PDF Summary:Design Thinking for Training and Development, by Sharon Boller and Laura Fletcher

Traditional training approaches often fail because they prioritize business goals over the people who need to learn. In Design Thinking for Training and Development, Sharon Boller and Laura Fletcher present a method that puts learners first while still achieving business objectives. They explain how design thinking—a problem-solving approach originally developed for product design—can transform how you create training programs.

Boller and Fletcher outline a framework for understanding learners, defining performance challenges, and building effective learning solutions. You'll learn how to map stakeholder perspectives, create learner personas, and use iterative prototyping to refine your training programs. The authors also explain how to measure the impact of your solutions and ensure they deliver real results. This guide shows you how to design learning experiences that balance what learners need, what your organization requires, and what's realistically achievable.

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Using Logic Models to Plan and Evaluate Programs

The questions the authors suggest for identifying stakeholders and building a strategy blueprint are similar to the questions you’d ask when creating a logic model, a tool used in program evaluation to map out the relationships between resources, activities, and outcomes. Logic models help clarify the theory of change behind a program, making it easier to plan, implement, and assess its effectiveness. In Purposeful Program Theory, Sue Funnell and Patricia Rogers explain that logic models typically include inputs (resources), activities (what the program does), outputs (immediate results), and outcomes (short- and long-term changes). By answering questions about stakeholders, resources, activities, and desired outcomes, you can create a comprehensive logic model that guides your program from planning through evaluation. This approach ensures that all aspects of the program are aligned and that you have a clear framework for measuring success.

Next, let's explore gathering learner insights and understanding context, as well as defining performance challenges and aligning with business goals.

Understanding Learners and Context

To gather learner insights and understand context, Boller and Fletcher suggest employing experience mapping. These are visualizations of people's actions and the experiences they undergo as they perform them. They help you grasp the actions and methods a learner employs in a given situation. They describe the details of ordered events or tasks, including the challenges of each task. They can also show the peaks and valleys of an experience.

(Shortform note: Experience mapping can help you generate better learner insights because it can reveal hidden assumptions and misalignments between stakeholders’ mental models of the learning experience. According to Lia Patrício et al., experience maps function as “boundary objects” that integrate diverse perspectives and make explicit the discrepancies between stakeholders’ implicit assumptions about how value is created. By making these differences visible, experience maps enable a shared understanding of the learner context and support collaborative diagnosis and redesign of the learning experience.)

To construct an experience map, begin by listing the tasks at the top. Determine the level of detail needed for the tasks according to your goals for the map. Then, work through each row, including the steps needed to complete the task, how often the task is performed and what prompts it, the emotions associated with the task, common challenges and mistakes, and what the best performers do to ensure success. Group common themes to help process the ideas that are coming up.

(Shortform note: You might also include a row for the main touchpoint or channel used at each step. This can help you see how the surrounding environment shapes the experience. For example, if a step involves using a specific software, the experience might be influenced by the software’s interface and functionality.)

Another useful tool is learner personas, which are invented individuals that represent the characteristics, ideas, and feelings of learners. Personas enable you to synthesize the information you’ve gathered about your target audience and provide a means to maintain a focus on the learner for yourself and your project team when making design choices. They guide the design and substance of the educational experience by giving you a better understanding of learners' demographics, mindsets, contexts, and how they'll use and engage with the final training solution. To develop a persona, start by drafting a simple profile that includes demographic data and details about the individual's job environment.

(Shortform note: While personas are widely used in design thinking, some experts argue that they can be problematic. For example, a research paper by Christopher N. Chapman and Russell P. Milham suggests that personas can give designers a false sense of confidence in their understanding of users. They argue that personas can lead designers to believe they have a deeper understanding of users than they actually do, which can result in designs that don't truly meet user needs. Chapman and Milham suggest that personas can oversimplify complex user behaviors and motivations, potentially leading to design decisions based on assumptions rather than real user data.)

Then, conduct interviews, observe, or map out empathy to uncover what your learners are thinking, feeling, perceiving, and experiencing, as well as their motivators and pain points. Utilize the design meeting and interviews before the meeting to learn what should be incorporated into your personas, including how they will access training, the amount of time they can devote to training, when they will start applying what they've learned on the job, whether they need to repeatedly return to the content, the background knowledge that can be assumed, and how to make the learning experience most relevant to them. When you identify data that addresses these or other questions about design, compile them in a list for the persona. Select a "core statement" that encapsulates this learner. When the persona's details are complete, determine how to format it most effectively.

How to Map Out Empathy

Mapping out empathy means creating a visual representation of what you’ve learned about a typical learner. This is a quick way to get your team on the same page about who you’re designing for. To create an empathy map, start by drawing a large square on a whiteboard or piece of paper. Divide the square into four quadrants. Label each quadrant with one of the following: “Says,” “Thinks,” “Does,” and “Feels.” In each quadrant, write down key insights you’ve gathered about your typical learner. For example, in the “Says” quadrant, you might note common phrases or questions learners have. In the “Thinks” quadrant, jot down their motivations and concerns. The “Does” quadrant can include typical behaviors or actions, while the “Feels” quadrant captures their emotional state. Once you’ve filled in the quadrants, review the map with your team. Look for patterns and connections between what learners say, think, do, and feel. This visual summary helps everyone understand the learner’s perspective and needs. Use the empathy map as a reference point when making design decisions, ensuring that your solutions address the real experiences of your learners.

Defining Performance Challenges & Aligning With Company Objectives

Boller and Fletcher suggest that you should clearly define the issue to align training with business goals. A well-defined problem description allows the team to focus and set success metrics. It also prevents you from presuming that training offers the ideal answer to a problem related to performance. This enables you to determine which experiences will address the problem and to combine efforts into an ideal approach.

To do this, collaborate with the person who initially requested a solution to understand their viewpoint and hone the business issue. Then, get the learner's point of view.

The Origins of Performance Consulting

The authors’ approach to challenging the initial request and redefining the business issue with the requester and learners is rooted in the principles of performance consulting, a concept popularized by Dana Gaines Robinson and James C. Robinson in their book Performance Consulting: A Practical Guide for HR and Learning Professionals. The Robinsons argue that learning leaders should act as internal consultants, working with business leaders to identify the root causes of performance issues and develop solutions that address those causes. They recommend that learning leaders establish a formal consulting contract with the business leader, which outlines the desired organizational results and the roles and responsibilities of each party.

Developing, Evaluating, and Implementing Learning Solutions

Once you've understood learners and defined performance challenges, your subsequent move is to build, test, and implement learning solutions. Boller and Fletcher suggest building and refining prototypes to develop a design plan. A design blueprint summarizes the educational purpose, learning targets, and elements of every phase in the educational process.

To create a blueprint, start by making prototypes of your components for testing. Conduct testing with target learners and obtain feedback. Come to a consensus on changes, enhance, and construct the following version. Try out the complete solution, get input, and determine what revisions are needed. Then refine and complete.

The Power of Prototyping

Prototyping is a powerful way to create a design blueprint because it allows you to experiment with different ideas and features in a low-risk environment. Each prototype acts as a mini-experiment, helping you see what works and what doesn't before you commit to a full-scale solution. This approach is especially valuable because it reveals how learners actually interact with your solution, not just how you think they will. By testing a complete solution, you can identify and fix problems early, ensuring that your final design blueprint is based on real user behavior and feedback.

Next, conduct tests on user experience to ensure usability. This guarantees that users comprehend what they're meant to do when interacting with your solution. For digital approaches, UX testing entails watching learners as they try to carry out a range of tasks, evaluating how effortlessly they manage them without your assistance and without feeling confused. For classroom strategies, perform UX and playtesting on every game or activity to ensure your instructions are straightforward, the activities are comprehensible, and they fulfill your goals.

(Shortform note: While UX testing is a valuable tool for assessing usability, psychologists warn that it can be misleading due to the Hawthorne effect. This phenomenon occurs when people change their behavior simply because they know they’re being observed. For example, one researcher found that when workers knew they were being watched, they became more productive, regardless of any changes to their work environment. This suggests that the mere presence of an observer can influence how people act.)

Finally, implement the educational strategy with a detailed plan. Create a strategy detailing necessary actions, the way they'll happen, their timeline, involved participants, who is responsible for each phase, how you'll measure and report progress, and what risks you need to plan for.

(Shortform note: To put this idea into practice, consider adopting a change-management standard like the ADKAR model. In ADKAR, Jeffrey M. Hiatt argues that effective change in organizations is the cumulative result of successful individual change.)

Next, let’s explore how to use iterative prototyping to enhance and create solutions, along with methods for implementation, evaluation, and impact measurement.

Iterative Prototyping and Refinement

According to Boller and Fletcher, you should use iterative prototyping to improve and build solutions. They say the biggest lesson they've learned is to get input before developing the whole solution. This requires substantial revising and editing. Instead, they prefer to gradually guide individuals to a completed product. This chapter describes methods and resources to assist you in advancing from a first prototype to a final product.

(Shortform note: In management and product development, the idea of iterative prototyping and getting input before developing the whole solution is closely related to the Lean Startup methodology. This approach emphasizes the “build–measure–learn” feedback loop, where each iteration of a product is treated as an experiment to gather validated learning before committing to full-scale development.)

Implementing, Evaluating, and Tracking Results

Next, the authors suggest using evaluation models to measure how effective learning solutions are. Evaluation is the act of verifying that your learning solution worked. It allows you to confirm the effectiveness of your learning solution and pinpoint ways to enhance it. You can assess if the goals for learning were achieved, if the learning was applied in the workplace, and how the shift in performance impacted the organization.

There are several evaluation approaches you could use. The Kirkpatrick Model is a widely accepted industry standard that outlines a four-tier system for evaluating learning solutions: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. The Learning-Transfer Evaluation Model (LTEM) consists of eight levels, with the most valuable metrics at the highest point and the simplest (and least dependable) transfer measures at the lowest. The ROI Method by Phillips utilizes a five-tier evaluation method that ultimately translates outcomes into a monetary aspect.

Choosing the Right Evaluation Model

To determine which evaluation model to use, consider the most important decision that the evaluation will inform. In Utilization-Focused Evaluation, Michael Quinn Patton emphasizes the importance of aligning evaluation methods with the intended use of the results. He explains that the central guiding question of utilization-focused evaluation is, “What are the primary intended uses of the evaluation and who are the primary intended users?” By identifying the key decision that the evaluation will inform, you can select the most appropriate model and metrics to gather the necessary evidence. For example, if the primary decision is whether to continue funding a training program, the ROI Method may be most appropriate. If the focus is on improving learning transfer, the LTEM could be more suitable.

They also suggest creating a detailed plan for implementation to monitor development and mitigate risks. A detailed plan allows you to spot possible issues before they occur and keeps you from being overly optimistic about your resources and schedule. It also helps you ensure people take responsibility for their roles in the project.

Your plan should include the necessary actions, the process, the timing, the involved parties, who will be responsible for each step, how you'll assess and communicate progress, and what risks to anticipate.

The Downside of Detailed Plans

While a detailed plan can help you avoid problems, it can also make your project too rigid. In The Lean Startup, Eric Ries argues that detailed plans can lock you into a specific path, making it hard to pivot when you learn new information. He explains that detailed plans are often based on untested assumptions, which can lead to wasted resources if those assumptions turn out to be wrong. Instead, Ries suggests focusing on learning and adapting as you go. This approach allows you to respond to new information and make changes as needed, which can lead to better outcomes.