Hot tip #1
“Cooperation” is the traditional approach used for most Group assignments.
However, for this module, Groups need to work “Collaboratively”. The nature of
cooperation is that individual Group members are delegated specific tasks, which are completed independently of other members. All pieces are then assembled

together to generate a portfolio or final workpiece. Collaboration goes beyond
this as it builds upon collective work around “shared” inputs. Communication is
vital to allow Groups to cohere and co-create solutions to their chosen problem. This collaborative, communicative, iterative approach is central to the Design Thinking methodology required.

STEP 1 | The first step of your challenge is called “Problem Identification”; you have to choose a Topic. Groups are required to identify a real-world organisational problem, OR, a non-organizationrelated problem. Whatever problem you select, it must be current, pressing, and have negative
consequences for stakeholders, e.g., the organisation, its employees, or society at large.

For example, organisational topics could range from firms having difficulty in establishing innovationsupportive cultures within their organisations, to addressing the high staff turnover or attrition rates. Non-organisational topics could cover aspects such as the disposal of plastic waste, addressing
agricultural land degradation and advocating for healthy soil, etc. The range is wide, your challenge is to identify a topic that the group feels motivated to work on.

STEP 2 | Groups will dive down to develop a deeper, more empathetic understanding of their problem and the people who are impacted. Following on from a clear “Problem Definition”, the task requires that groups move ahead with ideas to solve the identified problem.
Step 2 requires groups to develop a creative (i.e., new, and useful) and practical idea on how to solve this problem. Groups must approach their solution using Design Thinking in combination with Lean Startup principles. This approach is reflected in the assessment criteria.

STEP 3 | Groups must create a lead-generation landing page in which they concisely depict their solutions to their target audience with a specific Call to Action. Driving real customers/end users to the landing page falls outside the scope of this assignment, though.

Hot tip #2 
This task requires that groups focus their solutions around a “human-centred”
problem, and the Design Thinking methodology is a most appropriate tool for
this. However, Design Thinking is not the most suitable approach for solving
purely scientific or engineering problems. Therefore, please avoid problems that require predominantly technical solutions.

Hot tip #3
Pick your topic wisely and discuss it with your tutor first to see whether it is a
suitable and appropriate topic for this course, before you proceed. Try not to
change your project once you have commenced because you will lose valuable
time in doing so. However, if you find early on that you have made the wrong
choice, discuss it with your tutor and make the switch quickly so you can make
up for lost ground.