NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
NUS Business School
Department of Marketing
BMA5530 Design Thinking & Business Innovations
Lecturer
:
Assoc Professor (Adjunct) Neo Kok Beng
Helen Ho Lai Ching (Instructor)
Session
:
Semester I, 2011/2012
Venue/Time :
TBA / Please see schedule.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
This module is developed and delivered with the support of DesignSingapore Council
(Dsg), Ministry of Information, Communication & the Arts (MICA).
We would like to appreciate the contributions by late A/Prof Milton Tan, founding
Director of DesignSingapore Council and professor of architecture, who has participated
actively in the design of this module.
This module aims to raise the understanding of the significance of Design Thinking to the
business, engineering and design sectors.
It would provide:
a) insights on the cognitive issues of Design Thinking at the personal level;
b) a broad review of the practice of Design Thinking in various fields including
engineering, info-comm, media, industrial design, and architecture;
c) an experience of some of the processes and methodologies needed to take a
creative idea all the way to market. It does these through a series of lectures, case
studies and a design studio.
Design-driven innovation is identified as an important marketing strategy in the creation
and development of innovative products and services by the Singapore’s Economic
Strategies Committee. Dsg is the national agency dedicated to the promotion of design
innovations and the exploitation of design for economic competitiveness.
The module will be delivered in 2 sections: Intensive Lectures/Workshop & Industry
Practicum (Design Studio).
Lectures & Workshops (Weeks 1 – 4)
There will be 3 lectures to cover the theories and methodologies from week 1 – 3.
There will be 2 full-day (9am – 4pm) workshops (Design Studios) on Sundays of
weeks 1 & 2
Term test is based on a take-home case and will be on week 4.
Industry Practicum for Design Thinking (Weeks 5 – 14)
An integral component for this module is the 10-weeks Industry Practicum for Design
Thinking. Students will form groups to undertake an industry innovation project that aims
to deliver the next breakthrough in products and services. The students will receive the
design brief and experience the various stages of design thinking methodology: covering
ideation, product mapping, scenario mapping & storyboarding. Projects would include
banking services, industrial product and consumer goods.
Industry Networking
Students will attend industry networking sessions organized by DesignSingapore.
Case Studies
There are 2 cases for each lecture. DesignSingapore cases will be discussed on IVLE
Forum before class, followed by interaction with guest speakers (from the company
featured in the case) during class. HBS cases will be discussed in class via HBS case
learning methodology. Assigned group will present the HBR cases.
COURSE ASSESSMENT
Class Participations
Mid-Term Test
Design Studio (Industry Practicum)
Insights Paper (Industry Practicum)
20% (Individual)
20 % (Individual)
50% (Group)
10% (Individual)
COURSE MATERIALS
There is no textbook for the course.
Readings and case studies will be used extensively throughout the course.
REFERENCE BOOKS
Change By Design: How Design Thinking Transform Organizations & Inspires
Innovation, 1st Edition.
Tim Brown
HarperCollins
ISBN 978-0-06-176608-4
The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage
Roger Martin
Harvard Business Press
ISBN-978-1-4221-7780-8
Design-Driven Innovation
Roberto Verganti
Harvard Business Press
ISBN-10:1422124827
Experimentation Matters: Unlocking the Potentials of New Technologies for Innovation
Stefan H. Thomke
Harvard Business Press
ISBN-1-57851-750-8
Serious Play: How the World Best Companies Simulate to Innovate
Michael Scharge
Harvard Business Press
ISBN-10: 0875848141
Design-Inspired Innovation
James Utterback
World Scientific Publishing
ISBN-10: 9812566953
Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value
Thomas Lockwooed
Design Management Institute
Allworth Press
ISBN 978-1-58115-668-3
SCHEDULE
(**) Proposed Speaker
Session Topic
Part A: Design Thinking Lectures / Workshops
Wk 1
Design Thinking & Competitive Strategies
10 Aug
(Wed)
Guest Speaker
Jeffrey Ho
Director, Dsg
Readings
Dsg II: Strategic Blueprint for Design
https://www.designsingapore.org/pdf/Dsg_II_Strategic_Blueprint.pdf
Design Thinking
Tim Brown
Harvard Business Review, Jun 2008
Welcome to the Experience Economy
Joseph Pine & James Gilmore
Harvard Business Review, July 1998
Spark Innovation Through Emphatic Design
Dorothy Leonard & Jeffrey Rayport
Harvard Business Review, Nov 1997
The Art of Integrative Thinking
Roger Martin
http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/rogermartin/the%20art%20of%20integrativ
e%20thinking.pdf
Video
Tim Brown on Design Thinking
Stanford Business School Executive Series
Wk 2
Design Thinking & Development Process
17 Aug
(Wed)
Readings
The Business of Design
Bill Breen
Fast Company, April 2005
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/93/design.html
Reinventing Your Business Model
Mark Johnson, Clayton Christensen, Hennng Kagermann
Harvard Business Review, Dec 2008
Enlightened Experimentation: The New Imperative for Innovation
Stefan Thomke
Harvard Business Review, Feb 2001
Reverse Engineering Googles’ Innovation Machine
Bala Lyer & Thomas Davenport
Harvard Business Review, Apr 2008
Industry
Consultant
Video:
ABC Deep-Drive
Case
Hyflux: Clear Water, Clear Design
Lau Geok Theng, Denise Liu & Jonathan Ho
DesignSingapore
IDEO Product Development
Stefan Thomke & Ashok Nimgade
HBS Case 9-600-143
Wk 3
24 Aug
(Wed)
Design Thinking & Business Transformations
Readings
Connect & Develop: Inside Proctor & Gamble’s New Model for Innovation
Larry Hudson & Nabil Sakkab
Harvard Business Review, Mar 2006
Open Innovation & Strategy
Henry Chesbrough & Melissa Appleyard
California Management Review, Vol 50, No1, Fall 2007
Cases
Traditional Remedies Made Contemporary:
Redesigning Eu Yan Sang
Lau Geok Theng, Denise Liu & Jonathan Ho
DesignSingapore Council
Design Thinking & Innovation at Apple
Stefan Thomke & Babara Fernberg
HBS Case 9-609-066
Wk 4
31 Aug
(Wed)
Wk 2
21 Aug
(Sun)
Mid-Term Test
The test is based on a case study that will be distributed in class.
Design Studio 1
A full-day workshop from 9am – 4pm.
Topics include observations, experience mapping & personas.
Wk 3
28 Aug
(Sun)
Design Studio 2
A full-day workshop from 9am – 4pm.
Topics include ideation (brainstorming), prototyping & experimentations.
Industry
Practitioner
Part B: Industry Practicum
Weeks
5 – 14
Industry Practicum for Design Thinking
Student groups will be working on industry projects.
Week 4: Project Kick-off Meeting with Client/Sponsor
Week 14: Presentation/Submission of Final Report
Students will be formed into groups based on disciplines, local/exchange
and interests.
Each group acts as Innovation Consulting Firm using the design
thinking methodology to develop innovative solutions for the clients. They
will scope project objectives and the milestones and schedule.