Design	Thinking	
to	Meet	the	Performance	and	
Learning	Innovation	Challenge
Institute	for	Performance	and	Learning	
Toronto	Chapter
May	16,	2017
Tom	Gram
What’s	on	Tap
• What	is	Design	Thinking?	
• Design	Thinking	and	innovation	
• Design	Thinking	process	and	tools	
• Applying	Design	Thinking	to	performance	&	learning
What	is	Design	Thinking?
A	Mindset
A	human-centred approach	to	innovation	and	problem	solving	
that	draws	on	the	creative	process
A	Process
A	iterative,	step	by	step	framework	to	guide	teams	towards	
unique	products,	services	and	solutions		
A	Toolset
Methods	and	procedures	drawn	from	the	world	of	design	that	
facilitate	the	execution	of	the	process
HBR	Design	Thinking	Explainer
https://youtu.be/z3IbHLfcyWo
Design	Thinking	Targets	Innovation
Types	of	Innovation	
Product	Innovation	
form	and	function
Service	Innovation	
experience	design	
Process	Innovation	
effectiveness	and	
efficiency
Breakthrough	and	Incremental	Innovation	
EvolutionaryIncremental
Breakthrough Disruptive
Existing	
Offerings
New	
Offerings
Existing	Users New	Users
Global	Human	Capital	Trends	2016
Advances	in	
technology,	shifts	in	
demographics,	and	the	
constant	competitive	
necessity	to	upgrade	
skills	are	disrupting	
corporate	learning
P&L	and	Innovation
L&D	Innovation	Challenges	
Solutions/
Programs		
Process	 Outcomes	 Technology	Learning	
Approaches	
• Leadership	
Development	
• Compliance	
Learning		
• Onboarding
• Performance	
consulting
• E-learning	
development
• Role	of	L&D	in	
the	
organization	
• Impact	
• Learning	
• Performance	
• LMS
• Curation	
• Social	tools
• Digital	learning		
• Micro-learning
• Spaced-learning	
• On-demand	
performance	
support
• Content	
curation
What	is	your	Innovation	Challenge?
Table	Group	Activity	#1
Choose	a	common	P&L	problem	as	your	
innovation	challenge
5	Minutes
DT	Foundation >	Double	Diamond	Process
DESIGN
CHALLENGE
INSIGHT
SOLUTION
IDEATE
PROTOTYPE
AND
TEST
DESIGN
CHALLENGE
INSIGHT
SOLUTION
DT	Foundation	>	Double	Diamond	Process
The	Design	Thinking	Process	
DISCOVER
Conduct	
research	to	
develop	
empathy	and	
understanding	
of	your	users.
Combine	all	
your	
research	to	
generate	
insight to	
identify	a	
problem	
statement
Generate	a	
range	of	
possible	
solutions.
Narrow	ideas	
to	those	to	be	
tested	
Build	models	
and	mock	ups	
for	your	best	
solution	ideas.		
Return	to	
your	users	
for	
feedback on	
your	
prototypes	
Deploy	
winning	
solutions	and	
continuously	
evolve
Empathize,	Discover	and	Define	
DISCOVER
Understand:
Thoughts	
Behaviors	
Emotions
Experience
• Site	visits		
• Observation
• Interviews
• Task	analysis	
• Artifact	analysis
• Cognitive	walkthrough	
• Empathy	Maps	
• Personas
• Journey	maps
• Experience	maps
• Scenarios	
• Value	Chain	analysis	
Capture:
Meaning	
Insights	
POV
Empathy	Mapping
Journey	
Mapping
My current
compliance
learning
experience
I’m thinking
I’m feeling
My desired
compliance
learning
experience
• I want to know the objectives of each course
so I can prepare myself for learning.
• I want a discussion with my manager before
each course so I know what I should pay
attention to.
I see the compliance courses on my learning plan. I
make time to complete them before they’re due.
With all the training I’m taking, I’m glad my
manager told me she will discuss the compliance
requirements with me after I complete the training.
I’m taking a lot of different elearning courses,
these days. They are starting to blur together. Some
of them are so long. There seems to be a lot of
repetitive content.
I like the courses. The scenarios keep my interest
and help me feel more confident that I can do
what’s needed when I’m back on the job.
The tests actually seem a little too easy!
I have a few questions that I ask the facilitator. She
was very helpful. I wish there were more time to
debrief the content in class.
I’m glad there are policy documents I can refer to if
needed, but they seem hard to find.
• I want to know the repercussions of non-
compliance so the lessons are easier to
remember.
• I want to know if I answered a question
wrong immediately so I can learn from my
mistakes.
• I want a summary to refer to after completing
each course so I can use it as a reference.
• I want to discuss the content of the learning in
class or role-play some scenarios to practice
and clarify my understanding.
• I want to discuss compliance topics on social
media so I can learn from other employees’
experiences.
I wonder what I’ll learn in this
course. Will it be difficult? What
happens if I fail?
Didn’t I see this same example in a
different course?
Will I act correctly in a real compliance
situation?
How do I get help when I need it?
Before During After
Bored
Interested
Overwhelmed
Eager
Optimistic
Anxious
Nervous
Proud
Confused
Nilani
Newbie
Nilani (26) is a new employee currently undergoing training. She’s very active in learning about the organization
and her job responsibilities so she can do her best at work. She’s is excited to start and wants to make a great
impression. Nilani is taking several courses at once, which makes it difficult to remember all the content. She’s
heard through her manager and others that compliance is very important so she must pass the test at the end of
each course. This makes her a little nervous, but she is determined to do well.
Design	
Challenge:
Re-Imagine	
Compliance	Training		
Design	Thinking		
Tools:
• Stakeholder	
Interviews
• Focus	groups
• Personas
• Learning	
Experience	Map
Table	Group	Activity	#2	
Develop	an	empathy	map	or	
experience	map	for	your	selected	
P&L	problem	
15	Minutes
• Silent	idea	generation	
• Group	brainstorming	
• Generating	alternatives
• Gathering	diverse	points	of	view
• Suspending	judgement	
• Clarifying	and	Summarizing	ideas
• Evaluating	alternatives
• Sorting	ideas	into	themes	
• Visualizing	ideas
• Exercising	judgement	(voting	etc)	
DISCOVER
Ideation	
Diverge Converge
1.	 2.	
3.	 4.
Smart	Ideation	
1. Facilitated
2. Display	your	design	challenge	
3. Individual	idea	generation	(post	it’s)
4. Each	member	reads	and	explains	their	ideas	and	posts	to	board
5. Repeat	for	each	member
6. Discuss	and	organize	into	common	themes	
7. Vote	and	decide
Table	Group	Activity	#3	
Ideate	a	potential	solution	for	your	
P&L	issue
15	Minutes
• Develop	ideas	and	
concepts	into	tangible	
solutions
• Test	with	actual	users
• Pilot	testing		
• Iterate	to		Minimum	
Viable	Solution	(MVS)
Prototype	and	Test	
DISCOVER
• Feedback	panels	
• Paper	prototypes
• Digital	prototypes		
• Visualizations
• Role	playing	
• Experiments	
• Hypothesis	testing
Iterative	Prototype	Cycles
Iterative	Prototyping	in	eLearning
DISCOVER
• Deploy	MVS
• Customer	Co-creation
• Learning	launch
• Pivot	or	persevere	
• Evaluate	and	refine	
• Continuous	Improvement		
Implementation
Variations:	The	Design	Sprint
Applications	to	Performance	and	Learning	
• Add	deep	learner	understanding	and	empathy	to	our	analysis	process	
• Break	out	of	conventional	responses	to	learning	issues	throughout	the	
learning	cycle
• Involve	learners	and	stakeholders	in	co-creation	of	programs	
• Re-examine	the	purpose	and	value	of	traditional	evaluation	methods
• Re-imagine	the	the	use	of	current	technologies	to	meet	learner	needs
• Re-design	organizational	structures	to	better	support	both	employee	and	
business	needs
• Design	an	organization	where	learning	is	built	into	workflow	
• Keep	designing	and	prototyping
Design Thinking to Meet the Learning and Performance Innovation Challenge

Design Thinking to Meet the Learning and Performance Innovation Challenge