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Design-Led Strategy: Design Thinking for Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship

Are you looking for tools and techniques to introduce exciting, innovative products or services to market quickly and informed by high-quality customer insights.

About this Course

This course is for entrepreneurial managers who are looking for tools and techniques to introduce exciting, innovative products or services to market quickly and informed by high-quality customer insights. It is applicable to a range of organisations from small-medium sized enterprises through to corporates, and across a range of industrial segments.

The problem this course helps address is the constant pressure managers face to be innovative and introduce novel products and services for their customers. However, many creative ideas get ‘stuck’ in the boardroom or are subject to intra-organisational tensions or group think. This course provides methodologies to break through these challenges. 

We build on the widely known concept of design thinking but update it and apply it to advance business strategy and entrepreneurship. Over five weeks you will learn what ‘design strategy’ is, how it differs from traditional design thinking and business strategy, and how it can be used to improve existing products or services in your business, or introduce breakthrough ideas. 

About this Course

We will also provide an exclusive, deep-dive into the practical application and impact of these strategies in one of Australia’s newest, most innovative financial institutions, UBank, and the global re-insurance giant, Swiss Re.

Through conversations with their Senior Executive Leadership Teams, including UBank’s CEO, we will explore how they have embedded innovation through design thinking. By the end of this course, you will have a set of tools to inform product design and development for your own start-up, or to extend the product roadmap of an established organization.
Overview

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

What is design-led strategy?

This module gives you an introduction to design strategy. We will look at design thinking and the tools behind it and explore the elements of corporate strategy. Then, we will explore how design strategy can be used as a vehicle to communicate corporate strategy.

Primary market research and problem statement definition

In this module we'll look at how to plan and conduct primary market research and how to analyse the results. We'll then step through how to craft a meaningful problem definition statement.

Prototyping and product ideation

In this module, we look at creating usable models and frameworks for gathering user feedback and testing solutions, through prototypes and a minimum viable product.

Design-led strategy in practice: Corporate case studies

In this module, you will be introduced to two practical case studies which demonstrate how two Australian based companies are using design strategy to innovate and solve problems every day.

Course wrap-up

In this module, we will consider what the course has meant for you and how you may be able to use design strategy in your own business context.
This is great course. It was informative, relevant to today's way of working and it was enjoyable. Highly recommended.
— Grace
It's really an excellent course for UX professionals. It takes deep insight from the design thinking process to Design Strategy to Corporate Strategy. 
— Subeer K
This course is a very useful and excellent course I would say. Well comprehend and I love the part which brings in real life examples of how Swiss Re and Ubank used the design strategy.
— Natalie
It's a very valuable and professional course. If you are starting your own business this course will help you to solve many doubts on the process of problem resolution and planning.
— Ricio
Good course, very consistent with a new approach to define strategy with design thinking method. the tools are very useful.
— Omar A
Great Introduction to Design thinking with well-made and direct to the point videos, having Dr. Harris as a great communicator.
— Alejandro B

Resources

Ready to use worksheets and templates to help you craft your perfect business strategy!
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Meet the instructor

Eric Knight

Eric Knight is a Professor of Strategic Management at Macquarie Business School and an Honorary Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Sydney Business School. Eric’s research focuses on corporate strategy and regional innovation from a social practice theory perspective.

He has published widely in prestigious journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Economic Geography, Economic Geography, Regional Studies, and Organization Studies, and has received several awards and fellowships for his research, including a Fullbright fellowship to Stanford University.
Patrick Jones - Course author

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