UMD: The Citizen Developer Mindset: Creating Business Solutions with Design Thinking

UMD: The Citizen Developer Mindset: Creating Business Solutions with Design Thinking

by The University of Maryland, College Park

Course Description

This course centers around employing design thinking specifically to empower citizen developers. By addressing customer-based challenges and needs via empathetic and innovative methods, participants will learn to create effective digital solutions in partnership with IT departments.

What Students Will Learn

  • Techniques for observing and fully understanding customer problems.
  • Empathy methods to connect with customer issues on a deeper level.
  • Approaches to developing low-code/no-code applications that cater to customer needs.
  • Prototyping skills to test and refine digital solutions rapidly.

Prerequisites or Skills Necessary

No specific prerequisites are needed for this course, making it accessible to beginners or anyone interested in the subject of citizen development and design thinking.

Course Coverage

  • Introduction to the role and impact of citizen developers.
  • Essentials of cybersecurity and collaborative skills.
  • Understanding the software development lifecycle and important IT collaborations.
  • Hands-on experience with no-code/low-code tools.

Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for potential citizen developers, trainers in tech-driven fields, and anyone interested in enhancing their understanding of how to design and deliver training programs catered towards creating user-centric digital solutions without extensive coding requirements.

Real-World Application

Skills obtained from this course can be directly applied in various professional settings:

  • Improving efficiency and workflow within organizations through empathetic design thinking.
  • Building effective digital solutions with minimal coding that can adapt to changing business needs.
  • Fostering better relationships between IT departments and other business sectors through improved communication and collaboration.

Course Syllabus

Week One

  1. The Citizen Developer Revolution
  2. A Tour of the No-Code/Low-Code Tools
  3. The Citizen Developer Persona
  4. Essentials of a Robust Training Program for Citizen Developers
  5. Role of Learning and Development in Citizen Development

Week Two

  1. Introduction to Design Thinking
  2. Empathy - The Cornerstone of Design Thinking
  3. Applying Observation and Empathy in Solution Creation
  4. Prototyping with No-Code/Low-Code Tools
  5. Case Study - Implementing a Design Thinking Workshop

Week Three

  1. Analysis of Design Thinking Course for Citizen Developers
  2. Design of the Course Structure
  3. Development of Course Content
  4. Implementation of the Training Program
  5. Evaluation of the Training Outcome

Bonus Week: Facilitating Effective Workshops

  1. Planning Impactful Workshops
  2. Effective Facilitation Techniques
  3. Conducting a Lessons Learned Session
  4. Tips for Online Workshop Part One
  5. Online Workshop Facilitation Part Two
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