Foundations of Design Thinking

This unit introduces foundational design thinking principles and human-centered research methods, emphasizing empathy, observation, and clear problem definition. Students will form teams, set project goals, plan work packages, and prepare low-fidelity experiments and communication protocols to transition into ideation and prototyping in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze user needs and stakeholder contexts by conducting structured empathy interviews and observations, and synthesize findings into clear problem statements
• Apply design thinking methods to define project goals, scope, and measurable success criteria, and assemble team roles and responsibilities aligned to those goals
• Demonstrate creation of low-fidelity test plans and rapid experiment designs, including selection of evaluation methods and preparation of test protocols
• Evaluate team communication strategies and produce a coordinated work package roadmap that ensures readiness for ideation and prototyping phases