203 Using Design Thinking to Take Control of Your Project
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Tuesday, March 26
Instructional Design
Salon 9
We’ve all been there: the dreaded project meeting where stakeholders tell you exactly what to create and how long it should be. You work very hard over several weeks crafting the product they expect. The result is a training solution that is late, bloated, over budget, and failing to change employee behaviors. With scenarios like this one, it’s no wonder that, according to Harvard Business School, only 10 percent of corporate training is effective. This problem led one team to hunt for a solution that would revolutionize the process of designing learning experiences.
In this session, you will learn how a team at Holiday Inn Club Vacations successfully reimagined the way they engaged stakeholders using a proven methodology: design thinking. You will explore how this model empowers learning designers to take control of the design meeting and create solutions that are compelling and meaningful, and that yield positive business results. You will learn how it all begins by tapping into the stakeholder’s emotions using empathy, which will build mutual trust and understanding. Then you will explore how to clearly define a single performance objective, and the employee behaviors that must change to achieve that goal. Finally, you will practice the art of ideating solutions, crafting rapid prototypes, and testing for desired results.
In this session, you will learn:
- Why design thinking is an effective method for crafting learning experiences that will change behaviors and move the performance needle
- How connecting to your stakeholders’ emotional needs will lead to stronger relationships and collaboration throughout the project life cycle
- How defining a strong performance objective keeps the project on track and your stakeholders focused on the same goal
- How to crowdsource a pool of ideas and turn them into working prototypes that match the performance objective
Audience:
Designers, developers, managers, and other organizational development professionals

Marco Madrazo
Head of Learning Experience Design
Holiday Inn Club Vacations
Marco Madrazo is the head of learning experience design at Holiday Inn Club Vacations. In this role, he has been a key partner in the creation of innovative talent development initiatives, including the newly formed EXPANSIONS Leadership Development Series. Prior to joining HCV, Marco was the program manager for US retail training at Microsoft. In this role, he supported the launch of flagship products such as Office 365 and Xbox One. Throughout his 16-year career in learning and development, Marco has crafted numerous award-winning programs that have increased competence, confidence, and advocacy.