Design Thinking Innovation – Reflection on Learning Launch 

 Mlungisi Msibi , 05.02.2021 

 Challenge 

 As a DIGITAL FACTORY , the training and the development of skills , especially technical , of employees   remains among the main concerns of our company , knowing that the Digital IT domain is undergoing a   very important evolution at this time . 

 However , the planning and selection of classic training courses is subject to many constraints linked   mainly to circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic , the simultaneous unavailability of employees for a   specified period due of projects commitments , the uncertainty of quality of training and trainers and the   lack of visibility on the degree of learning per employee . 

 Selection 

 We decided to do a learning launch that allowed us to test very quickly & inexpensively whether we   were on the right track or whether we needed to pivot completely our thinking . Even if the outcome is   not as desired , the loss is minimal as the investment is low . A learning launch is in fact always beneficial :   you quickly know whether you are on the right track with something or whether you need to go back to   the drawing board and formulate based on the gathered insights a new or refined hypothesis . 

 Application 

 The online training seems to be the best solution that can meet our assumptions : 

 •   Respect for physical distancing ( directive of the Minister of Health ) 

 •   Flexibility in time , the employee can study in the evening , on the weekend 

 •   Multiple trainings in a short period of time 

 •   Monitoring progress and assessment of learning 

 The e - Learning platforms have become intuitive and interactive and offer a variety of confirmed courses   in partnership with internationally recognized universities as well as ways to monitor progress and   evaluate employees at the end of training . 

 We chose 2 online training platforms : Coursera and Pluralsight . In order to test the solution in action , we   created test accounts for 2 groups , the first composed of 2 project managers and the second of 4   developers . The trainings chosen are « Design Thinking » on Coursera for the 1st group and « DevOps » for   the other on Pluralsight and we started the training simultaneously with a period of one month to   finalize them . 

 Learning Launch 

 Solution to be 

 tested   e - Learning 

 Who   2 project managers and 4 developers 

 Where   online 

 How   Creating a test accounts on 2 e - learning platforms 

 Cost   NULL 

 Duration   1 month 

 As a member of the 1st group , the training of « design thinking » on Coursera was very satisfactory for   me in terms of content and quality , the learning path provides flexibility and content tracking of the   progress and the final exam allowed me to effectively evaluate the acquired knowledge . 

 Finally , all participants in this test confirm the reliability of the chosen platforms and the duration of one   month was enough to finalize the courses perfectly . We therefore decided to go to generalization by   creating accounts and collecting the training topics desired by the employees of the company in order to   develop a year training plan . 

 Insights 

 The learning launch has allowed us to reach the right solution with a total respect for the requirements   of our environment and in a rather limited period and with an almost negligible investment . In addition ,   during the experiment , we discovered other opportunities and benefits offered by the chosen platforms   that can improve the sense of learning and sharing within our institution . 

 Approach 

 The learning launch has proven to be very reliable and it is a tool that can be particularly useful to us to   test all new concepts in a safe way in terms of time and money . It will also allow us to solidify our new   solutions in order to live a successful implementation both on the concrete side and on the satisfaction   of the various stakeholders ! 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Mlungisi Msibi
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Design Thinking Innovation – Reflection on Learning Launch 

 Mlungisi Msibi , 05.02.2021 

 Challenge 

 As a DIGITAL FACTORY , the training and the development of skills , especially technical , of employees   remains among the main concerns of our company , knowing that the Digital IT domain is undergoing a   very important evolution at this time . 

 However , the planning and selection of classic training courses is subject to many constraints linked   mainly to circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic , the simultaneous unavailability of employees for a   specified period due of projects commitments , the uncertainty of quality of training and trainers and the   lack of visibility on the degree of learning per employee . 

 Selection 

 We decided to do a learning launch that allowed us to test very quickly & inexpensively whether we   were on the right track or whether we needed to pivot completely our thinking . Even if the outcome is   not as desired , the loss is minimal as the investment is low . A learning launch is in fact always beneficial :   you quickly know whether you are on the right track with something or whether you need to go back to   the drawing board and formulate based on the gathered insights a new or refined hypothesis . 

 Application 

 The online training seems to be the best solution that can meet our assumptions : 

 •   Respect for physical distancing ( directive of the Minister of Health ) 

 •   Flexibility in time , the employee can study in the evening , on the weekend 

 •   Multiple trainings in a short period of time 

 •   Monitoring progress and assessment of learning 

 The e - Learning platforms have become intuitive and interactive and offer a variety of confirmed courses   in partnership with internationally recognized universities as well as ways to monitor progress and   evaluate employees at the end of training . 

 We chose 2 online training platforms : Coursera and Pluralsight . In order to test the solution in action , we   created test accounts for 2 groups , the first composed of 2 project managers and the second of 4   developers . The trainings chosen are « Design Thinking » on Coursera for the 1st group and « DevOps » for   the other on Pluralsight and we started the training simultaneously with a period of one month to   finalize them . 

 Learning Launch 

 Solution to be 

 tested   e - Learning 

 Who   2 project managers and 4 developers 

 Where   online 

 How   Creating a test accounts on 2 e - learning platforms 

 Cost   NULL 

 Duration   1 month 

 As a member of the 1st group , the training of « design thinking » on Coursera was very satisfactory for   me in terms of content and quality , the learning path provides flexibility and content tracking of the   progress and the final exam allowed me to effectively evaluate the acquired knowledge . 

 Finally , all participants in this test confirm the reliability of the chosen platforms and the duration of one   month was enough to finalize the courses perfectly . We therefore decided to go to generalization by   creating accounts and collecting the training topics desired by the employees of the company in order to   develop a year training plan . 

 Insights 

 The learning launch has allowed us to reach the right solution with a total respect for the requirements   of our environment and in a rather limited period and with an almost negligible investment . In addition ,   during the experiment , we discovered other opportunities and benefits offered by the chosen platforms   that can improve the sense of learning and sharing within our institution . 

 Approach 

 The learning launch has proven to be very reliable and it is a tool that can be particularly useful to us to   test all new concepts in a safe way in terms of time and money . It will also allow us to solidify our new   solutions in order to live a successful implementation both on the concrete side and on the satisfaction   of the various stakeholders !
### Output: 