Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Design Thinking at Trenton State College...

Liedtka, Jeanne M.

Case

Design Thinking at Trenton State College: Designing a Faculty Retirement Experience

Liedtka, Jeanne M.

S-0241 | Published May 22, 2015 | 6 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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This field-based case is one of three available case-based simulations that can be used as the basis for a multisession course on design thinking (alongside “Design Thinking at Arena Industries: Designing an Employee Wellness Approach” [UVA-S-0240] and "Land O'Lakes: The Search for Growth" [UVA-S-0248]). A teaching note for all three cases, “Design Thinking Course Module (TN)” (UVA-BP-0550TN), offers additional essential pedagogical tools to the course instructor—including several hours of video content and a set of posters for each case that summarize ethnographic interview findings. Altogether, this set gives students a unique opportunity to get case-based hands-on practice with design thinking tools. The course emphasizes deep user understanding, iteration, and a focus on the possibilities as a way to enhance value creation for stakeholders. The vice provost for academic affairs at Trenton State College (TSC) is tasked with designing a new retirement experience for faculty at the college. TSC, a public institution serving the state of Missouri, employs more than 1,500 full-time faculty and is facing a wave of upcoming retirements and an existing process that few feel is working well. Students play the role of a member of the provost's office who has been charged with reviewing the experience of retirees and recommending to TSC's leaders ideas to improve the retirement experience for faculty. For those interested in adding self or peer assessment to students’ design thinking learning journey, Professor Jeanne Liedtka, working with coauthors Karen Hold, Jessica Eldridge, and Treehouse Design, has synthesized more than a decade of research at Darden to create the Innovation Impact Assessment. This tool will help students identify personal development opportunities and provide them with practical guidance (in the form of detailed individual feedback reports) to accelerate skill development. The instrument identifies a set of five core competencies based on 44 behaviors that successful design thinkers have in common. It is available for individual use and bulk purchase via Darden Business Publishing at this link: https://store.darden.virginia.edu/innovation-impact-assessment.