01
Notice and imagine
An Opportunity Log, how might we questions and an Idea Starter Prompts card help you spot opportunities and fill a page with ideas in ten minutes.
Camderson Academy · CA-SO-011
Turn what you notice into ideas worth trying, and learn from small experiments in any role.
A practical, self-paced course for anyone who sees a better way to work, in every role and department. Notice opportunities, generate many ideas alone and together, choose one worth testing, design a small and safe experiment and share what you learn, with cards and templates you keep.
About 3 hours · 6 lessons · Beginner · For every role and level · Self-paced · Tools you keep
Trying a better way of working can be simple, safe and rewarding.
02
Build and choose
An Idea Round Guide, an Idea Screen and a What Must Be True list help a team share ideas and choose one worth testing.
03
Test and share
An Experiment Card with a Stop Rule checklist, Ask for a Small Trial cards, a Results Note and a 2 Minute Share-Out outline help you test small, learn honestly and thank the people who helped.
Learning outcomes
What you will be able to do
Practical outcomes, each practiced in an exercise and checked in the final assessment or the capstone.
- Record ten observations in an Opportunity Log and turn three into how might we questions.
- Produce fifteen ideas for one question in ten minutes using three plain prompts and write three as one-line ideas.
- Plan and run a 20 minute idea round with silent writing first and sort the results by effort and value.
- Score five ideas on effort, value and risk of being wrong, choose one and write what must be true.
- Complete an Experiment Card that stays small, reversible and inside your own remit, with a success signal set in advance and a stop rule.
- Record a result honestly, decide to stop, adjust or extend, and share a Results Note and a two minute share-out.
Your toolkit
Simple tools for everyday innovation
Opportunity Log and How Might We starter
Observe · Log · Question
Log ten observations of friction, workarounds, delays and customer comments, then turn three into how might we questions.
Idea Starter Prompts card
Question · Ten minutes · Prompts · Three one-liners
Write fifteen ideas in ten minutes for one question using remove, borrow and flip, and write three as one-line ideas.
Idea Round Guide
Write · Share · Build · Sort
Plan a 20 minute round with silent writing, reading in turn, building on and sorting by effort and value.
Idea Screen sheet and What Must Be True list
Score · Choose · What must be true
Score five ideas on effort, value and risk of being wrong, choose one and write what must be true.
Experiment Card, Stop Rule checklist and Ask for a Small Trial cards
Card · Stop rule · Ask
Complete the eight parts of an Experiment Card, check the stop and ask first list and write an ask to a manager or process owner.
Results Note template and 2 Minute Share-Out outline
Result · Decision · Share · Thank
Record a result as worked, partly worked or did not work, make one decision and share it in two minutes with thanks.
Notice. Imagine. Choose. Try small. Share.
Curriculum
Inside the course
2 modules, 6 lessons with worked examples
01
Find and Grow Ideas
Notice opportunities, generate many ideas alone first and build on ideas together.
02
Test, Learn and Share
Pick an idea worth testing, design a small and safe experiment and share what you learn.
What is included
Skills, tools and templates you keep and use in your work
- 6 lessons, each with a written lesson, worked examples and figures, at your own pace
- A short stand-alone example in every lesson, drawn from many kinds of workplaces
- A fillable Workbook with Try it and Reflect pages for every lesson
- Innovation Templates (Word) for every teaching tool
- A practice tracker with live formulas, a solutions version and a reusable template
- Quick Reference Cards and the Practice Examples
- An optional visual companion PDF with every lesson figure
- Knowledge checks for every module and a 20-question final assessment
- A capstone you can build for your own team or from practice scenarios, with a rubric you use to check your own work
- Access to the Camderson Academy community
- A Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion when you pass the final assessment and the capstone
Is this course right for you?
This course is for you if
- You notice things that could work better and want a practical, safe way to try them
- You want a way to generate many ideas, alone and with others, and to choose one worth testing
- You want the same simple habits for everyone on your team, in any department, who has an idea
It is not the right fit if
- You need legal, financial, medical or professional advice about a particular situation, or a course that states what any law, rule or policy requires
- You want process improvement tools such as mapping, root cause tools or plan, do, study, act in depth, or help with a startup, funding or a product launch
- You want promises that experiments will raise revenue or cut cost, or advice on who owns an idea or invention
Your instructor
Meet your instructor
Taught by Camderson Advisory
A consulting firm for practical workplace skills
Your instructor is Camderson Advisory, a consulting firm that helps organizations build practical skills for the people who do the work. In this course, your instructor helps you build everyday habits for noticing, trying and sharing, and gives you plain words, cards and a safe way to test small ideas.
About
About Camderson Academy
Camderson Academy is the education division of Camderson Advisory Services. Camderson helps leaders build organizations that work without them in the room. Everything we teach has been used in a real organization first.
Training a team?
We offer group enrollment for teams and whole organizations that want everyone, in every role and department, to build the same skills. Email connect@camderson.com to talk through your group.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need any experience or a previous course?
No. There is no prerequisite. The examples come from many kinds of workplaces, and every exercise works for any role.
Who is this course for?
Anyone who notices something that could work better and wants a practical way to try it, in any role or department. The examples come from many kinds of workplaces, and the habits fit every kind of organization.
How long do I have access?
Your access does not expire. We review the course on a regular cycle, and any updates are added for you at no extra cost.
How long does it take?
About 3 hours in total, including the written lessons, the Try it exercises, the knowledge checks, the final assessment and the capstone. Everything is self-paced.
Questions about your purchase?
Email support through academy.camderson.com.
What tools do I need?
A spreadsheet program that opens .xlsx files (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers or LibreOffice Calc), a word processor that opens .docx files and a PDF reader. All templates and practice files are included as downloads.
Do I have to use my own work for the capstone?
No. You can build your first experiment for the practice scenarios in the Capstone Practice Brief included in the course. If you use your own work, leave out names, confidential details, customer information and anything that could identify a person.
Does the course recommend products or give professional advice?
No. It recommends no products or vendors, and it is general education, not legal, tax, financial, medical or professional advice. These courses support good practice. They do not by themselves satisfy any legal or regulatory training requirement. It does not say who owns an idea, promises no result and makes no claim about revenue or cost, and for anything touching safety, customer information, prices, money or other people's jobs it says stop and ask first. Laws and rules vary by state and country and they change, so before you act on a real situation, talk with your own attorney or qualified professional. Camderson Academy is not affiliated with any organization, tool or author named in the sources.
What does the certificate confirm?
You receive a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion after passing the final assessment and completing the capstone. This certificate confirms completion of a Camderson Academy course.
How was this course written and checked?
This course was written and edited by Camderson Advisory. Sources are listed with the date each was read. Where a source could not be opened on that date, the Sources page says so. This course teaches skills for everyday work. It is not legal, tax, financial, medical or professional advice. Laws and rules vary by place and change over time, so talk with your own attorney or qualified professional about your situation. Last updated: November 2026. Next planned review: November 2027.
Turn what you notice into ideas worth trying, and learn from small experiments in any role.
Self-paced, about 3 hours, with a Workbook, templates, Quick Reference Cards and a practice tracker.
This course earns a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion. This certificate confirms completion of a Camderson Academy course. This course is general education about everyday innovation: noticing opportunities, generating ideas alone and together, choosing an idea to test, designing a small and safe experiment and sharing what you learn. It is not legal, tax, financial, medical or professional advice for your particular situation, it promises no result, and it does not replace your own organization's policies, procedures or the people it names to answer questions. It does not say who owns an idea, invention or work product, or how ideas, trials or confidential information must be handled where you work, and it says nothing about what any law, rule or policy requires. Ask your own manager or process owner. It does not promise that any idea or experiment will raise revenue, cut cost or improve any outcome. It does not cover process improvement tools, business model testing or product launch. Experiments that touch safety, regulated activity, customer information, prices, money or other people's jobs are outside this course: stop and ask first. Laws and rules vary by state and country and they change, and what is true for one employer or place may not be true for yours. Before you act on a real situation, talk with your own attorney or qualified professional, and use the Questions page at the end of each lesson. Where a lesson names a source, it says what the source said on the date we read it. Studies named in the lessons come from particular samples, often students, and are not promises about any team. These courses support good practice. They do not by themselves satisfy any legal or regulatory training requirement. Examples and numbers are illustrative, and all people and organizations in the examples are fictional. Camderson Academy is not affiliated with any organization, tool or author named in the sources and does not endorse any product.