Design thinking training in TorontoCheck the problem before the project is funded.
A hands-on workshop for Toronto teams who need a live problem checked, a rough prototype and a method they can run again.
- Toronto, in person or hybrid
Toronto
Toronto product teams, before the project starts
Toronto product and operations teams use this when a project is close and the problem is still a guess. The people who will live with the result are often missing from the brief. This session puts them in the room.
We facilitate at your Toronto office or a room in the city, or hybrid if part of the group is elsewhere. You bring the challenge. You leave with a problem sharp enough to stop a weak idea.
- For Toronto product, innovation and operations teams about to spend.
- In person in Toronto, or hybrid if the group is split.
- Half a day, one day or two days, on a challenge you bring.
- No design background required.
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The problem
Sound familiar?
Solutions first
Teams jump to "build it" before anyone's confirmed it's a problem worth solving.
Assumed, not asked
Decisions get made on what the room thinks the customer wants, not what they actually do.
Expensive guesses
Months of build time sunk into features that quietly get no use.
What you'll walk away with
By the end of the day, your team will have
- A clearly defined problem worth solving, grounded in real user insight
- Firsthand customer empathy, not assumptions dressed up as facts
- A pile of tested ideas, and the confidence to kill the weak ones early
- At least one low-fidelity prototype in hand
- A repeatable method they can run again without us in the room
What we cover
The flow of the day
- 01
Frame the challenge
Align on the real problem and who we're solving it for.
- 02
Empathise
Get into the user's world, interviews, observation, empathy mapping.
- 03
Define
Turn messy insight into a sharp, solvable problem statement.
- 04
Ideate
Diverge wide, then converge, structured brainstorming that avoids groupthink.
- 05
Prototype & test
Build something rough, put it in front of real people, learn fast.
Who it's for
Who should be in the room
No prior experience needed, the workshop is built for cross-functional teams from scratch.
Product & innovation teams
Anyone responsible for building the right thing, not just building it right.
Cross-functional squads
Mixed teams who need a shared language for solving problems together.
Leaders
Executives who want customer-centricity to be a habit, not a poster.
Format & logistics
How it runs
Duration
½-day taster, 1-day intensive, or 2-day deep dive.
Delivery
In-person at your office, offsite, or fully remote.
Group size
8-30 is the sweet spot. Larger cohorts by arrangement.
Tailoring
Built around a live challenge you bring, not a generic case study.
Facilitators
Lead facilitator
Tessa Kowaliw
An incredibly personable design thinking facilitator with years of experience across the private and public sectors, and a passion for driving community outcomes.
Founder, facilitator
Steve Glaveski
Founder of Collective Campus, author of two Wiley books, host of the Future Squared podcast, and regular contributor to Harvard Business Review.
What changes afterwards
Proof
What changes afterwards
“They now question everything, see things through a different lens, and have started to spread that approach throughout the business.”
Toronto
Questions about running this in Toronto
Can you facilitate design thinking in Toronto?
Yes. At your office or a room in the city, or hybrid when part of the team is elsewhere.
Who from a Toronto team should be there?
The people who will fund the work and the people who understand the user. No design background is required.
How do we book design thinking training in Toronto?
Use the contact form. Send the challenge, the team size and whether you want the Toronto room or hybrid. Half a day, one day or two days.
Can the day use a live Toronto customer problem?
Yes. That is the version worth buying. We will not spend the day on a canned case.
Ready to solve the right problem?
Tell us the challenge, we'll shape a workshop around it.