Program Overview

Introduction to the MBA Capstone: Design Strategy

The University of Sydney Business School offers an MBA Capstone unit in Design Strategy, which has produced over 100 graduates and generated 30 business propositions across three sectors. This unit is the final component of the MBA program and involves a world-class learning module in strategic management, intersecting with principles in design thinking and product engineering.

Program Overview

• The Capstone Unit is based on design strategy and tracks a team's progress week by week.
• Initially, teams are given a top-down strategy problem with clear customer implications.
• Teams then work from the bottom up to define customer needs and develop solutions.
• Finally, teams integrate their emergent prototype with the internal demands of stakeholder organisations.

Program Details

Information for Students

The Design Strategy unit is a highly intensive learning experience. Students should aim to have minimal work and outside commitments while completing this unit. It will help students understand and apply entrepreneurial models such as design thinking, lean start-up, and the lean business model canvas. However, this unit also extends beyond these tools by embedding them within a large, complex organisation and set of stakeholders.

Program Team

• Founder: Dr Ginger Turner, Adjunct Associate Professor, The University of Sydney Business School, Senior Economist, Group Strategy, Swiss Re
• Teaching Fellows:
  • Jarryd Daymond
  • Christopher Murphy
  • Natacha Ng
  • Joshua Ratilal
• Coaches: Expert mentors to student teams, selected based on their recognised expertise in design strategy and effective communication.
  • Aaron Blishen MIDEA ’19, Director, Myndful
  • Benjamin Brokken MBA ’18, Director, KPMG
  • Scott Davies MBA ’17, RBC Investor and Treasury Services
  • Hannah Dunn MBA ’18, NSW Department of Planning and Environment
  • Angus Edwards MBA ’15, Zentivo
  • Phil Gray MBA ’17, Senior Manager, Segment Strategy, CX & CVP, IAG
  • Willis Gray MBA ’15, 3wks
  • Jessica Hughes MBA ’15, Commonwealth Bank Australia
  • Greg Jansz MBA ’16, UBS Investment Bank
  • Elise Karadjian MBA ’18, Retail Manager, Van Cleef & Arpels
  • Murray Lawson MBA ’18, FTI Consulting
  • Ash Moollan MBA ’17, Commonwealth Bank Australia
  • James Moore MBA ’16, Commonwealth Bank Australia
  • Zoe Morrison MBA ’18, Executive Officer, The University of Sydney
  • Chris Murphy MBA ’15, Tiagra Investments
  • Hugh Simpson MBA ‘15, Ernst & Young
  • Derek Taprell MBA ’18, Manufacturing Manager (Externals), Saluda Medical
  • Holly Varshnei MBA ’17, APA Group
  • Ashlea Wallington MBA ’18, Incubate

Partners

• The program typically works with organisations once they have identified a customer issue to which they are planning to commit budget.
• Current partners include:
  • Swiss Re
  • Department of Defence
  • uBank
• The program supervises the coordination of teams and interactions with corporate partner stakeholders during the course of the unit.
• Over the 4-5 weeks, teams produce a well-defined, mock-up prototype and gather important consumer feedback. This consumer-focused design process enables teams to develop a business case at a lower cost than traditional corporate product engineering.