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Description

Design Thinking: Framing the Real Problem, Generating Ideas and Prototyping

Move from a poorly framed problem to a testable prototype in a single day of collaborative work

  • 1 day — 7 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Improvement projects often start with a solution that has already been chosen. Teams build it, roll it out, and adoption never follows because the real need was never verified with the people concerned. The time lost is then counted in months.

One day to work through the full approach: understanding actual usage through interviews and observation, reframing the problem as an open question, generating ideas as a group, selecting two of them and making them tangible as a paper prototype tested on the same day. Participants work on a real case brought by one of them.

Learning objectives

  • Conduct a short interview to identify a user's real need
  • Reframe a problem as an open question
  • Facilitate idea generation and then sort ideas against shared criteria
  • Build a simple prototype and test it with users

What makes this programme different

The complete journey from problem to prototype within a single day
Work on a real case brought by the participants
Paper prototypes tested in session by another sub-group

Programme

1Framing the right problem

Understand before you propose

  • The gap between the stated problem and the real need
  • User interviews and on-site observation
  • User journey mapping and friction points
  • Formulating the problem as an open question

2Generating and selecting ideas

Quantity first, quality second

  • Ground rules for group idea generation
  • Techniques for prompting and building on ideas
  • Clustering ideas into families
  • Shared selection criteria

3Prototyping and testing

Making the idea tangible

  • Levels of prototype, from paper to mock-up
  • Rapid build using simple materials
  • Test protocol with users
  • Gathering feedback and deciding next steps

Who is it for

Project managers · team managers · quality officers and anyone involved in designing a service · a tool or a process.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.