PSCDSPPC1005 - Design Thinking for Technology Solutions

Imagine pouring your heart into designing and building a unique new prototype chair only to discover after you’re done that it is dreadfully uncomfortable to sit in. At some point, some creatives in the field of design stopped building things first and testing on people after and began reversing the process. The emerging methodology, popularly termed Design Thinking, put the user and the user experience first and foremost in the process.

Extending this philosophy even further upstream, design thinking explored systematic ways to discover the user’s wants and needs and to synthesize those into a clear and inspiring problem statement. Perhaps a chair wasn’t what was needed to begin with. Scientifically refined and bolstered by extraordinary empirical evidence, the design thinking methodology is perhaps the most powerful and widely applicable path to achieve innovation. This course teaches design thinking, that same approach to innovation championed by Stanford's d.school and Graduate School of Business and utilized by major management and applied consulting firms such as BCG, Frog, McKinsey, and Ideo.

As the economy adapts to rapid changes in globalization, workforce demographics, technological development, and social values, many of the tried and true “best practices” firms have come to rely on are threatened by the possibility of disruption. Think of Lyft, Uber, and others redefining the paid ride industry, the rise of the smart phone and the decline of its predecessors, or any other popular examples of disruption as just the tip of the iceberg.

The general trend is characterized by accelerating disruption across all levels of the market, from raw materials sourcing to customer service. Against this backdrop, the capacity to achieve something innovative (both creative and productive) is at a premium. This course teaches the foundation of that capacity. If you want to go after human-centered problems and maximize the speed and likelihood of discovering and proving a new best practice to replace the existing one, take this course.

You will exit this course capable of striding into a problem space of your interest (whether it’s the best way to please grandma or the best way to get up in the morning) and deploying a relatively high probability method to achieve innovation in that problem space. Your method will involve capturing the essence of the problem for a type of “user”, deriving a collection of possible innovations from your insights and problem statements, systematically pairing the list down to the winning ideas, and then trying them quickly and cheaply in an iterative and data-focused process.

Course Details

Managers and company leaders who want to gain a strong understanding of how their teams can perform optimally in a competitive landscape
Employees looking to create step changes in their contributions on the job
Job seekers who want to secure a place in the new economy
Ambitious students who want to get ahead in their preparation for joining the professional world and who want to carry out their academic efforts in the world’s platform of choice
Lifelong learners who care to understand beneath surface level those trends which are shaping the future

Prequisites for this course:

1. You must be comfortable with basic computer interaction.

Web browsing (search engines, tabs, scrolling, refreshing)
Copying and pasting content using your operating system's clipboard
Opening new windows in programs
Checking and sending email
Using Microsoft Excel and Word
Using Zoom to join video calls

2. You must bring positivity and an open mind. This course will explore alternatives to using spontaneity and to handling interpersonal dynamics. This exploration will require you to think and act in ways that may not traditionally be considered professional. While none of these ways will be offensive, you may still find yourself challenged outside of your comfort zone. We ask that you come prepared to embrace such challenges.

3. While no prior working experience is required, such experience is preferred. The course takes for granted that participants are familiar with the common cultural and operational norms associated with most professional settings.

Module 1: The science and culture of creativity.

To lower the inhibitions blocking our creativity and preventing us from associating our creativity with problem solving, we need both intellectual convincing and creative acculturation. We take the view that creativity is both an attitude and a skill, and we take the view that everyone is capable of cultivating both. The module includes several creativity-stoking exercises designed to overcome traditional social and professional barriers and free us to tackle challenges that non-creative thinking cannot overcome. The module also includes theoretical justifications for the exercises and empirical case studies tied to successful innovation.

Module 2: Empathy training for problem solving.

Relating to others and understanding their problems is the first major step in solving those problems, and it is also a common quality in successful innovators. This module covers how to discover and categorize problems by extracting and analyzing data from our observations of others. We will engage with methods to discover another person’s true pain points beyond the façade of words and emotions and to categorize and connect these pain points to derive insights useful in directing our creativity.

Module 3: Selecting and defining the problem.

The largest impediment to solving unprecedented problems is a lack of clarity in their definition. Teams striving for innovation require a method to reach consensus on clearly defined problems despite uncertainty. This module empowers us to organize data into robust, specific, and actionable problem statements that the whole team can agree upon. It will cover how to narrow down the scope in which the problem occurs, the stakeholders for whom the problem exists, and the specific repercussions that need to be prevented or reversed. We will explore how to select which of our discovered problems to address and a specific formula for representing it.

Module 4: Ideating solution directions, categories, and options.

Ideation is the beloved free-form production of numerous and often seemingly impractical ideas tethered to a clear problem statement. It is the activity most visually associated with the design thinking method. Whereas anyone can try ideation as a tool to generate solution options, they may confront unforeseen challenges in an under-defined problem scenario, with the wrong mindset, or without employing the right techniques. This module provides context and clarity to the ideation process, and it covers how to handle the results of the process productively in the context of iteration across the design thinking method.

Module 5: Rapid experimental prototyping.

Traditional research and planning yields little predictive power for the innovative venture, which is the main reason for the wide variability in the performance of these ventures and of the organizations backing them. The flexibility of some lean approaches allows the group to test new ideas quickly and cheaply to maximize progress and minimize resource consumption. This module will teach several successful approaches and provide compelling examples from the US market.

Module 6: Final project.

All participants will have the option to engage in a final project. Those who do so can then choose whether they would like to work in a group (recommended) or on their own. You will then pick a problem area and user demographic of interest. For example, you might choose to explore upper floor accessibility for the elderly, or perhaps online coursework engagement for third graders. Otherwise, you can select one of our pre-defined challenges. The scope of your project must be limited such that you have a reasonable plan for completing your project within a month after the end of the course. You will have access to the course instructor for regular consultation throughout this process. Upon completion of the project, you will have the opportunity to share it with others from the course and with the innovation community at large. This is highly encouraged, as one of the major indicators of innovation potential is clear evidence of a previous systematic pursuit in the form of a project summary.

Learn to leverage your creativity and discernment to narrow in on viable, unprecedented, and disruptive solutions to complex and challenging problems
Gain a solid foundation in design thinking, allowing you to master and direct your discipline and critical thinking as well as your spontaneity and random association
Establish continued practice in design thinking to make you a proficient innovator
Expedite data filtration and analysis tasks

What Will Set Me Apart?

Recognize and critically evaluate opportunities for innovation.
Boldly guide teams through complex problems lacking established best practices.
Create realistic proposals with reasonable expectations and palatable budgets and timelines.
Capture useful data through deliberate and calculated risk taking.

Financial assistance information can be found on Rice Financial Aid's Visiting and Continuing Education Students page.

The estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) is $950

Due to the high demand for courses, registrations are considered final as of 10 working days before class starts. No refunds will be issued after these dates and credits will not be given for future classes. No refunds will be granted for participants who miss a portion of a program. Refund requests before the deadline are subject to a 10% processing fee and must be made in writing to gscs@rice.edu. If books have been issued, the cost of the books and any shipping fees will be deducted. Refunds for credit card payments will be processed as credits to the accounts from which they were paid and may not appear as a credit until the following statement. Refunds for enrollments paid by check take up to four weeks to be processed and mailed by the Rice University accounting office. There is a $30 charge for any check returned for insufficient funds.