Understand the Problem

Course summary

Understand the Problem is an applied professional module for public designers who need to investigate public problems and establish a sound basis for design work.

Public designers connect evidence about people’s experiences with the systems in which those experiences occur and the intent that public organisations are seeking to deliver. The module develops the professional judgement needed to investigate problems fairly, work across different forms of evidence and involve specialist researchers appropriately.

Students apply the practice to a work-based challenge and produce a research plan that supports further synthesis and design work. The module focuses on finding and producing evidence; making sense of that evidence is developed in the companion module, Make Sense of Evidence.

Who this course is for

This module is designed for existing and aspiring public designers who need to investigate public problems independently and work effectively with specialist researchers.

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. They also 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 the scale or overall success of the project.

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.