Design Thinking: Ideas to Action (Coursera)

Design Thinking: Ideas to Action (Coursera)

Welcome, designers! In this course, developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, you will carry on the design thinking process begun in our Insights to Inspiration course, beginning with the eighth step in our 14-Step process, bringing the ideas you developed in our Insights to Inspiration course to action. We start this course by asking, “What if?” We’ll use brainstorming in a new and creative way to generate solutions to your challenge, and then learn to take those raw ideas and synthesize them into important concepts. By asking, “What wows?” and “What works?” you will learn to move from ideation to experimentation.

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

Throughout this journey, you will gather critical skills that will enable you to turn your ideas into action that can have a profound impact on you and your organization.

Course 2 of 4 in the Design Thinking Specialization.

What You Will Learn
How to turn insights gathered during the design thinking process into action
How to generate solutions and turn ideas into key concepts
How to move from ideation to experimentation

Syllabus

WEEK 1
What If?
Welcome to the course! In this first week, we will continue our 14-Step process with Steps 8 and 9, in which you will brainstorm ideas and develop concepts related to your chosen project.

WEEK 2
What Wows?
Welcome to Week 2! This week we move from hypothesis generation to hypothesis testing and from idea generation to idea evaluation.

WEEK 3
What Wows to What Works
In Week 3 we transition from "What Wows?" to "What Works?". We will focus on Step 12 and Step 13 of your design process.

WEEK 4
What Works
In Week 4 you will push further into the design and execution of in-market experiments.

WEEK 5
What's Next?
It's hard to believe, but we've reached Step 15, the last step we have for you! In Step 15, we discuss what's next. Then we will wrap up our time together with some final thoughts on measuring the impact of design thinking.

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

Related Courses

Pensamiento de diseño para la innovación (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Pensamiento de diseño para la innovación (Coursera)

Hoy en día la innovación es el negocio de todos. Ya sea un gerente en una corporación global, un emprendedor que está comenzando, que esté en un puesto gubernamental o un maestro en una escuela primaria, se espera que todos se vuelvan austeros, para hacerlo mejor con menos. Y ese es el motivo por el que todos necesitamos el pensamiento de diseño.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Model Thinking (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Model Thinking (Coursera)

We live in a complex world with diverse people, firms, and governments whose behaviors aggregate to produce novel, unexpected phenomena. We see political uprisings, market crashes, and a never ending array of social trends. How do we make sense of it? Models. Evidence shows that people who think with models consistently outperform those who don't. And, moreover people who think with lots of models outperform people who use only one. Why do models make us better thinkers? Models help us to better organize information - to make sense of that fire hose or hairball of data (choose your metaphor) available on the Internet.

Sep 21st 2026
5-12 Weeks
Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector (Coursera)

Do you work for a nonprofit or in the social sector? Are you struggling to solve the problems and meet the needs of the people you serve? Come learn more about how design thinking, a human-centered approach to problem solving, can help you truly understand an issue, generate ideas worth testing and iterate to find solutions that make a real difference. Through global stories from areas as diverse as government, health care, and education, we’ll show you the tools, techniques and mindset needed to use design thinking to uncover new and creative solutions in the social sector.

Sep 28th 2026
4 Weeks
Diseño y Creación de un Emprendimiento Social (Coursera) Coursera
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Diseño y Creación de un Emprendimiento Social (Coursera)

Este MOOC introduce al mundo del emprendimiento social definiendo conceptos de innovación y emprendimiento social dentro de un contexto nacional e internacional, por medio de herramientas, metodologías y técnicas útiles para desarrollar un modelo de negocios con misión social. También se utilizará un enfoque interdisciplinario, abarcando las temáticas del curso desde la perspectiva de la gestión de proyectos, la creatividad, la ideación, el diseño e implementación de soluciones y el comportamiento humano en la sociedad.

Oct 5th 2026
4 Weeks
Working for a sustainable future: concepts and approaches (Coursera) Coursera
Lund University

Working for a sustainable future: concepts and approaches (Coursera)

In this course, participants are introduced to key notions and concepts evolving in sustainability science that are relevant to all, independent to one's work or field of interest. After having completed the course, participants will have a better understanding of the vocabulary used today and should demonstrate the ability to reflect critically to integrate different perspectives of environmental, social, and economic sustainability to their specific area of interest or research.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Intro to Strategic Management for Healthcare Organizations (Coursera) Coursera
Northeastern University

Intro to Strategic Management for Healthcare Organizations (Coursera)

This course is best suited for individuals currently in the healthcare sector, as a provider, payer, or administrator. Individuals pursuing a career change to the healthcare sector may also be interested in this course. In this course, you will have an opportunity to explore general business strategy concepts as they relate to the healthcare industry. You will also examine how strategic decisions are made within organizations.

Sep 23rd 2026
4 Weeks
Innovación Educativa (Coursera) Coursera
Tecnológico de Monterrey

Innovación Educativa (Coursera)

El curso de Innovación Educativa tiene como intención que el estudiante conozca y aplique los conceptos de tendencias e innovación educativa. En él conocerá tendencias en educación como flipped classroom, gamificación, educación basada en competencias, etc.; así como la metodología de design thingking para llevar a cabo una innovación partiendo de una necesidad del usuario. Además, se adentrará en temas de competencias digitales, tecnologías emergentes abarcando sus ventajas y desventajas, así como modelos de incorporación de tecnología educativa.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Innovative Finance: Hacking finance to change the world (Coursera) Coursera
University of Cape Town

Innovative Finance: Hacking finance to change the world (Coursera)

To address global poverty - do we really not have enough resources or do we not have the right tools to allocate our resources? The tools of finance, when applied correctly, can be an enabler of social and environmental outcomes. This course is designed to give you the ability to build innovative financing strategies that work towards outcomes such as financial inclusion, access to energy and access to education.

Sep 28th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Experiencing Design: Deepening Your Design Thinking Practice (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Experiencing Design: Deepening Your Design Thinking Practice (Coursera)

How do we unlock the transformational power of design thinking? To do this, we must understand that this power lies not in what it encourages us to do, but in who it encourages us to become. We become design thinkers by experiencing design. In this course, developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, we will guide you through six key phases of the design journey - Immersion, Sensemaking, Alignment, Emergence, Imagining, and Learning in Action.

Oct 5th 2026
4 Weeks