CX Design Course for Directors: Field Research, Rapid Prototypes, Pilot Tests and Rollout Plans

Programme Summary

CX design is the subject of this one-week training course for heads of customer experience, service design and product, ending in a tested CX design pack for one customer journey. Many organisations redesign touchpoints from internal opinion and learn at launch that customers cannot use the result. The programme moves from field research and problem framing to concepts, rapid prototypes, pilot tests and a rollout plan, applying user experience methods to service rather than to digital channel architecture. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on CX design to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

Banks, hospitals, airlines, retailers and public agencies change touchpoints constantly, yet few test a change with real customers before it reaches them. A designed and tested change costs less to correct than a launched one, and it gives leaders evidence to defend the investment.

• Rework Cost: Falls when faults are found in a prototype instead of after launch.
• Task Completion: Improves when touchpoints are tested against what customers are trying to do.
• Investment Confidence: Rises when each change carries test evidence for the sponsor.

Principles and Evidence Base

• ISO 9241-210: Describes the human-centred design cycle of context, requirements, design solutions and evaluation, applied in Sessions 1 to 4 as the order of work.
• ISO 9241-11: Defines usability as effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction, applied in Session 4 to the measures of each test.
• Double Diamond: Separates discovering and defining the problem from developing and delivering the solution, applied in Sessions 2 and 3 to frame decisions.
• Nielsen Usability Heuristics: Give a shared checklist for expert review, applied in Session 4 before customers see a prototype.

Intended Participants

• Customer experience leaders who must redesign touchpoints with evidence rather than opinion.
• Service design and innovation heads who direct research and prototyping teams.
• Product leaders who own offers that customers meet through people, places and screens.
• Transformation sponsors who approve pilots and rollout budgets.

Typical settings include banking, healthcare, aviation, retail and public services.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to evaluate a field research plan against the questions a design must answer.
2. Participants will be able to construct a service blueprint and journey pain point matrix from research evidence.
3. Participants will be able to diagnose the design problem behind a set of customer complaints.
4. Participants will be able to prioritise concepts by value, feasibility and cost to serve.
5. Participants will be able to justify design changes using usability testing results.
6. Participants will be able to design a pilot test plan and rollout sequence for a sponsor.

Programme Structure

Day 1: CX Design Foundations and Field Research Planning

What must be learned from customers and staff before anything is designed?

• Human-Centred Design Cycle in ISO 9241-210
• Design Brief and Success Criteria Sheet
• Research Question Map
• Interview and Observation Guide
• Participant Recruitment Screener

Day 2: Turning Research into a Design Problem

How do raw observations become a problem that a team can solve?

• Evidence Wall Clustering
• Persona and Context-of-Use Profile
• Journey Pain Point Matrix
• Service Blueprint Layout
• How Might We Question Set

Day 3: Generating and Selecting Touchpoint Concepts

Which ideas deserve a prototype, and who must help shape them?

• Double Diamond Discover and Define Review
• Concept Sketching Round
• Concept Scoring Grid
• Frontline Co-Design Session Plan
• Touchpoint Storyboard

Day 4: Rapid Prototypes and Usability Testing

How is a prototype tested so that the results can be trusted?

• Low-Fidelity Prototype Kit
• Nielsen Usability Heuristics Review
• ISO 9241-11 Usability Measures Sheet
• Task-Based Test Script
• Finding Severity Rating

Day 5: CX Design Pack for One Customer Journey

Do the earlier tools combine into a pack that a sponsor can approve?

• Applying the Session 1 Research Question Map
• Testing the Session 2 Service Blueprint Layout
• Reviewing the Session 4 Finding Severity Rating
• Drafting the Pilot Test Plan and Rollout Sequence
• Completing the CX Design Pack

Methodology

The programme uses structured exercises built on prepared case material for two services, one a retail bank account opening journey and one a hospital outpatient booking journey. Participants work in groups, run short tests on each other's prototypes, and defend design choices to peers acting as a sponsor.

• Suggested activity: Clustering interview extracts into a pain point matrix and comparing it with another group's.
• Suggested activity: Running a five-minute usability test on a paper prototype and rating each finding.
• Suggested activity: Presenting a pilot and rollout plan to a sceptical sponsor.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a CX design pack for one customer journey. It holds a research summary, a service blueprint, a ranked concept list, a prototype with test findings and a pilot test plan with owners. The pack is used at work to brief a sponsor, to brief a delivery team and to show colleagues why a change was designed in that way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a CX design training programme suitable for leaders new to design methods?

Yes. CX design is taught through prepared cases and templates. The programme assumes responsibility for customer touchpoints or service change, but no earlier experience of research or prototyping.

Which standards does CX design rest on in this programme?

CX design here rests on ISO 9241-210 for the human-centred cycle, ISO 9241-11 for usability measures, the Double Diamond and the Nielsen usability heuristics.

How is the CX design pack used at work?

You use the CX design pack to brief your sponsor, to hand a tested concept to a delivery team, and to explain why each change was chosen over the alternatives.

How does CX design differ from a digital customer experience strategy programme?

CX design tests changes to people, places and service steps with customers, while a digital customer experience strategy programme concentrates on channel architecture and platforms.