Students

MMBA8019 – Design Thinking

2022 – Term 3, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Leanne Sobel
leanne.sobel@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
MGSM820 or MMBA8020
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Innovating is at the core of successful enterprises today whether start-ups or Fortune 500 companies. Adopting a customer perspective is a guiding principle for successful marketing strategy and design. In this unit, students will apply key concepts in marketing innovation based on the human-centred approach called “design thinking”. Student will define and validate a marketing innovation opportunity through field research and create a tangible, desirable and viable solution. This unit is based on experiential learning, i.e. learning by doing, so you will need to be prepared to engage fully in the unit and adopt a very “hands-on” approach.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Validate an innovation opportunity through field research and discovery of stakeholder insights.
  • ULO2: Apply designerly ways of thinking and doing to create a desirable, viable and tangible solution to a complex marketing problem.
  • ULO3: Perform effectively in a team, while developing and applying a design thinking mindset.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Class activity and participatory tasks 20% No Week 1-10
Design Challenge Project 50% No Week 9
Critical Analysis 30% No Week 10

Class activity and participatory tasks

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 1-10
Weighting: 20%

 

This assessment task requires students active participation during class sessions. There will be a range of class activities and learning events that students will be assessed upon. Students must take an active role in the sessions.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Validate an innovation opportunity through field research and discovery of stakeholder insights.
  • Apply designerly ways of thinking and doing to create a desirable, viable and tangible solution to a complex marketing problem.
  • Perform effectively in a team, while developing and applying a design thinking mindset.

Design Challenge Project

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: Week 9
Weighting: 50%

 

The design challenge project is the major assessment item for this unit. Teams will work on a real-world project, applying theories, tools and techniques to a marketing innovation challenge. Based on your own field research, you will create a tangible solution and demonstrate why it is a desirable and viable business opportunity. You will summarise the outcomes of the project in a report (Group report, 3,500 words).

50% of group work assessment mark will be allocated to individual performance based on two subcomponents that directly contribute to the final group project report: 1) individual field research report (1,000 words) and 2) individual solution progress report (500 words).

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Validate an innovation opportunity through field research and discovery of stakeholder insights.
  • Apply designerly ways of thinking and doing to create a desirable, viable and tangible solution to a complex marketing problem.
  • Perform effectively in a team, while developing and applying a design thinking mindset.

Critical Analysis

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 10
Weighting: 30%

 

This individual assignment consists of critical case analysis about the transfer and application of design thinking to student's corporate and/or entrepreneurial environment (1,500 words)

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Validate an innovation opportunity through field research and discovery of stakeholder insights.
  • Apply designerly ways of thinking and doing to create a desirable, viable and tangible solution to a complex marketing problem.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Weekly synchronous face to face and zoom workshops + asynchronous lectures and project work. Experiential learning, working on real-life project.

Unit Schedule

Please refer to ilearn for detailed schedule.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2022.04 of the Handbook