Classroom/ Online: Yes/ No
Scheduling Date(s):
Note: Please click specific date for detailed venue and course fee etc.
Design Thinking to Unlock Business Value from Problems
Every unclear problem costs time, trust, money and momentum.
In today’s workplace, teams often lose business value not because they lack ideas or effort, but because they rush into solutions before clarifying what truly matters, who the real user is, and whose support is needed.
The result: repeated meetings, rework, slow decisions, stakeholder resistance, missed opportunities, and solutions that fail to gain traction.
Design Thinking to Unlock Business Value from Problems is a practical one-day course that helps participants use Design Thinking to tackle workplace and business problems with greater clarity, user relevance and stakeholder support.
Participants will learn how to uncover real user needs, reframe vague or solution-first issues, generate practical options, and test ideas before investing too much time, budget or effort.
Participants are not expected to become Design Thinking experts overnight. The goal is for them to leave with a practical toolkit to clarify, reframe, test and improve how they approach workplace and business problems — so they can reduce wasted effort and move work forward with greater confidence and stakeholder relevance.
In today’s workplace, teams often lose business value not because they lack ideas or effort, but because they rush into solutions before clarifying what truly matters, who the real user is, and whose support is needed.
The result: repeated meetings, rework, slow decisions, stakeholder resistance, missed opportunities, and solutions that fail to gain traction.
Design Thinking to Unlock Business Value from Problems is a practical one-day course that helps participants use Design Thinking to tackle workplace and business problems with greater clarity, user relevance and stakeholder support.
Participants will learn how to uncover real user needs, reframe vague or solution-first issues, generate practical options, and test ideas before investing too much time, budget or effort.
Participants are not expected to become Design Thinking experts overnight. The goal is for them to leave with a practical toolkit to clarify, reframe, test and improve how they approach workplace and business problems — so they can reduce wasted effort and move work forward with greater confidence and stakeholder relevance.
Objective
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Recognise why workplace problems often remain stuck — including unclear needs, rushed solutions, repeated rework and lack of stakeholder support.
- Ask better questions to uncover what users really need, instead of relying on assumptions or surface-level requests.
- Turn vague problems into clearer problem statements so they can focus on what truly matters before jumping into solutions.
- Generate practical solution options that consider both user needs and stakeholder realities, so ideas are more relevant, feasible and easier to support.
- Test ideas early and identify practical next steps to reduce wasted effort and improve the chances of stakeholder buy-in and business-relevant action.
Outline
1. Why Workplace Problems Get Stuck
Understand how unclear needs, rushed solutions, assumptions and weak stakeholder support can lead to repeated meetings, rework, slow decisions and wasted effort.
2. Design Thinking as a Practical Business Problem-Solving Toolkit
Learn the 5-stage Design Thinking process and how it can be applied to workplace and business challenges — beyond product design or creative roles.
3. Empathise: Understand What Users Really Need
Learn how to identify the real user, ask better questions, listen beyond surface-level requests, and uncover what truly matters before proposing solutions.
4. Define: Clarify the Real Problem
Practise turning vague or solution-first issues into clearer problem statements so effort is focused on the right problem.
5. Ideate: Generate Practical Solution Options
Explore ways to generate multiple ideas and prioritise options based on user relevance, feasibility and stakeholder realities.
6. Prototype: Shape Ideas into Testable Actions
Learn how to turn ideas into simple, practical drafts or prototypes that can be reviewed before significant time, budget or effort is invested.
7. Test: Gather Feedback and Improve Buy-In
Use feedback to check whether ideas are clear, relevant, practical and easier for stakeholders to support or adopt.
8. Apply: Turn Learning into Workplace Action
Consolidate the learning by identifying a workplace challenge, reframing the problem, exploring practical options and defining next steps for application.
Understand how unclear needs, rushed solutions, assumptions and weak stakeholder support can lead to repeated meetings, rework, slow decisions and wasted effort.
2. Design Thinking as a Practical Business Problem-Solving Toolkit
Learn the 5-stage Design Thinking process and how it can be applied to workplace and business challenges — beyond product design or creative roles.
3. Empathise: Understand What Users Really Need
Learn how to identify the real user, ask better questions, listen beyond surface-level requests, and uncover what truly matters before proposing solutions.
4. Define: Clarify the Real Problem
Practise turning vague or solution-first issues into clearer problem statements so effort is focused on the right problem.
5. Ideate: Generate Practical Solution Options
Explore ways to generate multiple ideas and prioritise options based on user relevance, feasibility and stakeholder realities.
6. Prototype: Shape Ideas into Testable Actions
Learn how to turn ideas into simple, practical drafts or prototypes that can be reviewed before significant time, budget or effort is invested.
7. Test: Gather Feedback and Improve Buy-In
Use feedback to check whether ideas are clear, relevant, practical and easier for stakeholders to support or adopt.
8. Apply: Turn Learning into Workplace Action
Consolidate the learning by identifying a workplace challenge, reframing the problem, exploring practical options and defining next steps for application.
Who should attend
This course is ideal for professionals whose work depends on solving problems through people, alignment and action. It is especially relevant for:
Participation Notes
- Leaders who need to deliver results through people, while managing pressure from above, resistance from below, and competing priorities across teams
- Emerging Team Leads who are preparing to move from individual contribution to leading through clarity, influence and stakeholder support.
- Professionals who need to solve complex problems, influence stakeholders, and secure buy-in quickly — without wasting time or damaging relationships.
- Expert Practitioners who need to translate deep expertise into clear recommendations, stakeholder confidence, and faster decisions.
- Business owners who need to tackle costly problems, align people quickly, and turn decisions into action before delays affect customers, revenue, or growth.
Participation Notes
- No prior Design Thinking experience is required.
- To support a high-value and application-rich learning experience, each run requires a minimum of 8 participants. This allows for meaningful peer exchange, group practise and feedback throughout the workshop.
Methodology
This workshop is highly practical, interactive, and focused on real workplace and business application.
Participants will learn through:
The session is designed to be engaging without overwhelming learners. Each activity is tied to practical workplace & business application, helping participants move from assumptions to insight, from misalignment to clarity, and from discussion to action.
Participants will learn through:
- Guided Design Thinking activities
- Practical workplace & business-based scenarios and discussions
- Empathy mapping and questioning practise
- Problem reframing exercises
- Group ideation and prioritisation
- Peer feedback and testing
- Reflection and action planning
The session is designed to be engaging without overwhelming learners. Each activity is tied to practical workplace & business application, helping participants move from assumptions to insight, from misalignment to clarity, and from discussion to action.
Profile of Aeriel New
Aeriel New is a Strategist, Trainer and Facilitator with over 20 years of hands-on experience in qualitative insights, problem-solving, stakeholder engagement and facilitation.
Her work centres on understanding people — their needs, motivations, pain points and behaviours — and translating these insights into practical business and learning outcomes. With deep experience across public and private sectors, Aeriel brings a people-centred and commercially relevant approach to helping learners uncover real issues beneath surface-level problems.
As an ACTA-certified facilitator, Aeriel is known for delivering highly engaging, practical and energising workshops with immediate workplace takeaways. Her facilitation style creates a safe, dynamic and thoughtful environment where participants can share openly, challenge assumptions, gain clarity and translate learning into action.
Participants can expect a practical, lively and outcome-focused session that helps them apply Design Thinking not as theory, but as a structured way to understand users, align stakeholders and shape solutions that support outcomes that matter.
