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Human-Centered Design for Inclusive Innovation

Human-Centered Design for Inclusive Innovation

This course is part of Gender Analytics: Gender Equity through Inclusive Design Specialization

Instructors: Sarah Kaplan

10,246 already enrolled

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4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

175 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

1 week at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

97%

Most learners liked this course

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

175 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

1 week at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

97%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

Acquire tools for seeing the world as your users & stakeholders see it, with particular attention to marginalized or silent voices.
Identify latent human needs, looking beyond obvious patterns in quantitative and qualitative data to understand underlying drivers and motivations.
Reframe problems such that innovative and inclusive solutions may emerge through problem finding and not just problem solving.
Learn how to involve users & stakeholders in all stages of design—from ideating to prototyping and testing—& bring a learning mindset to the process.

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

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Assessments

5 assignments¹

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Taught in English

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Gender Analytics: Gender Equity through Inclusive Design Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

This course introduces the principles and practices of human-centered design (also sometimes called “design thinking”) which are essential for developing innovative and inclusive products, services, processes and policies. You will learn by doing, experiencing the design process through exercises and a mini-bootcamp.

In this course, you will learn about and experience key human-centered design practices: empathize, reframe, ideate, prototype and test. You will learn why human-centered design is a central component of Gender Analytics. You will develop skills in problem finding (and not just problem solving) by understanding users', stakeholders’ and beneficiaries' lived experiences. You will learn to co-create with diverse stakeholders, develop prototypes, and iterate to develop more innovative solutions. This is the third course of the Gender Analytics Specialization offered by the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. It's great on its own, and you will get even more out of it if you take it as part of the Specialization.

Module details

In this module, you will learn the basics of human-centered design. You will get a taste of working as a designer and walk through the steps of the design process in a mini-bootcamp exercise. At the end of the module, we will discuss how human-centered design fits well with Gender Analytics.

What's included

8 videos3 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt

8 videosTotal 39 minutes

Welcome to Human-Centered Design for Inclusive Innovation2 minutes
What to expect in the course4 minutes
Introduction to human-centered design5 minutes
Case example: Redesigning the patient experience11 minutes
60 minutes mini bootcamp7 minutes
Fit between Gender Analytics and human-centered design3 minutes
Case examples: Attracting, developing and retaining women8 minutes
Weekly recap1 minute

3 readingsTotal 41 minutes

Land Acknowledgement1 minute
Faculty biographies10 minutes
[Exercise] Your design challenge30 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Assessment 130 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Reflection10 minutes

Building empathy is the foundation of human-centered design. Problems we’re solving are usually not only ours, but are experienced by other people, such as our employees, customers, clients, colleagues, and others in the community. To truly understand the context and complexity of the problem we’re trying to solve, we need to focus on putting people first and directing our curiosity towards them. In this module, we’re going to dive deeper into the first phase — Empathize. You will learn how to build empathy for target customers or beneficiaries using design-thinking methods. This will help you gain rich insights for your design of a product, service, process or policy.

What's included

6 videos1 reading1 assignment1 discussion prompt

6 videosTotal 21 minutes

Introduction to empathy-based research2 minutes
The importance of understanding your users and stakeholders 5 minutes
Empathy-based research methods7 minutes
Considerations when conducting empathy-based research4 minutes
Week 2 assignment2 minutes
Weekly recap1 minute

1 readingTotal 120 minutes

[Exercise] Practice empathic research skills120 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Assessment 230 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Reflection10 minutes

Are you solving the right problem? It doesn’t matter how great your solution is if you are working on the wrong problem. It is important to take the time to understand what you are solving for. In this week, you will learn a few tools and techniques to dig beyond the obvious patterns and draw out key insights to identify the deeper problems to solve. At the end of this week, you will be able to reframe of the problem to solve for your design challenge.

What's included

9 videos2 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

9 videosTotal 31 minutes

Introduction to reframing2 minutes
Case example: Reframing the MRI challenge 5 minutes
Case Example: Reframing the wait for elevators2 minutes
How to reframe problems3 minutes
Open sorting: finding new patterns5 minutes
Closed sorting: need finding6 minutes
Closed sorting: using a journey map5 minutes
Generating fresh insights4 minutes
Weekly recap1 minute

2 readingsTotal 78 minutes

Are you solving the right problem?15 minutes
[Exercise] Practice reframing63 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Assessment 330 minutes

2 discussion promptsTotal 20 minutes

Reflection on the MRI case example10 minutes
Reflection10 minutes

Now that you have reframed your challenge, it’s time to start finding innovative solutions. In this module, you will learn how to apply an intersectional gender lens to the ideation process to create an inclusive design, build prototypes to test your ideas, and refine your solution based on feedback.

What's included

8 videos6 readings2 assignments1 peer review1 discussion prompt

8 videosTotal 19 minutes

Introduction to ideation, prototyping and testing1 minute
Ideation4 minutes
Prototyping4 minutes
Testing3 minutes
What comes after testing? Implementation1 minute
Weekly recap1 minute
Application Spotlight: Application to your project workplan 3 minutes
End of course recap2 minutes

6 readingsTotal 205 minutes

[Exercise] Ideation 45 minutes
[Exercise] Prototyping and testing90 minutes
[Exercise] Iteration after testing 20 minutes
[Worksheet] Human-centered design workplan for Gender Analytics project30 minutes
Congratulations!10 minutes
Effective Storytelling 10 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 50 minutes

Final reflection20 minutes
Assessment 430 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 60 minutes

Effective storytelling (optional assignment)60 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Reflection10 minutes

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Instructors

Instructor ratings

(46 ratings)

Sarah Kaplan

University of Toronto

6 Courses32,028 learners

Offered by

University of Toronto

Learner reviews

5 stars
86.28%
4 stars
9.71%
3 stars
1.14%
2 stars
0%
1 star
2.85%

Showing 3 of 175

Reviewed on May 31, 2021

This course is very interesting and useful. Thank You!

Reviewed on Apr 10, 2021

I complete the Gender Analytics Specialization and this course is by far my favorite. It made me reflect so much on my own behaviors. Thank for such an insightful course.

Reviewed on Jul 27, 2022

I have been so overwhlemed with designing a project. but this course made it seem so much easier. Thank you to everyone involved!

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