– The course offerings will provide design professionals across industries with the skills to expand the influence and impact of their practices at every level of their organization –
Phoenix, A.Z., March 1, 2022 – Pragmatic Institute — a trusted enterprise education partner in data science, product marketing and product management — today announced the first two courses in its new design practice, Business Strategy & Design and Influence Through Storytelling. The portfolio’s unique approach — as the first of its kind to focus on strategy as it relates to design — will help designers earn a seat at the strategy table and contribute to the conversation.
The design practice is Pragmatic Institute’s answer to a critical problem in the design world: Many design professionals lack the business acumen needed to showcase the ROI of their work and the value of design to stakeholders within their organizations. As a result, design is often relegated to execution, leaving designers ill-equipped to meaningfully influence their organization’s goals and vision. The practice will be led by two former directors at the strategic design firms Cooper and Designit, Jim Dibble and Shannon McGarity, who have decades of experience as designers and as educators. The practice will be guided by a design advisory board of prominent industry experts — hailing from companies like Pfizer, Capital One, Moody’s Analytics and Mailchimp — who bring a real-world lens to strategic design. Pragmatic Institute’s innovative practice aims to address these gaps. With a focus on interactive learning and practical application, offerings will empower design professionals to contribute strategically, connect their work to the advancement of key business objectives, and improve their cross-functional collaboration with other teams.
“Formal design training typically doesn’t cover crucial skills designers need to thrive in a corporate culture — leadership, cross-functional alignment, persuasion, business savvy. These are competencies that designers often acquire over their careers through grueling trial and error,” says Shannon McGarity. “We want to streamline this learning for designers, empowering them to take on more strategic challenges and grow design’s impact within their organizations.”
The Business Strategy & Design course will bring design professionals out of the comfort zone of their role to find the intersection of user experience and business goals. Students will better understand the ecosystem in which they operate in order to translate their company’s business strategy into design priorities, communicate the business value of design, and develop metrics for the value and ROI of design work. The first session of the course will be June 14-15, 9:15 AM – 12:45 PM ET.
In the Influence Through Storytelling course, students will learn how to employ narrative at multiple levels to inform, persuade and align with different stakeholders. The course will share the tools and techniques of effective storytelling to shape product strategy, connect designers’ work to business impact, and tailor nuanced narratives to diverse audiences to gain buy-in at every level of an organization. The first session will take place on April 25-26, 9:15 AM – 12:45 PM ET.
“Pragmatic Institute has worked with thousands of leading organizations to build out strategic product and data functions, and now we’re excited to support design teams in strengthening their strategic contributions to the business,” said Jim Dibble. “Our initial courses on business strategy and storytelling will be foundational to our design practice as we expand with new learning formats and course topics.”
In addition to training, Pragmatic Institute provides a full ecosystem of tools, resources and community. Pragmatic Institute has successfully trained more than 200,000 individuals at 8,000 companies across six continents.
To learn more about Pragmatic Institute’s offerings visit: PragmaticInstitute.com/Design
About Pragmatic Institute
Pragmatic Institute is a trusted learning partner to professionals across data, product, and design—providing training, support and resources. With a focus on dynamic instruction, continued learning, and what works for today’s businesses, Pragmatic Institute delivers engaging and impactful education to thousands of companies worldwide. For more information, visit www.PragmaticInstitute.com or call 480-515-1411.