Certified Agile Product Design Expert (CAPDE) -
Now with AI
Master User Experience (UX) Design with Customer Experience (CX) Integration and Agile Project Management Techniques, now enhanced with AI-driven modules.
This comprehensive course not only meets but exceeds New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) standards, equipping you with the in-demand skills to excel in the global UX design landscape. With a growing demand for experienced UX designers in New Zealand, as highlighted by Careers NZ, this programme positions you to meet industry needs effectively.
Our program follows industry frameworks rather than national qualification standards. Senior UX/CX specialists meticulously craft the course content, equipping you with advanced skills tailored for an agile Product Designer. Now enhanced with AI-driven modules.
I will learn
and apply
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Learn the best practice of designing for accessibility by using WCAG and apply consistency using pattern and component library - a must-know for digital product designer.
What you will learn:
1. Accessibility review
2. UI & Design system
3. Using Figma and other AI design tools -
This module introduces the agile experience design mindset and explores its implications for integrating agile scrum methodology into your project, enabling you to pivot and adapt effectively.
What you will learn:
1. Agile mindset in team collaboration
2. Agile scrum methodology
3. Scoping and managing UX project -
This module explores the implications for triple-diamond model and stakeholder management into your project. You will have an ideation session with the stakeholder, review your sprint planning and product/service backlog with your mentor - the start of Agile Scrum.
What you will learn:
1. Stakeholder interview
2. Empathising & ideation with stakeholders to gain UX insights
3. Competitor analysis
4. Assessing IDEO’s DFV framework
5. Sprint planning -
Strengthen your human-centric design approach by applying design thinking techniques, including personas and experience mapping to validate a solution to a real user problem (user story), not just immediate problem.
What you will learn:
1. Problem statements & user stories
2. Design requirements gathering
3. Assessing desirability of user in design
4. Exploring AI tools to assist design thinking -
Learn the critical soft skills needed to manage the development and execution phase of the product. Take an idea through concept, design, and user validation phases, and create a spec to handoff to engineering for development.
What you will learn:
1. User interview & survey design
2. User personas
3. User flow & journey mapping
4. Information architecture (site map, navigation design and content strategy)
5. Exploring AI tools for information architecture -
Map out the full concept through creation of a prototype that can be used to validate that you’re solving a problem for real users. You will create an MVP by considering heuristic approach and accessibility. Learn to translate the user flows into wire flow towards hi-fi prototyping. You will turn those insights into a solution by creating a design draft and testing mock-up to review your solution.
What you will learn:
1. Synthesis
2. Sketching
3. Wireframing
4. Low-fidelity vs. high-fidelity prototyping
5. Exploring AI tools in prototyping -
Learn the proper way to conduct user testing for the next design iteration, by assessing the pain points and insights from user testing. Iterate to improve usability.
What you will learn:
1. Testing plan
2. Recruit participants
3. Usability testing flow
4. Analysis data & feedback
5. Result reporting
6. Design iteration -
Validate your testing and design strategy. Learn how the industry collaborates with experience designers in design sprints towards product release.
What you will learn:
1. Presentation deck for sprint review -
Learn to Iterate to improve usability based on testing feedback, aligned with the hypothesis.
What you will learn:
1. Analysis data & feedback
2. Result reporting
3. Design iteration -
Present & pitch your UX solution to stakeholders through winning storytelling prior to hand over.
What you will learn:
1. Stakeholder showcase
2. Asset creation & handover -
Explore the future trend of UX by knowing futures design, web 3.0 and Ai in digital UX design.
What you will learn:
1. Future trends of UX
2. Employment preparation: CV, portfolio & job interview
Tools I will use
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Figma
Figma design is for people to create, share, and test designs for websites, mobile apps, and other digital products and experiences. It is a popular tool for designers, product managers, writers and developers and helps anyone involved in the design process contribute, give feedback, and make better decisions, faster.
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Miro
Miro is an innovative, cloud-based visual workspace that enhances brainstorming, team collaboration, and making flowcharts. The Miro board is a dynamic canvas where teams can come together to visualise ideas, map out plans, and track project progress.
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ADO/Jira
ADO provides an integrated set of services and tools to manage your software projects, from planning and development through testing and deployment. Azure DevOps delivers services through a client/server model.
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Askable
Whether you're conducting interviews with participants sourced by you or recruited by us, Askable Sessions is the secure, purpose-built tool for effective remote research sessions.
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Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is essential in product design for creating and editing visual elements. It's also used to design and refine components for a design system, ensuring consistency across a product. Photoshop helps produce professional design assets that enhance the user experience.
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Canva
Canva is a great tool for product design, letting designers quickly create mockups, wireframes, and graphics. Its user-friendly interface and templates make designing easy. Canva's AI features help enhance designs and automate tasks, ensuring consistency. Plus, its collaborative tools make teamwork seamless.
“Nearly 60% of UX designers now rely on collaborative platforms like Figma and InVision, which have helped boost design iteration speeds by roughly 30% in remote or hybrid work environments.”
— InVision’s Remote Design Teams Report
What I will get
6-month 24/7 unlimited access to your learning portal, in support of customer experience (CX) training.
Experience our exclusive 11‑week cloud‑based training programme designed to elevate your customer experience (UX) strategy. This package includes a personalised 1‑to‑2‑hour session with a digital mentor—valued at $10,000—dedicated to diagnosing and addressing your business’s UX challenges.
Duration: 11 weeks (depending on your pace)
Delivery: Our flexible learning approach offers both online and blended workshops, ensuring mentoring and training are accessible anytime, anywhere. Evening workshops are also available to suit your schedule.
Recognition: Content validated by Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Microsoft
Funding Grant: This Workshop / Course / Coaching is registered with the Management Capability Development Fund. Find out more by visiting www.business.govt.nz/regional-business-partner-network
Enrollment: Now
Training focus: Project-based with a real client or your own business.
We accept international applications.
Meet your UX Design Mentor
Seann Lautner
Experience
Previously Senior Experience Strategist at Air New Zealand
Previously Senior UX Strategist at ONE NZ (formerly Vodafone NZ)
Previously UX Lead at IKEA, Skydive Australia, Auckland Transport & Auckland Council.
Currently UX Consultant at Ministry of UX
Currently CX & UX mentor at the Institute of Digital Marketing New Zealand (IDNZ)
Industry Certified
UX Coaching Expertise
Seann is a highly sought-after UX coach with over 5 years of experience guiding aspiring UX designers. He has a passion for nurturing talent and has demonstrably helped over 100 UX designers land their first UX jobs in the past few years. His dedication and positive approach have earned him the reputation as the "most loveable UX coach in New Zealand."
Skills Beyond Essential UX to Master Agile Product Design & Management
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Design & Collaboration Skill
Job descriptions frequently seek candidates with a keen aesthetic sense and familiarity with visual design tools and collaborative platforms. Hence, we incorporate tools such as Figma, Miro, Framer, Proto.io, Optimal Workshop, etc., into the course content.
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CX/UX Research & Strategising Skill
Understanding user and customer goals, identifying pain points, and assessing how a product impacts their experience are fundamental aspects of design. Therefore, we emphasise the skills needed to analyse customer feedback and synthesise it to inform design recommendations, which are crucial in the industry.
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Agile Project Management Skill
Having some practice seeing the bigger picture of a process, being able to strategise, and knowing how to execute a vision can come in handy as a product designer. You don’t have to have worked as a project manager, but some experience creating, overseeing, or implementing a project can be useful. We get this covered in your learning.
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Stakeholder Playback & Management Skill
Mastering the art of communication, articulating your design decisions persuasively to stakeholders, is the biggest challenge in product design. Maintaining your composure and consistently delivering exceptional user experiences throughout the project is what we will emphasise throughout your sprint learning.
Level Up Your UX Career.
Become a High-Impact Product Designer.
In today's competitive market, companies seek well-rounded professionals who can go beyond the user experience (UX). Product Design equips you with the strategic thinking and technical expertise to bridge the gap and become a true experience design leader.
87%
of managers want
Product Designers over UX designers
Product designers are integral to every phase of the product development journey, from initial concept to final execution. In contrast, UX designers specialise in the practical, hands-on aspects of design, ensuring the end user’s experience is intuitive and engaging.
Product designer
VS UX designer
According to various salary aggregate websites, product designers tend to have slightly higher average salaries than UX designers globally.
Product Designer
Manage and involved in the entire design process of a product, including brainstorming, UX, project management, customer experience and business-related processes.
Past experience can include UX design, leading projects, and collaborating with other teams.
Product designers tend to be more business-oriented. This might manifest in working more closely with business or product teams than a typical UX designer might, and ensuring business needs are met in a finished product.
UX Designer
Designs with a focus on making products pleasant to use and navigate. Generally has a more narrow focus than product designers.
Past experience can include visual or graphic design, interaction design, and UX knowledge.
UX designers are more design focused. UX designers are often expected to design the actual visual and interactive elements of a product. That’s not to say that product designers don’t—but as a UX designer, expect to dig in a little more into the hands-on aspects of designing a user-friendly product.
Become a UX master for the global tech industry
The Certified Agile Product Design Expert (CAPDE) program is a comprehensive course that integrates User Experience (UX) Design with Customer Experience (CX) strategies and Agile Project Management techniques, now enhanced with AI-driven modules. This program is meticulously crafted by senior UX/CX specialists to equip participants with advanced skills tailored for agile product designers.
The Agile Way of Managing UX Design Projects: This module introduces the agile experience design mindset, focusing on integrating agile scrum methodology into projects to enable effective adaptation and pivoting.
Stakeholder Management in the UX Design Process: Here, participants explore the triple-diamond model and stakeholder management, engaging in ideation sessions, sprint planning, and product/service backlog reviews to gain valuable UX insights.
Design Thinking & Managing UX Sprints: This module emphasizes a human-centric design approach, applying design thinking techniques such as personas and experience mapping to validate solutions.
Prototyping & Usability Testing: Participants learn to create prototypes and conduct usability testing to refine designs based on user feedback.
Implementing and Managing Agile UX Projects: The final module focuses on implementing UX projects within an agile framework, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with user needs.
Understanding the Tech Industry and Trends: Gain insights into current and emerging trends in the tech industry, enabling you to design products that are both innovative and relevant.
Building Your Professional Development Plan: Develop a personalized plan to enhance your career trajectory, focusing on setting goals and identifying opportunities for growth in UX and product design.
Fundamentals of Coding and Spreadsheets: Acquire basic coding skills and learn to utilize spreadsheets effectively, enhancing your technical proficiency and ability to manage data-driven design projects.
Fundamentals of Collaboration and Communication: Master essential collaboration tools and communication strategies to work efficiently within diverse teams and stakeholder groups.
Learning Essential Tech and Generative AI Tools: Explore essential technologies and generative AI tools to enhance your design processes and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Pathway into Tech Career Accelerator: Access resources and guidance to accelerate your career in the tech industry, including networking opportunities and mentorship.
Flexible Payment Options: Benefit from weekly payment options, making the program financially accessible and allowing you to focus on your learning journey.
This Agile Product Design Certification
is for
Many who are in traditional graphic/web design careers wish to update their skillset
Anyone who seeks a career change in tech business
Those who have just graduated and want to hit the ground running and up their skills in UX & UI Design immediately
Entrepreneurs and small business owners who want to embrace proper UX in web and app development
Anyone looking to solve business problems by putting users at the centre of the design
Running UX projects with developers through agile sprints
Pick Your Real Project
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Energy Educators
Design a seamless booking experience to install in-home display units for clients. You are required to solve problems for installers to manage bookings efficiently and notify customers of the installation. This involves dashboard design for customers bookings and installers to prioritise installation according to regional bookings. This is a Victoria Government Initiative in Australia.
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Audiobook New Zealand
Design a full-stack user experience for a library site. You will blueprint a library subscription payment experience, search book features, linking the full catalogue into the school database, design a user login to acquire books as well as to the administrator to update the full catalogue. This design involves creating user flow, research and testing, with potential to elevate for business and individual clients use.
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Doorknock
Can't find the perfect home on the market? No problem - Doorknock it! Doorknock app connects you with off-market homes (ones not currently on the market), so you can start conversations with property owners and explore a sale. This design involves creating user flow, information architecture, end-to-end journey blueprinting and design.
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Chefers
This is a start-up project which provides a platform for the creators to share food recipes, accepting tips and member subscriptions. You are required to design journeys for creators and members on profile dashboard, micro-payment transaction, and content page with the interaction between the creators and members.
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InsightOut
This is a council initiated project to match business mentors with the mentees - an approach to support small business owners to get through difficult times to start up business during the pandemic. You are required to redesign the mentors and mentees dashboard, mentor booking experience, mentor-mentee matching features and payment transactions platform.
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Kiss IT
Design a seamless booking experience to book clients. You are required to solve UX problems for customers to manage bookings efficiently and notify customers of their appointment.
This involves dashboard design for customers’ types of bookings and Kiss IT to prioritise service according to the job requirements.. -
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Day Spa Richmond
Research and design a full-stack user experience website/web app.
You will look at how you can improve the experience on the current website to enable loyal customers, and cross-selling to other products with the implementation of their digital marketing channels and funnel. Members portal and staff portal to be incorporated to foster a community internally.
Excel in Tech
Master UX Design and Agile Product Management
The job market for UX designers is crowded. But what if you could stand out with a skill set that sets you apart?
Master UX and Agile Project Management
At IDNZ we offer a UX design course in New Zealand that combines user experience (UX) design with agile project management. This course is designed for professionals who wish to craft engaging digital experiences while managing the full product lifecycle—from initial concept to final delivery.
From UX to Product Design:
A Holistic Approach
Our course explores how robust UX design underpins effective product design. You will learn to:
Understand both user needs and business goals
Apply agile techniques throughout the design process
Manage projects from brainstorming to execution
By focusing on practical skills, the course helps you bridge the gap between creative design and systematic project management.
Designing Experiences That Resonate
Whether you are new to UX or looking to expand your skillset, our course provides insights into developing designs that truly resonate with users. With an emphasis on real-world application, you will acquire the tools needed to:
Translate user research into practical design solutions
Create products that support business growth
Develop strategies that work in New Zealand’s competitive market
Explore this UX design course in New Zealand and enhance your career with a balanced understanding of user experience and agile project management.
Get Industry-Ready
in Just 11 Weeks with Real-World UX Projects!
Go from basic to Expert
Expand beyond simply just meeting NZQA standards and access expertise that will excel you to senior roles.
You have the keys to mastering Agile UX according to industry standards, not just academic theories. We mentor you, not just teach you, learn what's proven in the industry as a specialised experience designer, researcher, product owner, and product designer.
Frequently Asked Questions
11 weeks for working with a real client project. Mentor will arrange a fixed time with the mentee, depending on your project chosen.
The mentoring sessions will be made available any one day during weekdays, anytime between 6pm-9pm, making this easy and feasible for most working adults. This can be discussed prior with the learners on special case.
All applicants must be educated to at least ‘A’ Level standard (or equivalent) and, be fluent in oral and written English language. Additionally, all applicants must fulfill at least one of the following criteria:
- Have professional work experience in any field
- Hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree
- Hold a Diploma with at least 2 years working experience.
Anyone with suitable work experience can apply for the certification program. A background in a related discipline is not required; the aim of the certification is to enable you to learn everything you need to know at an industry level, so you can kick start your UX career.
You could be a recent graduate, or simply looking to change your career. The only prerequisite is that you have an interest in solving real problems for the user, and put user at the center of the design.
No, this is not a programming course, and you will not have to learn any coding. This certification focuses on the commercial aspect of UX.
The certification is assessed through on-going progression and a client pitching throughout the course.
Student can enrol anytime to gain access to the online learning portal and start studying.
Yes, we have flexi-payment options that are interest free of upto 12 months, made feasible with our partner Splitit.
Learn what you will earn upon course completion
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Freelance Designer
You are a solution provider for your business. You define the product or service, planning the promotion, production, sales and budgeting for the business with the aim of making profit. You want to grow your business via digital platforms.
Salary & Profit: The sky is your limit!
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Experience Designer
You will be creating detailed paid media strategies/plans for search, display, video, and social platforms, finding real insights from data for client's customers and their behaviour.
$80,000 - $109,999 p.a. + commission -
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Product Owner
You’ll focus on digital & e-commerce site conversions, identify how the e-commerce user journey can be optimised and improved through SEO, CRO strategy, website user data, and landing pages, then project manage this work.
$85,000 - $100,000 p.a.
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Product Designer
You will create exceptional and innovative content and partnerships opportunities, work with all agency stakeholders and suppliers to create a media lead solution and production plan.
$65,000 - $89,999 p.a. -
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CX Designer/Researcher
You are confident in bringing human centred design skills and critical thinking to support and define the customer experience., develop and implement strategies to enhance best practice customer outcomes for business.
$75,000.00 - $150,000.00 p.a. subject to experience
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UX Designer/Researcher
You will drive customer centric design principles and agile ways of working, identify customer problems and opportunities and design intuitive, seamless, delightful solutions, with user research, testing during a life cycle of a project.
$75,000 - $150,000 p.a. subject to experience
Learn more
Get Certified
Have questions?
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Sarah Eddy
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO MD
”Completing the IDNZ certification has assisted me to grow hugely within our business, expanding into a space where we had limited capability and knowledge. Now our organisation is benefitting from me having fresh, up-to-date IP which I can put into practice daily.” -
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Harrison Mudgway
NEW ZEALAND MTB NATIONAL
”With the ongoing support and weekly cloud meetings, I was able to complete this course with ease while working full time. The modules are easy to understand, helped a lot with my time management and ensure I didn’t miss important principles.” -
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Ying Watson
STAKEHOLDER MANAGER
”After 3 months of studying the digital marketing course every night (after putting the children to bed), I am so excited I passed the exam and become a Certified Digital Marketing Expert. Thank you, Sai Constantine and Seann Lautner for your generous mentoring.” -
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Rohan Satghare
RETAIL SALES & OPERATION
”While looking for options, I was looking for something where I can study online with mentor support at the same time working full time. I was looking for quality course material which will help me with my future job. IDNZ is offering both so I decided to go with IDNZ.” -
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Irene Fortoul
UX/UI DESIGNER / GRAPHIC DESIGNER
”It was an amazing journey, right from the start until the end. The course challenged me to think to a more human-centered design, by learning the agile way with a real project. Thank you so much to my mentor Seann Lautner, who was incredibly patient.”
