Design Thinking (DTMethod®)
Capability Development
Design Thinking certification (DTMethod®)
The Design Thinking Certification (DTMethod®) and associated certification are accredited by APMG International and created in conjunction with the Inprogress Design Lab.
Design encompasses a key aspect to every project, product, or solution. It determines how a consumer or business interacts with our product, and provides a key insight to how our organisation is perceived and interacted with. The key to design is often seen as a creative process, devoid of metrics and therefore more difficult to measure.
The DTMethod® combines the elements of three pillars, namely the DTModel, DTTools and DTRules & Roles.
The DTModel is a more structured breakdown of the design thinking process, often depicted as a visual representation of the stages involved in problem-solving. It helps teams understand the flow and connection between different phases of the process, guiding them in achieving the best outcomes.
The DTModel includes stages like Exploration, Creative and Construction. These stages reflect the journey from understanding the user and defining the problem, to brainstorming and refining ideas, and finally, turning those ideas into tangible solutions.
The DTModel serves as a roadmap that ensures teams maintain focus and stay on track throughout the design process.
DTTools are the specific techniques and resources that support the process. These tools help teams gather insights, generate ideas, prototype solutions, and test concepts. These tools encourage creativity, streamline the process, and ensure that solutions are built around the needs of the users. They are instrumental in facilitating collaboration among team members and in capturing feedback that guides iterative improvements.
DTRules & Roles refer to the guidelines and responsibilities that help teams work efficiently and cohesively during the design thinking process. The rules promote a mindset of openness, collaboration, and experimentation.
Common rules include embracing ambiguity, focusing on human-centered solutions, and iterating frequently.
Roles within a design thinking team can vary, but each role has specific responsibilities that contribute to the team's overall success. By adhering to these rules and clarifying roles, teams can ensure that the process remains structured, efficient, and collaborative.
Design Thinking promotes creativity, collaboration, and empathy in problem-solving. The process and it’s supporting best practices lead to user-centered, innovative solutions that are created by deeply understanding user needs and iterating through feedback.
The process fosters teamwork, encourages out-of-the-box thinking, and helps tackle complex challenges. Its structured yet flexible approach ensures solutions are practical, relevant, and sustainable, driving both creativity and efficiency.
Design Thinking (DT) is a problem-solving approach focused on understanding users' needs and creating innovative solutions. It involves five key stages: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. The process encourages collaboration, creativity, and iteration to develop human-centered solutions. DT emphasises deep user empathy, defining the problem clearly, generating diverse ideas, creating low-cost prototypes, and testing them with real users. This iterative approach ensures the final solution is both effective and aligned with user needs. By focusing on understanding and solving complex challenges, Design Thinking fosters innovation and delivers impactful, practical solutions.
- Reduces risk to organisations by helping to assess if project is feasible before doing all the work,
- Project cost reduction: fewer project changes resulting from stakeholders feedback,
- Increase the benefits obtained by products, processes and services created by project management processes that generally precede DT,
- Reduce the feeling of uncertainty about the duration and level of people's involvement in the process,
- Enable the incorporation of the method into the routine activity of projects,
- Prepare employees for effective work during Design workshops,
- Increase the possibility of designing a good Solution.
