Learn about design thinking, a framework for creative problem-solving, during this short course hosted by the Professional Edge program. This course will be delivered over two consecutive Friday mornings for a total of 6 hours—dates and times below. Attendance is required in both sessions. No prior understanding of design thinking is necessary to join this course.

Register online

 
Course Dates

• Friday, January 21, 9:00 a.m.–noon, Chiles 125B
• Friday, January 28, 9:00 a.m.–noon, Lillis 440

 
Course Description

Steve Jobs famously said, "You've got to start with the customer experience and work backward to the technology." Design thinking is a framework for creative problem-solving—and, yes, product and service development—that places human beings and their lived experiences at the center of our efforts. It calls for us to work in ways that are more visual and imaginative, more questioning, more collaborative, more iterative, and more empathetic. When applied properly, design thinking (AKA human-centered design) yields solutions that are perfectly fit-to-purpose for the problem at hand: useful, usable, and delightful.

In this short, hands-on course delivered in three modules, you'll learn the basic elements of the design thinking framework and its relevance in a growing service economy. You'll walk away with six essential, universally applicable methods to get you started on your way to approaching every challenge in a more human-centered manner.

Methods covered include:

• Stakeholder mapping and ethnographic research
• Rose, thorn, bud, and affinity clustering
• Creative matrix and importance/difficulty matrix

 
About the Instructor

Patrick E. Sharbaugh is a senior program director at the LUMA Institute, a professional training and coaching organization. He guides global enterprise clients in integrating LUMA's framework of human-centered design methods across their workforce, helping them leverage design thinking to become more agile and collaborative, creative, and customer-centered. He designs and facilitates workshops, leads workforce transformation, and helps optimize product and service strategies for companies such as Accenture Global, Netflix, Starbucks, Microsoft, Standard Chartered, Prudential, and many others.

 
About Professional Edge

Professional Edge is an industry-informed collection of short courses, hosted by the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business, designed to help students develop cutting-edge skills essential in the modern job market. Build targeted, practical skills in an interactive and engaging format and distinguish yourself in a field of other job applicants. As a participant, you'll receive guidance from instructors informed by the latest business trends and leave with tangible tools and stories you can leverage in your career search.