feedforward workshop with the university of illinois
DESCRIPTION
I had the opportunity to present my dissertation research to a graduate design course at University of Illinois. I returned the following week to facilitate a workshop in which students applied feedforward to an issue related to health or sustainability. Before the workshop, students identified an issue — students explored a range of topics from smoking to overconsumption to plastic water bottle usage to sedentary work life. With the issue in mind, the students created personas and journey maps that recount a day in the life of the persona. The persona enables the students to strategize with a specific person in mind, while the journey map enables students to identify leverage points for design. In the workshop, I discussed the four atmospheres of impact: things, behaviors, beliefs, and culture. The students then used a matrix format to identify current cues within each atmosphere to consider for the design. From the identified cues, students brainstormed potential feedforward cues that would encourage, or emphasize, a more desired outcome. As students shared their ideas, we discussed the difference between designing for reflective learning versus emotive learning. After completing the matrix, students revisited the journey map to identify moments throughout the persona's day when feedforward would be encountered. To package and further refine the ideas generated during the workshop, students wrote a short proposal in which they described the issue, introduced the persona, told a story about one encounter with feedforward, and explained what the design teaches the persona on an emotive level. I'm happy to share more information. Please contact me if you would like to learn more.TRANSCRIPT
December 11, 2012
University of illinois at Urbana-champaign
Feedforward Workshop amber Howard, PH.d.
Director of Research and Education
New Kind
Lecturer
North Carolina State University
College of Design, Graphic and Industrial Design
amberhoward.net
@amberkhoward
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 1 / 22
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The Hope
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 2 / 22
make the world better
life
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The predicament
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Make the world better
lifechange
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designing for the trainer
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 4 / 22
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designing for the elephant
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 5 / 22
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The goal
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discussion
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 7 / 22
List 3 ways your examples:
1. speak to “the trainer”
2. speak to “the elephant”
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Homework
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 8 / 22
Preparation for the workshop:
1. Create a persona of the target audience for behavior change.
2. Create a journey map of their daily activities, highlighting all target behaviors.
STAKEHOLDERSebastian Ray
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Homework: Persona
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 9 / 22
NeedsGoalsbehaviorsPrized possessionsLifestyle
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Homework: Journey map
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 10 / 22
wak
e up
1. hear alarm clock2. walk to bathroom3. take shower4. eat toast5. walk to coffee shop
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
acti
vity
2
acti
vity
3
acti
vity
4
acti
vity
5
acti
vity
6
acti
vity
8
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atmospheres of impact
what change do you want to make? find the gap in each atmosphere.
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 11 / 22
things
behaviors
beliefs
culture
how can we change the things people interact with?
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atmospheres of impact
what change do you want to make? find the gap in each atmosphere.
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 12 / 22
things
behaviors
beliefs
culture
how can we change the way people do things?
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atmospheres of impact
what change do you want to make? find the gap in each atmosphere.
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 13 / 22
things
behaviors
beliefs
culture
how can we change the way people see the world?
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atmospheres of impact
what change do you want to make? find the gap in each atmosphere.
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 14 / 22
things
behaviors
beliefs
culture
how can we change what people believe is possible?
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atmospheres of impact
what change do you want to make? find the gap in each atmosphere.
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 15 / 22
things
behaviors
beliefs
culture
thingsWhat things does your persona interact with related to the issue?
behaviorshow does your persona do things related to the issue?
beliefsWhat does your persona believe is true about the issue?
cultureWhat are your persona’s secondary associations with the issue?
associations current cues feedforward
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designing for the elephant (emotive learning)
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 16 / 22
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Journey map: overlay feedforward encounters
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 17 / 22
wak
e up
1. hear alarm clock2. walk to bathroom3. take shower4. eat toast5. walk to coffee shop
feedforward
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
acti
vity
2
acti
vity
3
acti
vity
4
acti
vity
5
acti
vity
6
acti
vity
8
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write a proposal
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 18 / 22
How would you use feedforward to help your persona change the target behavior?
(in 500 words, about one page)
(in the next 1.5 hours)
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write a proposal
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 19 / 22
How would you use feedforward to help your persona change the target behavior?
What is the targeted behavior (the issue)?
Who is the target user?
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write a proposal
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 20 / 22
How would you use feedforward to help your persona change the target behavior?
Tell a brief story about your persona encountering the feedforward design.
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write a proposal
december 11, 2012 | feedforward workshop | amber Howard, Ph.d. | 21 / 22
How would you use feedforward to help your persona change the target behavior?
explain what your design teaches the persona on an emotive level.
