Empathy and User Feedback

Course Description

This course teaches you how to build empathy with the people you serve and support, and get feedback on your programs and projects that can help you improve their experience. The training features:

• Design Thinking: Learn innovative strategies to solve problems creatively.
• Empathy: Develop a deeper understanding of users' needs and experiences.
• User Interviewing: Gain skills needed to conduct insightful user interviews.
• Practice Interviewing: Gain hands-on experience through simulated interview scenarios.
• Synthesis: Learn how to analyze and interpret data from user interviews effectively.
• Application: Learn how to identify meaningful actions from user feedback to improve your work and projects, ensuring that the end results are truly user-centric.

Format

3-hour interactive, group training (virtual or in-person)

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with the tools and techniques to build empathy for users and harness valuable feedback to enhance their projects and programs.

Who it’s for

This course can benefit people in many roles, including but not limited to:

• Novice to advanced users
• Various functional roles (e.g., exempt staff, fixed-term staff, applicants)
• Individuals in situation-based roles (e.g., users submitting tickets, candidates in different phases of the process, employees in certain circumstances)
• Segments of people who might benefit from or be impacted by the program, system, or project
• Essential partners and collaborators who are important stakeholders to gain understanding
• Any individual interested in learning more about empathy

Topics covered

• The importance of empathy in professional work and its integration into a typical project cycle.
• Various methods for understanding users' needs, such as user interviews, focus groups, and surveys.
• Techniques for planning and preparing to learn about users' overall experience or a specific aspect of a program, including considerations for new program design.
• Sample questions to understand motivations and needs for informing a new program.
• Practical exercises on how to conduct user interviews.
• Methods to uncover key insights gained from user interviews.
• Ways to integrate user needs into defining problems and creating project charters.

Course Outline

1. Introduction
   • Overview of empathy and its significance in professional work.
2. Lecture
   • Foundational knowledge on empathy and its application in various scenarios.
3. Team Activities
   • Conducted in teams of three to encourage collaboration and hands-on learning.
4. Materials for Activities
   • Worksheets, flipcharts, stickies, pens for each activity.
5. Planning for Interviews
   • Techniques for preparing to learn about users’ overall experience or specific aspects of a program.
6. Practical Exercises
   • How to conduct user interviews with hands-on practice.
7. Sharing and Reflection Sessions
   • Facilitated to reinforce the lessons learned and share insights with the group.
8. Wrap Up and Review
   • Summary of key points and takeaways.
9. Post-Session Resources
   • PDF of the day's slide deck.
   • "Must-Haves" slide deck that incorporates empathy.

Pre-requisites

None

How to sign up

This course is scheduled on request for your team.

Click the Contact us button to discuss how this training might be a good fit for your team. We accept PTA or pooled STAP funds for team trainings. We can tailor this training to best support your team’s goals.

Contact us