Design Thinking Training Template and Checklist
A ready-to-run design thinking program and the readiness checklist to go with it. Teach every stage, then see which teams can actually run the method.
Reviewed by Pradeep Arora, Chief Strategy Officer
- A seven-module program across the five design thinking stages
- A program readiness checklist mapped to a real problem to solve
- A team readiness matrix that shows where the method is thin
- A workshop and practice calendar from research to test
What is inside
- A seven-module design thinking program across empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test, with facilitation.
- A 10-point program readiness checklist you can map to a real problem your team owns and mark off as you go.
- A team readiness matrix that scores each team and shows where the method is thin.
- A workshop and practice calendar that runs from user research through to testing with real users.
Who it is for
Anyone who has to plan what people learn, and answer for whether it landed.
- L&D and training teams
- People managers and team leads
- Heads of function and department
- HR business partners
- Compliance and risk teams
- Onboarding and enablement teams
- Operations and delivery leads
- COOs and HR directors
How to use this template in 4 steps
- Pick your format. Download the PDF to share, the Word file to edit, or the Excel file to work in live. All three are free.
- Make it yours. Adapt the sections, fields and wording to your team, roles and process so it fits how you actually work.
- Put it to work. Fill it in, circulate it to stakeholders for sign-off, or roll it out to your team.
- Track and improve. Review it on a set cadence and refine it as your goals, roles and priorities change.
What is inside
- A seven-module design thinking program across empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test, with facilitation.
- A 10-point program readiness checklist you can map to a real problem your team owns and mark off as you go.
- A team readiness matrix that scores each team and shows where the method is thin.
- A workshop and practice calendar that runs from user research through to testing with real users.
Adapt the modules and checklist to your own product, service and problem context. This is a starting structure to build a design thinking habit, not a rigid method you must follow step for step.
The training program template
Seven modules across the full design thinking method plus the facilitation skill to run it. Run the core stages for every team, then use facilitation and applied practice to build the habit.
| Module | Audience | Duration | What it must cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mindset and the five stages | All staff | 20 min | What design thinking is, when to use it, and how the five stages fit together. |
| 2. Empathise and user research | Practitioners | 35 min | Interviews, observation and listening for real needs without leading the answer. |
| 3. Define and framing | Practitioners | 30 min | Synthesising research into a sharp, human problem statement worth solving. |
| 4. Ideate | Practitioners | 25 min | Diverging widely, then converging, and separating idea generation from judgement. |
| 5. Prototype | Practitioners | 25 min | Making an idea tangible fast and cheaply, at the fidelity the question needs. |
| 6. Test and iterate | Practitioners | 30 min | Putting a prototype in front of real users and running the learn-and-revise loop. |
| 7. Facilitation | Facilitators, leads | 40 min | Running sessions, keeping them safe and divergent, and handling dominant voices. |
Delivering these modules through an LMS lets teams practise a stage, apply it to a real problem, and come back for the next, so the method sticks as a habit instead of fading after one workshop.
The program readiness checklist
Ten steps to make design thinking a practised capability, not a one-off workshop. Tick items to track your own progress, it stays in this browser. The download has the same list with an owner column.
- A real problem chosen for teams to practise onFramingPer cohort
- User research method taught and triedEmpathisePer cohort
- Problem statements reviewed before ideationDefinePer project
- Idea generation separated from judgementIdeatePer session
- Low-fidelity prototyping tools availablePrototypeOngoing
- Access to real users for testing arrangedTestPer project
- Facilitators trained to run sessionsFacilitationOngoing
- Method applied to a live problem, not just taughtApplicationPer team
- Capability tracked by team, not just attendanceGovernanceOngoing
- Outcomes and learnings reviewed each cycleGovernancePer cycle
The most common gap is the eighth one. A team can pass every module and still never run the method on a real problem, which is the only place it creates value.
Team readiness at a glance
The checklist tells you what is missing overall. This matrix tells you which teams can actually run the method. Score each team on the five capabilities that carry the most weight. In Excel the readiness and gaps calculate as you type.
| Team | People | Empathise | Define | Ideate | Prototype | Test | Ready |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product design | 40 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| Product management | 55 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 70% |
| Engineering | 120 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 70% |
| Customer support | 90 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% |
| Marketing | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Coverage at required | 60% | 40% | 40% | 40% | 20% | 58% |
Marketing is the exposure here: no exposure to any stage, yet they own the customer problems where framing and testing would pay off most.
The workshop and practice calendar
| Timing | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Kickoff | Introduce the mindset and pick a real problem for the cohort. | L&D and team lead |
| Week 1 | Empathise: run user research and share what was heard. | Practitioners |
| Week 2 | Define and ideate: frame the problem, then generate options. | Facilitator |
| Week 3 | Prototype and test: build something cheap and put it in front of users. | Practitioners |
| Monthly | Review which teams are applying the method to live problems. | L&D |
| Per cycle | Capture outcomes and learnings, and pick the next problem. | Team lead |
How to run it
- Pick a real problem to practise on
Abstract exercises do not transfer. Run the training against a live problem the team owns.
- Teach empathise before ideate
Start with user research and observation, so ideas come from real needs, not the room's assumptions.
- Spend time on the define stage
A sharp problem statement is where most teams cut corners, and it decides everything downstream.
- Make prototyping cheap and fast
Paper, clickable mockups, role-play. The point is a testable idea, not a polished build.
- Test with real users, then iterate
One round of feedback is not a test. Build the loop of test, learn and revise into the habit.
- Review who is applying it, monthly
Track which teams run the method on new problems, not just who sat through the workshop.
Frontline teams reach 45 percent-plus completion on Disprz when training is delivered in short, mobile modules in the local language, the format this practice-first program is built for.
Common mistakes this pack prevents
- Running one workshop, then defaulting back to building whatever was already planned.
- Jumping to ideation without any user research, so ideas rest on the room's assumptions.
- Rushing the define stage, so the team solves a fuzzy or wrong problem beautifully.
- Polishing a prototype for weeks instead of testing a rough one in days.
- Measuring attendance instead of whether teams can run the method on real problems.
Which format should you use?
| Format | Best for | What is inside | Editable | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharing and print | The full template, formatted to print or circulate | No | 54 KB | |
| Word | Editing the wording | Every section as editable text you can adapt | Yes | 86 KB |
| Excel | Filling it in live | The grid and fields set up as a working spreadsheet | Yes | 65 KB |
Questions people ask
What are the five stages of design thinking?
How is design thinking training different from a one-off workshop?
Can I adapt the modules and checklist?
Does the Excel tracker work in Google Sheets?
Do I have to fill the form three times?
Design thinking only pays off when teams keep using it. That is the part we run.
Bring your teams to a 30-minute working session. We will show how Disprz delivers design thinking in short mobile modules with practice built in, and rolls capability up by team, so you can see who is really using the method.