A4Q Foundation Certificate in Design Thinking

Design thinking is a creative, human centred approach to business innovation. It’s about applying the design mindset to business challenges, making sure solutions are customer-centric and focused on meeting the needs of all stakeholders.

The A4Q Design Thinking Foundation certification attests to an individual’s knowledge and understanding of this collaborative, innovation-seeking approach to problem solving and solutions development.

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Understand the theory and application of the Design Thinking creative and iterative process.
• Investigate and resolve business challenges, identify options and test proposed solutions using the Design Thinking innovative customer-centric approach.
• Empathize with the customer, unlock key insights, question assumptions, explore strategies and test ideas.
• Find innovative and relevant solutions

There are typically no formal prerequisites to take the A4Q Design Thinking certification.

Target Audience

This course is designed for:

• Product Owners
• Scrum Masters
• Product Managers
• Software Engineers
• UX Designers
• Designers

Introduction to Design Thinking (10%)

• Define the nature and characteristics of Design Thinking
• Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for Design Thinking
• Identify the core elements of the Design Thinking mindset

Fundamental Design Thinking Practices (15%)

• Describe the following Design Thinking practices:
  • Empathy and perspective analysis
  • Research and investigation
  • Divergent and convergent thinking
  • Experimentation and prototyping
  • Visualisation
  • Validation
  • Assumption identification and testing
  • Iteration and continuous learning

Design Thinking Approaches (20%)

• Demonstrate understanding of the Design Council approach
• Demonstrate understanding of the d.School 5 stage approach (Stanford)
• The design thinking macro and micro processes

Design Thinking Techniques (40%)

• Describe the structure and application of the following Design Thinking techniques
• Explain the rationale for using each of the following Design Thinking techniques (Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver) within the stated Double Diamond stage
• Describe and distinguish between; brainstorming and brainwriting, focus groups, user role and persona analysis, storyboarding.

Implementing Design Thinking (15%)

• Describe the relationship between organisational culture and the application of Design Thinking
• Distinguish between the elements of organisational culture using the Culture Pyramid
• Define cultural aspects that may inhibit or enable the use of Design Thinking
• Define the POPIT™ elements needed to support the implementation of Design Thinking

Exams and Assessments

The examination leading to the Foundation Certificate in Design Thinking:

• Consists of 40 multiple choice questions, each of which has a value of one mark. Candidates must gain 26 marks out of the available 40 marks (65%) in order to pass the examination and be awarded the certification.
• Has a duration of 60 minutes. If a candidate’s native language is not the examination language, the candidate is allowed an additional 25% (15 minutes) of examination time.
• Is a closed book examination and no reference materials may be used while sitting the examination.
• Assesses competence at levels 1,2 and 3 of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Domains. These levels assess competence as follows:
  • K1: remember
  • K2: understand
  • K3: apply

Hands-On Learning

This course includes:

• Instructor-led scenarios, helping develop design thinking skills.
• A detailed insight into Design Thinking concepts
• Being able to apply useful design thinking techniques to drive business innovation.