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Afriskora Training Solutions
Business Analysis & Strategy

Design Thinking for Strategic Management

Apply human-centred design to strategy, services and policy: understand users, reframe challenges and prototype solutions.

  • 3 days
  • Classroom · Live virtual · In-house
  • Afriskora Certificate of Completion

Course overview

Strategies and services often fail because they are designed around internal assumptions rather than the people they serve. This course applies the design-thinking process to strategic and service challenges. Participants conduct user research, reframe the problem, generate concepts, build low-cost prototypes and test them, completing a full design sprint during the course.

Who should attend

  • Strategy and planning managers
  • Innovation and product teams
  • Public-sector service designers
  • Customer experience leaders

What you will be able to do

  • Use empathy research to understand users' needs
  • Reframe strategic challenges as opportunities
  • Generate and prioritise concepts
  • Prototype and test ideas quickly and cheaply
  • Integrate design thinking with strategic planning

Course outline

  1. Module 1Empathise and define

    • • Design-thinking mindset
    • • Interviews and observation
    • • Personas and journey maps
    • • How-might-we questions

  2. Module 2Ideate and prototype

    • • Idea generation
    • • Concept selection
    • • Rapid prototyping
    • • Service blueprints

  3. Module 3Test and scale

    • • User testing
    • • Iterating on feedback
    • • Embedding design in strategy
    • • Sprint presentations

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Design Thinking for Strategic Management course?

The course runs for 3 days. Daily start and finish times are confirmed in your joining instructions. Live virtual sessions cover the same programme.

Do I receive a certificate?

Yes. Every participant who completes the course receives an Afriskora Certificate of Completion with a unique code that employers can verify online.

Can this course be delivered in-house for our team?

Yes. We can run it at your premises or online for your team, on dates that suit you, and adapt examples and case studies to your sector.

How do I book and pay?

Request dates and we'll send available sessions and a quote. Bookings are confirmed by invoice and paid by EFT. South African clients can include the course in their Workplace Skills Plan.

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