Tasks and Duties
Objective
This task is designed to immerse you in the foundational stage of design thinking—the empathy phase. Your goal is to perform in-depth user research and create a detailed empathy map. This will help you understand potential users’ needs, motivations, pain points, and behaviors.
Expected Deliverables
- A comprehensive DOC file report capturing your research process.
- A detailed empathy map integrated into the DOC file.
- A concluding analysis that outlines your key insights and the potential impact on future design strategies.
Key Steps to Complete the Task
- User Research: Identify and select a target audience relevant to a public service or product. Utilize publicly available online resources, articles, and case studies to gather user information.
- Interview Simulation: Simulate interviews or surveys based on your research, compile fictional but realistic quotes and data.
- Create Empathy Map: Design a detailed empathy map that includes sections such as Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels. Use structured diagrams or tables within your DOC file.
- Analysis and Reflection: Provide a step-by-step walkthrough of your research process, including challenges encountered and how you overcame them. Make sure to include visual aids (diagrams, charts) where needed.
- Documentation: Format the final report in a DOC file ensuring the information is well-organized, clearly labeled, and professionally presented.
Evaluation Criteria
- Depth and clarity of research.
- Quality and insightfulness of the empathy map.
- Logical organization and professionalism demonstrated in the DOC file.
- Creativity and thoroughness in the analysis section.
- Evidence of at least 30 to 35 hours of comprehensive work.
This detailed exercise will strengthen your ability to empathize with users and set a solid foundation for subsequent design thinking processes. Your DOC file should reflect a clear narrative of your insights and the systematic approach you have followed, as well as any assumptions made during the simulated interviews. Focus on detail and precision, ensuring that the work is self-contained and can be appreciated without additional data references.
Objective
This assignment focuses on the ideation phase of design thinking, where your creative capabilities are put to the test. You will generate, organize, and articulate innovative ideas addressing the user needs identified in week one. The task encourages divergent thinking to explore multiple solutions and then converges into a set of refined ideas.
Expected Deliverables
- A DOC file report that documents the brainstorming and ideation process.
- Visual mind maps, sketches, and idea boards integrated into your document.
- A brief analysis summarizing the viability of the top three concepts chosen.
Key Steps to Complete the Task
- Brainstorming Session: Use a variety of brainstorming techniques (mind mapping, SCAMPER, role storming) to generate a wide range of ideas. Document all ideas generated in a clear, structured manner.
- Organize Ideas: Identify patterns and clusters within your ideas. Create visual diagrams to represent these clusters and their interconnections.
- Concept Selection: Narrow down your ideas to three promising concepts. Evaluate each based on potential, feasibility, and desirability using a predefined matrix that you develop and include in your DOC file.
- Develop Each Concept: Provide a detailed outline for each final concept, discussing its potential design, implementation approaches, and user impact.
- Documentation: Ensure your DOC file is meticulously organized with clear headings, subheadings, bullet points, and visual aids. The document should detail every step from ideation to final concept selection.
Evaluation Criteria
- Creativity and breadth of ideas generated.
- Clarity in the organization and visualization of concepts.
- Depth of analysis for the selected ideas.
- Quality of presentation and logical flow in the DOC file.
- Adherence to the estimated 30 to 35 hours of work.
This task will help you articulate how new and innovative solutions can be developed from foundational research insights while also preparing you for conceptual challenges ahead. Ensure that your DOC submission is comprehensive, visually appealing, and reflective of a robust ideation process.
Objective
This task engages you in the prototyping phase, where you translate your ideations into tangible, low-fidelity prototypes. The aim is to develop an initial conceptual design that showcases how chosen ideas can be iterated and tested with users. This phase is crucial for visualizing concepts and identifying potential areas of improvement before moving to high-fidelity execution.
Expected Deliverables
- A DOC file report detailing your prototyping strategy and design process.
- Embedded sketches, wireframes, or digital mock-ups that represent low-fidelity prototypes.
- A narrative describing the rationale behind design choices and anticipated user interactions.
Key Steps to Complete the Task
- Concept Review: Revisit the top concepts from the previous week and select one or two for further development.
- Sketching and Wireframing: Produce several sketches or digital wireframe models. Explain the intended user journey through annotated diagrams or flowcharts.
- Prototype Narrative: Outline your prototyping strategy in the DOC file by describing the method, tools used, and the anticipated benefits of your low-fidelity design.
- Iteration Planning: Include a section that details how feedback might be integrated in subsequent iterations. Discuss potential areas for rapid prototyping adjustments.
- Documentation: Create a DOC file that is well-structured and incorporates both visual and textual elements to clearly present your prototyping strategy.
Evaluation Criteria
- Quality and clarity of the low-fidelity prototype visualizations.
- Depth of explanation behind design choices and user journey representation.
- Coherence and structure in documenting the prototyping process.
- Inclusion of iterative strategies and feedback incorporation methods.
- Overall aesthetic and functional presentation matching the estimated work hours of 30 to 35.
This step will push you to materialize abstract ideas into tangible, testable designs. The DOC file should serve as a comprehensive record of your prototyping approach and demonstrate your ability to articulate design strategies effectively. Thoroughness in visual and narrative documentation will be key to successfully meeting the project requirements.
Objective
This assignment centers on the testing phase where you develop a comprehensive user testing strategy for your prototype. You will simulate user testing scenarios, compile expected feedback, and perform an analytical review of potential challenges and opportunities. This task ensures that you understand the importance of iterative evaluation in refining design strategies.
Expected Deliverables
- A DOC file report that details your testing strategy, feedback collection plan, and analysis outcomes.
- Simulated user testing scenarios with questionnaires or interview guides included as appendices.
- A section summarizing key findings, challenges, and proposed design improvements based on potential user feedback.
Key Steps to Complete the Task
- Develop User Testing Plan: Outline a user testing strategy for your low-fidelity design. Include specific methods such as scenario-based testing or usability tests and create mock questionnaires/interview guides.
- Feedback Simulation: Predict possible user responses and simulate feedback data. Clearly present this information in structured tables or charts embedded in the DOC file.
- Analysis of Findings: Analyze the simulated feedback to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. Explain how these findings would influence further development.
- Iterative Improvement Plan: Detail what iterative changes you would implement. Include a roadmap of revisions based on the analysis.
- Documentation: Ensure the DOC file is logically structured with distinct sections, tables, and visual aids that help articulate your testing strategy and subsequent analysis.
Evaluation Criteria
- Clarity and thoroughness of the user testing strategy.
- Quality and realism of the simulated feedback and its presentation.
- Depth of analysis demonstrated in identifying design strengths and areas for improvement.
- Effectiveness of the iterative improvement plan.
- Professional presentation and overall cohesiveness of the DOC file, reflecting a 30 to 35 hour work effort.
This task is designed to enhance your understanding of the critical phase of testing in design thinking. The complete DOC file should comprehensively reflect your planning, execution, and strategies for interpreting user feedback—all of which are key to successful design iterations.
Objective
This week’s task focuses on linking your design solutions with wider business strategy and operational feasibility. You are required to integrate your design concept with a feasible business model, ensuring that the creative solutions align with market potential and operational realities. This task bridges the gap between creative design thinking and practical business implementation.
Expected Deliverables
- A DOC file report that outlines your integrated strategy.
- An analysis of the selected business model, including financial, market, and operational considerations.
- Concept maps or diagrams showing the alignment between the design solution and the business strategy.
Key Steps to Complete the Task
- Concept-Strategy Mapping: Revisit your design ideas and identify how they can solve real-world problems while aligning with market needs. Develop a mapping strategy that links the design elements with business outcomes.
- Business Model Analysis: Research publicly available business models and select one that best fits your design solution. Analyze the model in terms of value proposition, revenue streams, cost structure, and target market.
- Integration Strategy: Develop an integrated strategy that combines your creative design solution with the chosen business model. Use diagrams, concept maps, or flowcharts to demonstrate this integration clearly.
- Risk and Opportunity Analysis: Identify potential risks in implementing your integrated strategy and suggest actionable measures to mitigate them. Also, outline opportunities that fortify your design’s market relevance.
- Documentation: Prepare a DOC file that includes all the analysis, diagrams, and narrative explanations. Ensure the report is detailed, logically sequenced, and formatted professionally.
Evaluation Criteria
- Depth of integration between design and business strategy.
- Quality of the business model analysis and its alignment with the design concept.
- Clarity of documentation through diagrams, narrative descriptions, and strategic mapping.
- Feasibility and creativity demonstrated in the risk and opportunity assessment.
- Adherence to an estimated 30 to 35 hours of work in preparing a comprehensive DOC file submission.
This assignment enables you to critically evaluate the intersection of design and business strategy. Your DOC file should articulate a cohesive and innovative strategy that not only features creative design elements but also demonstrates an understanding of practical market dynamics and operational execution.
Objective
The final task in this virtual internship is dedicated to reflection and synthesis. Your assignment is to create a comprehensive roadmap that summarizes your entire design thinking journey over the past five weeks. This includes consolidating your learning, reflecting on your design decisions, and outlining future steps for executing your strategy. The task demands insightful reflective analysis and forward planning that leverages your previous work.
Expected Deliverables
- A DOC file report that synthesizes the insights from each phase into a unified narrative.
- A detailed future roadmap outlining actionable steps for implementing your design solution.
- Reflections on the learning process, with specific emphasis on challenges, successes, and potential improvements.
Key Steps to Complete the Task
- Synthesis of Previous Work: Review your outputs from the empathy mapping, ideation, prototyping, testing, and business strategy tasks. Summarize key findings and insights gathered from each phase.
- Reflection Analysis: Write a reflective narrative discussing what you learned through the process, which strategies were effective, and how you overcame challenges. Address both the creative and strategic dimensions of your work.
- Roadmap Development: Create a detailed roadmap that includes short-term and long-term actions to further develop and potentially implement your design solution. Incorporate timelines, critical milestones, and dependency considerations.
- Future Strategy and Recommendations: Propose recommendations for future iterations of the design strategy based on your reflective insights. Discuss how you plan to gather additional data and iterate upon your ideas.
- Documentation: Ensure that your DOC file is comprehensive, well-organized, and contains clear headings, subheadings, and visual timeline elements where appropriate.
Evaluation Criteria
- Depth and clarity of reflective insights.
- Coherence in synthesizing the design thinking journey.
- Practicality and detail in the future roadmap and action plan.
- Organization and structure of the DOC file submission.
- Evidence of a dedicated 30 to 35 hour investment in work quality and analysis.
This final task is an opportunity for you to step back and evaluate your progress while planning future developments. Your DOC submission should not only capture the essence of your journey in design thinking but also serve as a guide for continuous improvement and professional growth. Strive for a balanced mix of critical reflection, strategic planning, and creative foresight.