Reframing: Solving Complex Problems with Learning Design

Course development in Australian universities is typically treated as a complicated, linear process. In practice it is a complex endeavour shaped by competing priorities — quality, accreditation, market pressures, and diverse stakeholder needs. Drawing on a large-scale online program development initiative at the University of Adelaide, this paper proposes reframing course development as a complex, adaptive, collaborative practice informed by design thinking and systems thinking. We outline six guiding principles — from establishing shared values and language to working across organisational layers — and describe the artefacts and tools that made this approach scalable. Thirty-six courses and supporting digital resources were delivered; more significantly, the work embedded adaptive, design-led practice that builds institutional capacity and shifts the target from minimum viable product to maximum value.