will end this program now, and we will be happy to
serve you again with another program.
If you want to get up-to-the-minute ideas, keep yourself
informed about other SkillFront Programs like this one,
follow our pages on LinkedIn, Facecourse, Twitter, and
Instagram.
P.S. Don’t forget, you’re just one skill away…
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 Thanks For Learning
With The SkillFront
I want to thank you for taking the time with our program. We hope
you enjoyed studying this lecture as much as we had enjoyed while
we were creating it. It would be our greatest pleasure if we managed
to help you to learn a thing or two, which will guide you on your own
exciting entrepreneurship journey.

This program is a playcourse. Don’t just study it once and go on

with business as usual. Keep it handy and refer to it often. Having
these tactics and using them hand in hand will give you strategies to
grow your business and career geometrically.

And with that … Thank you so much once again, and I wish you all the
success you can dream of.
— Yeliz Obergfell, SkillFront

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