Tasks and Duties
Task Objective
You will conduct an in-depth analysis of the current challenges within the virtual healthcare domain. Your objective is to clearly identify a real-world problem area where innovation can dramatically improve patient care, streamline remote diagnostics, or enhance patient engagement through digital platforms.
Expected Deliverables
- A comprehensive DOC file detailing your research findings.
- Clear problem statement and justification of its importance.
- Insights gathered from publicly available industry reports, articles, and case studies.
Key Steps
- Research Phase: Spend 10-12 hours exploring the landscape of virtual healthcare innovations using publicly available data, journals, and articles. Identify trends, gaps, and opportunities.
- Problem Identification: Dedicate 8-10 hours to distill your findings and select a specific problem area. Document why this problem is critical and who are the affected stakeholders.
- Analysis and Synthesis: Use the remaining time (10-13 hours) to analyze the impact of the identified problem and propose initial ideas for potential innovative solutions. Sketch out key points and supporting data.
- Documentation: Prepare a DOC file that is clear, logically structured, and uses headings and bullet points to improve readability. The document must have an introduction, methodology, findings, and a conclusion.
Evaluation Criteria
- Depth and breadth of research.
- Clarity and relevance of the identified problem.
- Quality of analysis—insightful synthesis of research findings.
- Structural clarity and overall presentation in the DOC file.
- Adherence to the approximate 30-35 hour work requirement.
This task is designed to help you build a strong foundation in problem identification and initial research methodology, which is critical for impactful design thinking. The deliverable is fully self-contained and requires no additional resources beyond publicly available data.
Task Objective
In this week’s assignment, you will focus on ideation and concept mapping. The goal is to develop creative and innovative solutions that address the problem identified in Week 1, using design thinking methodologies. You should explore multiple possible approaches with a focus on user-centric solution design that is applicable in a virtual healthcare context.
Expected Deliverables
- A DOC file documenting the ideation process.
- A visual concept map (embedded as an image or described in text) that represents different solution pathways.
- An explanation of how your proposed ideas address the identified problem and potential benefits to virtual healthcare users.
Key Steps
- Brainstorming and Ideation: Spend 10-12 hours generating a variety of ideas. Use techniques such as mind mapping, free writing, or sketching on paper to explore diverse perspectives.
- Concept Mapping: Dedicate 10 hours to developing a concept map that visually links each idea to aspects of the problem statement. Clearly show relationships between different solution pathways and user needs.
- Selection and Justification: Use the remaining time (10-13 hours) to select the top 2-3 ideas based on feasibility, innovativeness, and impact. Justify your selection with detailed written rationale and supporting reasoning.
- Documentation: Your DOC file must include all brainstorming outcomes, the final concept map explanation, and detailed descriptions of how each idea connects to the problem definition from Week 1.
Evaluation Criteria
- Creativity and originality of concepts.
- Effective use of visual and textual concept mapping.
- Logical reasoning for idea selection.
- Clarity in documentation and overall submission quality.
- Adherence to the 30 to 35 hours time allocation.
This assignment encourages you to step into the role of an innovation strategist and apply design thinking tools to generate compelling solutions in the virtual healthcare sector.
Task Objective
This week, you will transition from conceptual ideas to tangible prototypes by developing storyboards that illustrate the user experience of your proposed solution. The focus is on transforming abstract concepts into practical, visual narratives that depict the end-to-end user journey in a virtual healthcare setting.
Expected Deliverables
- A DOC file that includes a detailed storyboard or several storyboards describing the user experience.
- Step-by-step narrative of how users interact with your solution.
- Integration of design thinking principles to validate user empathy, define pain points, and illustrate solution benefits.
Key Steps
- Review and Reflection: Spend 8-10 hours revisiting the ideas from Week 2 and selecting the most promising solution that aligns with user needs and innovation potential.
- Storyboard Development: Invest 12-15 hours to create detailed storyboards. Each storyboard should capture multiple touchpoints in the user experience—from initial discovery to solution adoption and impact assessment. Consider scenarios, user emotions, and contextual challenges.
- User Journey Mapping: Dedicate 8-10 hours to enhancing your storyboard with a user journey map. Clearly identify key interactions, pain points, and moments of delight within the virtual healthcare environment.
- Documentation: Compile your findings, storyboards, and narrative steps into a single DOC file. Use headings, figures (if applicable), and annotations to ensure clarity.
Evaluation Criteria
- Creativity and detail of the storyboard narratives.
- Depth of user journey mapping and understanding of user needs.
- Consistency in aligning the prototype with the original problem statement and proposed ideas from previous tasks.
- Quality and clarity of the DOC file submission.
- Effective use of design thinking methods throughout the storyboard.
This task is designed to help you visualize and practically apply the ideation process, ensuring your solution is both innovative and user-centered within the dynamic realm of virtual healthcare.
Task Objective
The final weekly task involves the evaluation and refinement of your design prototype through a simulated usability testing process. The aim is to anticipate real-world user interactions, gather hypothetical feedback, and propose iterative improvements to your solution within the framework of virtual healthcare innovation.
Expected Deliverables
- A DOC file summarizing your usability test simulation.
- A detailed report including feedback analysis, identified issues, and proposed enhancements.
- Documentation of testing methodologies and iterative design revisions based on user-centric principles.
Key Steps
- Design Testing Scenarios: Spend 10-12 hours developing multiple testing scenarios. These scenarios should simulate realistic usage situations in virtual healthcare environments, highlighting user challenges and potential areas for improvement.
- Feedback Simulation: Dedicate 10-12 hours to simulate user feedback. Use methods such as heuristic evaluation and role-playing to generate comprehensive feedback on the user journey you storyboarded in Week 3. Document user reactions, pain points, and positive experiences.
- Analysis and Iteration: Allocate 8-10 hours to systematically analyze the simulated feedback. Identify recurring themes, prioritize issues, and suggest feasible improvements to enhance the overall usability of your prototype.
- Final Compilation: Prepare a DOC file that includes an introduction to your testing approach, the detailed scenarios and feedback data, your analysis, and a structured list of iterative changes. Ensure the document is well-organized and comprises clear sections such as methodology, findings, recommendations, and conclusion.
Evaluation Criteria
- Comprehensiveness of the simulated usability tests.
- Depth and clarity in feedback analysis and suggested improvements.
- Logical structure and detailed presentation of your DOC file.
- Demonstrated application of design thinking principles in iterative design.
- Adherence to the estimated work effort of 30 to 35 hours.
This task is pivotal as it simulates the real-world iterative design process where continuous improvement drives successful innovations. By completing this task, you'll refine your prototype and demonstrate the full cycle of design thinking—from ideation to prototyping and evaluation—ensuring preparedness for challenges in virtual healthcare innovation.