Prototype, Test, Learn, Adapt

Course summary

Prototype, Test, Learn and Adapt is an applied professional module for public designers who need to reduce uncertainty and risk as ideas develop.

Public designers identify what remains uncertain within an idea, create prototypes and use experiments to test assumptions. They gather feedback and experimental findings, then use what they learn to improve the idea and inform the next stage of work.

The module develops the professional judgement needed to choose suitable experiments, create prototypes at different levels of fidelity, test them with users and stakeholders, and manage design work according to the level of certainty.

Students apply the practice to a work-based challenge and produce an experiment and iteration plan supported by evidence of prototyping, testing, learning and adaptation.

Who this course is for

This module is designed for existing and aspiring public designers who need to test ideas, reduce uncertainty and improve possible responses before or during implementation.

It is relevant to people designing public policies, services, interactions, communications, operational systems or spaces.

Students must complete Introduction to Public Design before taking this module.

They should also have access to a suitable work-based challenge through which they can apply the practice independently.

What you will learn

How the course works

This is an applied professional module combining classroom learning with independent workplace practice. Students learn through a structured sequence:

• teaching of the concepts, methods and frameworks that underpin the practice;
• public-sector case studies that show how the practice is used;
• short practical exercises using individual tools and methods;
• group application through a realistic scenario developed across the module;
• reflection on learning and planning for workplace application.

Following the classroom component, students complete a two-day independent work-based project in which they apply the skills to a real challenge. They then spend a further day preparing their portfolio entry, completing their project reflection and taking part in a design crit.

Assessment and accreditation

This module is formally assessed. Students submit a portfolio entry demonstrating how they have applied all the skills associated with the practice in a real work environment. The expected professional artefact is an experiment and iteration plan, supported by evidence of how the student identified uncertainty, created and tested prototypes, gathered findings and adapted the design response.

The portfolio must also demonstrate how the student selected an appropriate approach to managing the design work.

Students complete a project reflection and present their work at a design crit.

A teacher from the Government School of Design assesses the portfolio evidence against the Public Design Capability Framework. Students are assessed on their deployment of the required skills, rather than whether an experiment confirms the original idea or the project achieves a particular outcome.

Students who successfully complete the module receive professional certification jointly badged by the Government School of Design and the Chartered Society of Designers.

Each completed module contributes to the student’s professional portfolio. Students who successfully complete all seven Universal Public Design Practice modules will be assessed for chartered status through the Chartered Society of Designers.