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How is the Practitioner Certification Program structured?

The fully online public Practitioner Certification Program is made up of four live learning sessions followed by three monthly coaching sessions. The four live learning sessions teach you the fundamentals of human-centered design and the LUMA System in particular. The live learning sessions are followed by three, monthly coaching sessions to help you apply what you’ve learned back in your daily work, share out your results, and receive expert feedback from a LUMA coach as well as peer feedback from other participants.

Learning sessions
Learning sessions are taught by two LUMA-certified instructors. Each learning session consists of:

  • Two hours of instruction and hands-on activities
  • One-hour break (time may vary)
  • Two hours of instruction and hands-on activities

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Learning Session 1: Introduction and Problem Framing

Get acquainted with your group, learn about the LUMA System and dive into human-centered design. We’ll focus on a key starting point for design thinking — making sure you’re focused on the right problem to solve.

LUMA System method:

  • Abstraction Laddering

Learning Session 2: Putting people first

Start by identifying who all has a stake in the problem you’re trying to solve, then use ethnographic research to develop empathy for those individuals and gain insights into their perspective on the challenge.

LUMA System methods:

  • Stakeholder Mapping
  • Interviewing
  • Contextual Inquiry
  • Rose, Thorn, Bud
  • Affinity Clustering
  • Statement Starters

Learning Session 3: Envisioning Possibilities

Now that you know how to develop deep understanding, empathy and insights, you’ll focus on generating, prioritizing and sharing breakthrough ideas for solutions that make things better for your stakeholders.

LUMA System methods:

  • Creative Matrix
  • Alternative Worlds
  • Importance/Difficulty Matrix
  • Concept Poster
  • Visualize the Vote
  • Bull’s-eye Diagramming

Learning Session 4: Rapid iteration

Quickly evolve the ideas you have developed by creating a prototype, whether for a product, a service or an experience, and test it with people to gain rapid feedback and insights, so you can iterate on and improve your concepts.

LUMA System methods:

  • Rough-and-Ready Prototyping
  • Think-Aloud Testing

Coaching sessions

Coaching sessions help you start using the new skills you’ve learned right away, by applying LUMA methods to challenges in your daily work.

For each of the three coaching sessions, you will:

  • Pick a challenge and select the LUMA methods to apply.
  • Plan your step-by-step approach using tools on LUMA Workplace.
  • Document your work via screenshots, photos, sketches or other artifacts.
  • Assess how it went using LUMA’s evaluation worksheet.
  • Be ready to share your experience with the group using LUMA’s storytelling template.

As you and others in the group share how you’ve applied LUMA methods to your challenges, your coach will offer expert feedback, guidance and advice. Your peers may also offer feedback — just as you can offer input and encouragement when others tell their stories.

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