Imagine this in a typical workplace where cross-functional teams working on a digital transformation initiative face multiple challenges. The marketing team is struggling with fragmented data silos, preventing them from gaining a unified view of their customers. Concurrently, the operations team is dealing with outdated systems that are impeding their progress and causing delays in meeting deadlines.
Both teams are increasingly frustrated by the stumbling blocks. The situation is made worse by disjointed communication, data deluge, and a lack of integration between the key systems. What should the teams do to pull themselves out of this pit?
Having newer, advanced tools or implementing upgrades to old systems may seem like the obvious solution, but it is not a guaranteed fix. True transformation goes beyond technology. It requires a team that is willing to learn, adapt, and grow together. This is where a fresh approach can make all the difference.
Spanning over four decades of helping industries and organisations accelerate their capabilities and skill sets, NUS-ISS understands what makes empowered teams tick as they work towards a common goal. This led to the development of the Active Learning for Problem Solving (ALPS) approach that enable organisations to perform dynamic hands-on learning and tackle real-life workplace challenges, while developing the skills to navigate future ones. By combining action with continuous learning, organisations can build resilience, agility, and long-term success.
What is the ALPS Approach?
- Active Learning
Participants are active learners constructing their own learning and bringing their domain knowledge and experience into the mix. Cross-functional team formation is encouraged to add different perspectives and expertise to the process. - Problem Solving
Participants will work on a project that is related to their organisations as they apply the tools, techniques, concepts to the project. Lecturers-practitioners will impart industry best practices and expertise through workshops and group coaching sessions so that participants can apply the learning to real-world scenarios. - Collaboration & Peer Learning
Teamwork serves as the cornerstone of this approach. Participants learn to work with one another, tap on the team’s strength and collaboration. Through the workshops with different teams, project teams also gain value by listening, sharing and learning from each other. - Tangible Outcomes
The teams will learn to set tangible, measurable outcomes and deliverables as part of the process. Team progress and milestones will be shared via a stakeholder engagement presentation to their project sponsors at the end of the programme. - Organisation-Specific Solutions
Engage organisations to understand their intent, goals and context, in order to create customised programmes that are aligned to their needs.
Case Study 1: Digital Service Management Programme for Central Provision Fund Board (CPFB)
The pain points
- Misalignment between solutions and user needs when the teams design solutions before fully understanding user objectives.
- Inefficiencies in customer service processes as members of the public must visit service centres due to a lack of seamless digital alternatives.
- Overemphasis on UI/UX instead of real user outcomes, and assumptions-driven feature development rather than actual needs.
Over the period of 16 weeks, the participants from CPFB engaged in hands-on application of user-centric frameworks like Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) and service blueprinting. Instead of passively receiving knowledge, teams actively constructed their learning by analysing real-world problems.
Rather than jumping to technology-driven solutions, they focused on understanding user needs, for example, recognising that many customers preferred online services over in-person visits. This insight allowed them to propose a meaningful solution such as video call services to enhance accessibility. Additionally, they developed the ability to perform opportunity analysis, build business cases, and craft service strategies that drive digital transformation and deliver tangible benefits to the community.
For Mr. Reyes Leow, Senior Manager of Digital Services at CPFB, the JTBD framework was a game changer. “It was eye-opening to understand that it is not about solutions first, but about what the user needs to accomplish,” he explained. This shift in perspective led to innovative approaches to improve customer service processes within the Board.
CPFB’s Reyes Leow presenting the team’s project ideas to the lecturers and sponsors.
For Ms Tee Kai Qi, Manager of Digital Services at CPFB, the programme sharpened her critical thinking and ideation skills. “One of the highlights was learning how to quickly generate ideas through structured ideation techniques,” she shared. Applying these skills to improve the CPF website's user experience, Kai Qi explained, “We can now use these ideation techniques to brainstorm and refine features that directly address CPF members’ needs. It shifted our mindset from adding website features we thought were useful to delivering what truly matters most to our users.
Case Study 2: Design for Agility for National University of Singapore (NUS)
The pain points
- Users are often frustrated that they cannot find answers to their finance queries, while the Finance team insists that the information is available.
- A significant amount of time is spent responding to inquiries through the university's service hub and helpdesk. Many of these queries are repetitive, and the answers could be found online.
- There is an over reliance on Finance Business Partners to provide answers to users, even when the information is readily available.
- Although the information may be available, it is often difficult to navigate because it is hosted across multiple platforms, such as SharePoint, the intranet, and policy documents.
Participants in the Design for Agility (DFA) programme took a hands-on, project-based approach to tackling real challenges. Combining interactive workshops with online content, they moved beyond theory to practical application. Before proposing solutions, they identified key unknowns - for example, did users feel responsible for finding answers? Would they embrace a self-help model?
They also mapped the emotional journey of users navigating finance-related websites. These insights shaped targeted interview questions, ensuring that solutions were user-centric rather than based on assumptions.
An important takeaway was that not every problem needed an immediate fix, especially when resources were limited. Using a prioritisation matrix, they assessed issues based on urgency, impact, frequency, and importance. During the ideation phase, they generated up to 40 ideas before narrowing them down to the top four. A solution prioritisation framework helped refine these ideas, leading to a clear Product Vision Statement. With this vision, they developed a well-defined, impactful solution.
Mr. Royston Chiew, Senior Associate Director from the Office of Finance, shared his thoughts on the value of the Design Thinking tool, emphasising its power in today’s world for solving complex problems. "Design Thinking encourages looking at challenges from the user's perspective, which helps us to avoid simply jumping into solutioning," he explained. He further highlighted, "Attending the Design for Agility programme has highlighted the importance of understanding user needs and interactions with products and services. This fresh approach provides valuable insights for more effective problem resolution."
NUS' Royston Chiew (third from left) engaging in discussion with his team.
In fact, some participants have already started putting what they learned into good use before the course ended. "After attending the first two weeks of DFA, I have already applied the Design for Agility concept within my team, fostering an open environment where my team members freely shared ideas and proposed out-of-the-box solutions to our challenges," shared Ms Joane Yuen, Head of The NUS MBA Experiential Learning.
The ALPS approach continues to empower teams across sectors, enabling them to solve real-world challenges effectively. Click here to see how your organisation can leverage ALPS to drive meaningful change.