Tasks and Duties
Task Objective: For Week 1, your mission is to explore the foundational step of design thinking in the context of sustainability by focusing on empathy and user research. The objective is to understand the concerns, needs, and perspectives of diverse stakeholders related to environmental sustainability challenges.
Expected Deliverable: A comprehensive DOC file that documents your research process, findings, and insights. The document should be structured with clear sections detailing the background, research methods, data gathered through interviews or surveys (using publicly available data if necessary), analysis, and reflective conclusions.
Key Steps to Complete the Task:
- Research and Planning: Identify key sustainability challenges affecting communities or industries. Plan a research strategy that includes problem framing and outlines primary and secondary research methods.
- Conduct Research: Engage in interviews or online surveys using publicly available tools and sources. Document observations through empathy maps, user journey diagrams, or narrative accounts focused on sustainability challenges.
- Analysis: Analyze the responses and frame the insights to build empathetic profiles of the actual users or stakeholders. Highlight pain points and opportunities for sustainable interventions.
- Documentation: Summarize your methods, findings, and insights in a well-structured DOC file with clear headings, visuals (if any), and reflective commentary.
Evaluation Criteria:
- A clear explanation of research methods and planning.
- A detailed, logically organized analysis of the gathered data with evidence of empathy mapping.
- The ability to articulate insights linking user needs to sustainability challenges.
- Quality of written content, visual presentation, and overall DOC file structure.
This task is expected to take approximately 30 to 35 hours. Ensure that your work is detailed, well supported by publicly available data, and clearly aligned with design thinking principles integrated with sustainable practices.
Task Objective: In Week 2, your goal is to translate the empathy and research insights from Week 1 into a well-defined problem statement and creative ideation session. Focus on generating innovative ideas that address sustainability challenges using the design thinking process.
Expected Deliverable: Submit a DOC file that contains a clear problem statement, a summary of brainstorming methods, and a collection of innovative solution ideas. Your document should include sketches, diagrams, and textual descriptions that capture your ideation process.
Key Steps to Complete the Task:
- Define the Problem: Use your research findings to articulate a thought-provoking and actionable problem statement that targets sustainability concerns.
- Brainstorm Solutions: Conduct an ideation session using techniques like mind mapping, SCAMPER, or brainstorming to generate diverse sustainable design solutions. Document all ideas, including wild or unconventional ones.
- Concept Development: Select the most promising ideas and develop them further by detailing potential benefits, challenges, and feasibility. Use sketches or diagrams to visualize your concepts.
- Documentation: Organize your DOC file with clear sections for the defined problem, the ideation process, and the detailed solution concepts. Ensure clarity and coherency throughout the document.
Evaluation Criteria:
- A well-articulated problem statement that reflects a deep understanding of sustainability challenges.
- Evidence of creative and critical thinking during the ideation process.
- Clarity in presenting solution ideas with supportive visual elements.
- Professional formatting, clear language, and a comprehensive DOC file.
This task is projected to take around 30 to 35 hours, encouraging you to immerse thoroughly in the design thinking process and articulate sustainable innovation ideas in detail.
Task Objective: The focus of Week 3 is to move from ideation to prototyping. You are to develop a low-fidelity prototype of a selected sustainable design concept, emphasizing the principles of sustainability embedded with design thinking methodologies.
Expected Deliverable: A DOC file that explains your prototyping process, includes sketches, iterative design progress, and detailed explanations of how the prototype addresses sustainability challenges. The document should narrate your decision-making process and include step-by-step descriptions of the prototype components.
Key Steps to Complete the Task:
- Select a Concept: Choose one sustainable concept from Week 2 that shows significant promise. Justify your selection based on feasibility and impact.
- Create a Prototype: Develop a low-fidelity prototype using sketches, digital mock-ups, or hand-drawn illustrations. Focus on the key features and sustainability aspects that differentiate your solution.
- Document Iterative Design: Record the evolution of your design through multiple iterations. Explain what feedback or self-assessment led to improvements in your prototype.
- Detailing the Process: Write detailed explanations in your DOC file, outlining the construction of your prototype, the materials (conceptually) used, sustainability benefits, and potential real-world applications.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Depth and clarity of the selected prototype concept.
- Quality and comprehensiveness of the iterative design process documented.
- Clear articulation of how the prototype addresses sustainability challenges.
- The overall structure, coherence, and professionalism of the DOC file.
This task is designed for an estimated workload of 30 to 35 hours. It requires a thorough synthesis of design thinking practices with sustainability values, presented in a comprehensive DOC file.
Task Objective: The objective for Week 4 is to test and evaluate the sustainable design prototype developed in Week 3. In this phase, you will focus on gathering feedback, assessing the impact, and reflecting on the potential scalability and real-world application of the design solution.
Expected Deliverable: A DOC file that contains a detailed testing plan, results from your evaluation process, and a comprehensive impact assessment. Your document should include a section for conclusions and future recommendations for enhancing the design solution.
Key Steps to Complete the Task:
- Develop a Testing Plan: Outline your approach to testing the prototype. Describe the methods you will use to gather feedback, such as surveys, observation techniques, or group discussions using publicly accessible platforms.
- Execute Testing: Implement your plan and record qualitative and quantitative feedback. Emphasize how sustainable practices influence user experience and overall design effect.
- Analyze Results: Compare your findings against the design objectives and sustainability benchmarks. Document both strengths and areas for improvement.
- Impact Evaluation: Write a comprehensive evaluation that discusses potential environmental, social, and economic impacts. Present suggestions for scalability and future iterations.
- Documentation: Organize your DOC file with clear sections: testing plan, results, analysis, and impact evaluation. Ensure that your report is detailed, supported by visuals (charts, graphs, etc.), and logically structured.
Evaluation Criteria:
- A clearly outlined and methodical testing plan.
- Comprehensive analysis of the testing results with a focus on sustainability.
- Insightful evaluation of the potential impact, including environmental, social, and economic implications.
- Professional, well-organized DOC file presentation.
This final task is expected to take roughly 30 to 35 hours, allowing you to integrate the full cycle of design thinking with a focus on sustainable innovation. Your DOC submission should provide robust detail and critical reflection on every aspect of the testing and impact evaluation process.