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Developing a new Portfolio after Covid, through a new Way of Working
The Client's Core Challenge
In the summer of 2021, a renowned Business School faced a pivotal challenge. The pandemic had fundamentally shifted the landscape of education. Learners now valued self-paced, flexible learning environments, while also craving the connection of in-person, face-to-face interactions. The rapid rise of EdTech accelerated this transformation, yet it also exposed gaps in digital access, highlighting educational inequality.
Client's Core ChallenChallenge ...ge
At the same time, there was a growing focus on social-emotional learning (SEL) and wellbeing, with students and organizations seeking support beyond traditional education.
To stay ahead, the Business School needed to rethink its entire Service Strategy and Roadmap. The goal was to create an adaptable, innovative learning experience that balanced the power of technology with the need for human connection—addressing both current and future demands in a rapidly evolving world.
The approach involved several key elements:
1. In-Depth Research
2. Co-creation
3. Agile Evolvement
My Approach as Learning Design Director
As the Learning Design Director, I was tasked with developing a transformative strategy to guide the Business School’s future in a post-COVID world. The approach involved three core elements - In-Depth Research, Co-Creation, and Agile Evolution - that together shaped a comprehensive and adaptable roadmap.
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH: Uncovering the Right Problems to Solve
As a Human-Centered Innovator, my first step was to ensure we fully understood the challenges and opportunities presented by the new learning landscape. This phase involved:
Conducting interviews with co-workers, learners, partners, and experts.
Investigating the latest trends in EdTech, human behavior, and social-emotional learning (SEL).
Applying a systemic lens to analyze educational inequalities, community needs, and emerging technologies.
These efforts enabled the team to filter out the key insights and define the real problems we needed to address. This research culminated in the creation of an initial "prototype" strategy: the 3 Horizons, built around a tree metaphor symbolizing growth and development.
CO-CREATION: Building the Strategy Together
Our strategy was shaped using the 3 Horizons model, guiding us through distinct phases of growth and innovation:
Stream 1 (The Roots): Focused on immediate opportunities for continuous innovation within the existing business model and core capabilities, capitalizing on the organization's strengths in content, experience, and talent.
Stream 2 (Trunk and Branches): Aimed at extending the current business model to reach new learners and organizations, and markets, based on ethnographic research and emerging insights.
Stream 3 (Leaves): Focused on long-term transformation and positive impact by creating new capabilities and business models by anticipating future human needs. Projects in this phase, like leaves, could bloom or fall, making space for new ideas to flourish and evolve.
To ensure buy-in and alignment across the organization, collaborative sessions were facilitated with cross-functional teams. These sessions shaped our strategic vision and established an agile framework. Each horizon was assigned a dedicated agile team (Scrum master, Horizon Owner, Development members), ensuring structured progress through Sprints and regular Alignment sessions.
AGILE EVOLUTION: Developing Services Aligned with Business Growth
Each horizon’s team worked at their own pace to develop services that met both the learners’ evolving needs and the Business School’s goals for growth. This agile, iterative approach enabled us to:
Improve and refine current courses and development processes.
Leverage new technologies and trends to transform the learning experience.
Explore emerging communities and future opportunities in education.
By adopting this flexible, human-centered approach, we created a roadmap that balanced immediate impact with long-term innovation, ultimately positioning the Business School to meet and exceed the evolving expectations of its learners and partners.
It is important to emphasize that innovations within the three streams can emerge and be developed at any point - whether in the short term or over a longer period.
Outcomes
ENHANCED HYBRID AND FLEXIBLE LEARNING MODELS
The business school emerged as a leader in the market in offering flexible learning options, blending self-paced online learning with in-person, face-to-face experiences. By integrating hybrid models into the curriculum, the school attracted a broader range of learners, both local and international, who valued the ability to learn in ways that fit their unique preferences and lifestyles.
This flexibility made the school more competitive in the region, catering to professionals and executives who needed to balance work, life, and education, as well as students seeking high-quality learning from anywhere in the world.
NEW AND IMPROVED LEARNING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Through the agile development approach, each Stream team developed innovative learning solutions. Immediate improvements (Stream 1) included revamped course offerings and more user-friendly digital platforms. New innovations (Stream 2) introduced new learning formats, such as bite-sized, modular learning for professionals and unique gamified and experiential elements to enhance engagement.Long-term exploration (Stream 3) paved the way for AI-driven personalization and adaptive learning paths, while taking a holistic approach that centered on the evolving needs of learning communities and the essential human skills required in a future increasingly shaped by AI advancements.
GREATER EQUITY AND ACCCESSIBLITY IN LEARNING
The strategy’s emphasis on addressing educational inequality and the digital divide may have resulted in initiatives aimed at improving access for underprivileged or geographically remote learners. These include further evolving subsidized learning packages, partnerships with partners in other countries starting with The Philippines, and creating affordable, high-quality digital learning options.
IMPROVED STRATEGIC POSITIONING AND FINANCIAL GROWTH
The ability to deliver innovative services that aligned with market demands strengthened the school’s competitive position in the region.
AGILE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND CONTINUOUS INNOVATION
The implementation of agile teams and an iterative, sprint-based approach fostered a culture of continuous innovation within the organization. The team grew accustomed to fast experimentation, regular feedback loops, and adaptive learning, making the school more responsive to emerging trends and shifting demands.
This agile mindset not only streamlined operations and improved service delivery but also made the school more resilient in the face of future challenges or disruptions. It increased staff engagement, efficiency, and overall institutional agility.
Methods Tools Techniques
Ethnographic Research, Design Thinking, Agile ways of working, Scrum
Duration of the Programme
In-Depth Research: 2–4 weeks
Co-Creation: Ongoing for the remainder of the year, following the establishment of streams and teams. Immediate improvements and innovations were implemented quickly, while other projects were developed after extensive research and new insights.
Agile Evolution: Continuous and iterative development, with solutions being tested early and improved based on feedback. Solutions are never "complete," but constantly evolve and adapt to emerging needs or better alternatives.
Team Structure
The success of the strategy’s creation and implementation was grounded in a democratic and inclusive approach. This involved not only the internal team but also students and partners, who played a crucial role by sharing their perspectives and ideas during in-depth interviews at the start of the project. This collaborative input helped shape the direction of the strategy.
CORE TEAM
The stream squad teams consisted of:
Learning Designers
Facilitators
Master’s Programme Director
Head of Programmes
Altogether, the core team involved 12 members, ensuring a diverse and multi-disciplinary approach to both the strategic planning and execution phases.
Our Learnings
Clarity and Alignment in Agile Ways of Working (AWOW)
We learned that familiarity with Agile doesn't guarantee success. Agile only works when there is clear understanding and alignment among team members on what Agile practices mean and how they will be specifically adopted within our teams. It's crucial to define what Agile will look like for us - alignment is more important than rigidly following Agile or Scrum by the book. Additionally, we found it vital to distinguish and clearly define the roles of the Scrum Master and Product Owner to avoid confusion.
The Importance of Structured Alignment within Squads and Tribes
In our setup,
Squads are self-organizing teams focused on specific aspects of the project, while the
Tribe (the larger group comprising multiple squads) worked toward a common goal.
As the Tribe Coordinator, I quickly learned the value of sticking rigorously to alignment meetings. It was essential to give each team sufficient time to share progress, provide feedback, and address blockers.
A key learning was the need to stay focused on the primary objectives of these meetings - alignment, uncovering plus addressing impediments, and exchanging ideas related to the Product Roadmap and Innovation. Given that these meetings were rare opportunities for the whole Tribe to gather, there was a natural tendency to stray into unrelated topics. As Tribe Coordinator, I had to ensure we stayed on track to maintain efficiency and momentum.
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