Coursera

Design Thinking: Discovery Tools (Coursera)

Offered by University of Virginia,
Design Thinking: Discovery Tools (Coursera)

Welcome Designers! In this course, you will learn to use the most important tools from the field of human-centered design to generate ideas: stakeholder mapping, journey mapping, personas, value-chain analysis, the job-to-be-done, ethnographic interviews, and more. Learn to connect with your customers on a human level, to get beyond what they say and observe what they do.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, the courses sees a team of design experts join Jeanne Liedtka to explore some of these critical tools that will spark your creativity and help you discover more about your potential clients.
Course 3 of 4 in the Design Thinking Specialization.

What You Will Learn

  • How to use a variety of important design thinking tools to generate ideas
  • How to connect with customers on a human level
  • How to think creatively in order to discover more about potential clients

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Stakeholder Map
This week, we'll examine the stakeholder mapping tool. This tool is especially critical as we tackle more complex problems using a design thinking methodology.

WEEK 2
Job to be Done and Ethnographic Interviews
This week, you'll learn about two important and related-tools: Job to Be Done and Ethnographic Interview Guides.

WEEK 3
Journey Map
This week, you'll learn about journey mapping, an important discovery tool. We'll show you what it is and why and how to do it.

WEEK 4
Personas
This week, we'll look at how we can use personas to find important differences that can help us surface specific sets of needs and wants.

WEEK 5
Value Chain Analysis
This week, we'll walk through the Value Chain Analysis process so that you can evaluate your value chain.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Innovation Management: Winning in the Age of Disruption (Coursera) Coursera
University of Leeds

Innovation Management: Winning in the Age of Disruption (Coursera)

Business

Not all organisations innovate, and those that do often find it difficult to initiate, develop, and deliver innovation consistently. Innovation management is crucial in leading valuable change and profits for companies of all sizes. This course will give you the skills for successful strategic innovation by exploring how the world’s most successful businesses use systematic processes to harness its power. You will learn about disruptive innovation and how businesses need to have an innovation strategy in place to stay ahead of the competition.

Sep 28th 2026
2 Weeks
Innovation Business Strategy Design Thinking
Details
Customer Insights: New Product Development Orientation (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Customer Insights: New Product Development Orientation (Coursera)

Marketing & Communication Business

This course is the first in the Customer Insights and New Product Development (CIPD) specialization. It will introduce learners to the tools and process of gathering customer insights for identifying and developing new product opportunities. Through an integrated set of five modules and hands-on project experiences, learners will acquire the knowledge and skills to turn their ideas gained from understanding customer needs into innovative new products.

Sep 28th 2026
4 Weeks
Design Thinking Customer New Product
Details
Design Thinking and Predictive Analytics for Data Products (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, San Diego

Design Thinking and Predictive Analytics for Data Products (Coursera)

Statistics & Data Analysis Data Science

This is the second course in the four-course specialization Python Data Products for Predictive Analytics, building on the data processing covered in Course 1 and introducing the basics of designing predictive models in Python. In this course, you will understand the fundamental concepts of statistical learning and learn various methods of building predictive models.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Data Analysis Design Thinking Data Products
Details
Design-Led Strategy: Design thinking for business strategy and entrepreneurship (Coursera) Coursera
The University of Sydney

Design-Led Strategy: Design thinking for business strategy and entrepreneurship (Coursera)

Business

This course is for entrepreneurial managers who are looking for tools and techniques to introduce exciting, innovative products or services to market quickly and informed by high-quality customer insights. It is applicable to a range of organizations from small-medium sized enterprises through to corporates, and across a range of industrial segments.

Sep 28th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Prototyping Strategy Entrepreneurship
Details
User Experience & Interaction Design for AR/VR/MR/XR (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

User Experience & Interaction Design for AR/VR/MR/XR (Coursera)

CS: Design & Product Computer Science

This second course in the XR for Everybody specialization looks at how to design new user experiences for XR technologies. The course provides learners with a design thinking mindset and equips them with a fundamental toolbox for creating XR applications using rapid prototyping. It starts with a broad overview of the complete XR design process, discussing different paths to becoming an XR creator, what is generally involved in making XR experiences, and how to best get started.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Prototyping User Experience Interaction Design
Details
Innovating with the Business Model Canvas (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Innovating with the Business Model Canvas (Coursera)

Management & Leadership

Have you ever gotten really excited about reading or writing a business plan? You might have started out excited, but I’m going to bet you didn’t stay that way. Let’s be honest- business plans are boring and mostly ignored. In this course, you’ll learn key tools from the worlds of design thinking and Lean Startup to approach the Canvas with thoughtfulness, focus, and above all a test-driven approach to business model innovation.

Sep 28th 2026
2 Weeks
Innovation Design Thinking Business Management
Details
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education for Teachers (Coursera) Coursera
Macquarie University

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education for Teachers (Coursera)

Education Social Sciences

Today’s learners need to know what artificial intelligence (AI) is, how it works, how to use it in their everyday lives, and how it could potentially be used in their future. Using AI requires skills and values which extend far beyond simply having knowledge about coding and technology. This course is designed by teachers, for teachers, and will bridge the gap between commonly held beliefs about AI, and what it really is. AI can be embedded into all areas of the school curriculum and this course will show you how. This course will appeal to teachers who want to increase their general understanding of AI, including why it is important for learners; and/or to those who want to embed AI into their teaching practice and their students’ learning.

Sep 21st 2026
5-12 Weeks
Education Artificial Intelligence Creative
Details
Vozes da Mudança Social (Coursera) Coursera
Laureate Education

Vozes da Mudança Social (Coursera)

Personal and Professional Development

Em tempos de instabilidade política, desequilíbrio ambiental e desigualdade social, jovens agentes de mudanças sociais estão liderando o caminho para solucionar os desafios da atualidade. O que você está fazendo para gerar mudanças positivas e sustentáveis? O programa Vozes da Mudança Social é um curso on-line, gratuito e de curta duração, elaborado e ministrado por oito jovens empreendedores.

Sep 28th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Personal Development Creativity Social Change
Details
Design Thinking for Data Professionals (Coursera) Coursera
Fractal Analytics

Design Thinking for Data Professionals (Coursera)

Statistics & Data Analysis Data Science

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of Human-Centered Design (HCD) principles and practices. Participants will analyze cognitive and emotional factors influencing decision-making, apply HCD principles in product development, and develop skills in effective user research. They will learn to generate ideas using brainstorming techniques and create prototypes for user testing. By the end, participants will demonstrate proficiency in creating user-centric products validated through testing.

Sep 28th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Decision Making Design Thinking Brainstorming
Details
Design Thinking for Innovation (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Design Thinking for Innovation (Coursera)

Management & Leadership Business

Today innovation is everyone's business. Whether you are a manager in a global corporation, an entrepreneur starting up, in a government role, or a teacher in an elementary school, everyone is expected to get lean – to do better with less. And that is why we all need design thinking. At every level in every kind of organization, design thinking provides the tools you need to become an innovative thinker and uncover creative opportunities that are there – you're just not seeing them yet.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Business Entrepreneurship Business Strategy
Details