Showing stakeholders that learning designers are not just ‘order-takers’




A recurring problem for learning experience designers (and other L+D professionals) is being treated as ‘order takers’ - people to whom stakeholders come to request - or ‘order’ - a specific solution, such as ‘we need a course on x’. We often long for stakeholders to come to us with a set of problems to be solved, and an open mind, and allow us to analyse and explore those problems before agreeing on a solution.

(For example: https://academyocean.com/blog/post/charles-jennings-l-d-teams-need-to-stop-being-order-takers)



I think the ‘double diamond’ model of design thinking is a good way to communicate the fact that we need time to explore a problem properly before designing a solution. The diamond shape of both the ‘research’ and the ‘design’ stage symbolise the need for the designer to think expansively and creatively before narrowing thinking down to a conclusion both when identifying the problem, and when identifying the solution. (As the diamonds increase in width before shrinking again, when read from left to right)


Perhaps try showing it to stakeholders to show that exploring the problem is as important - and creative - as exploring possible solutions.


Picture: my simplification of the double diamond model. The Double Diamond by the Design Council is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license


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