saikat design thinking lab prototyping & testing

Design Thinking Action Lab 2013 1

Malini Sengupta , Age 30 , Stakeholder - student

She is a PhD student and her area of research is about plant (to be specific chickpeas) genome and their DNA sequencing. She had joined NGPR ( a research institute ) as a part of her PhD program, as a junior researcher 6 years ago and now she is a senior researcher and hopeful to finish her PhD this year or next year.

Currently though she feels she has taken a bit more time than usual but her tenacity and passion, do keep her on track and help her persevere. She is really bugged with her thesis guide’s professional insecurities and insensitive Indian university educational standards but she knows she has to somehow get her way through. She is quite aware of the competitive world outside. She is quite hopeful after PhD she will find a good Job. She has become a part of various social networking groups and connecting individual people. Though her real passion lies in being an entrepreneur but to have financial stability and making connections with the right people in her field, She will start her career in job as a scientist.

User Sketch


How might we help Malini build appropriate connections for a successful career as an entrepreneur ?

Problem Statement


Pedo-preneur

Normally I feel while we pursue our dreams we forgot to maintain a healthy work life balance. Its so important to be fit and healthy. Moreover to sustain as a entrepreneur you need to also have courage, gut , determination and perseverance. I think this can be achieved through various outdoor activities. It’s a app which connect you to relevant people ( similar people who are pursuing same ideas, VC’s, experts, relevant blogs , portals, upcoming ideas and future perspectives ) provided you finish monitored outdoor tasks . Which can be hiking , camping, cycling, running, walking……as this will be a group activity, there would be serendipitous connections which will be developed over time both in person and through virtual medium, which would have never happened ever before. You also learn a lot during the process about life, different perspectives. Also you collect points and rewards at the end of the day with relevant information which is customized to your career needs aspirations and Goals.

Selected Idea


Prototype and Testing

Method of Prototyping : Paper prototyping –

For this presentation I created two concepts and tried to test with users . For the first prototype I tested the design first made certain improvements based on user feedback and tested again.


Idea Manual – To give an user an overview of my idea


Concept 1- prototype 1 –mobile app


What worked ?The idea resonated well with users.Mobile app works fine as there are no investment as such except buying the app ( if paid )Users were able to get through tasks and understand the app. They like the learning by doing motto of the app

What could be improved ?Data points can be more precise, like points earned, time and benefits ( health too ).

Questions ?How do I create more engagement points.How effectively can the end results circulated and be extremely useful ?

Ideas ?Integrate everything into one page ……take away navigation have one map.Why not tie up with some gym and other stakeholders. Connect earned points to free coupons….


Concept 1- prototype 2 mobile app


Concept 1- prototype 2


What worked ?App works looks more fluidic now , should appeal to the users.Targeted data points works fine with users, now.

What could be improved ?Realtime sharing opportunity should be there .How can we measure feedback ? ( useful or not wont connect with users and sound lame).Introduce opportunities , freebies etc….. ( like things happening in the city type )…..

Questions ?How will we measure the credibility of the candidate about completing the task ? Should we have some human intervention or solve this problem by GPS tracking API’s.

How can we build likeness of the users in the system ?

Ideas ?What if a point system is also introduced for the VC’s and experts….. They can redeem those points anywhere..


Concept 2- prototype 1 Connected systems


What worked ?People liked the concept and connection to the old weight ticketing system which can be redeemed.They liked the non dependability on any device to use.

What could be improved ?Are users willing to invest in a shoe ?…….cost perspectives. What other products do people use and carry with themselves ….Having a weight machine looks cool but will surely run rough on investment and lack of ubiquitous facilities.

Questions ?Can we bring down the cost of the shoe somehow ??

Ideas ?What if I can use the sensors into some cheap utilitarian product which we carry always like key chains ?? Users can just carry this keychain it records and then transfers data to the mobile / cloud ?


My Reflections-

What did you learn by testing your prototypes ?

Prototyping is a way of thinking. You can see what works , what doesn’t , what needs to be added what needs to be changed. The most important thing I found out what is we need to be wearing empathy glasses when we are testing our ideas. This will enable us capture users reactions and sometimes alternative ways to see the same thing. In my case while testing the second prototype users suggested that instead of shoes we can look at cheaper options like key chains etc. another important thing I found out was the users you are testing your solutions with should be totally connected with your ideas / problem you are trying to solve so that they can immerse themselves into your ideas.

What would you do next if you want to continue on this project ?

I will try to combine both solutions as I found merit in both, maybe test with users again maybe with scenario acting now. Then I will try to make a more defined prototype maybe using video etc. or on mobile. Maybe then if I feel there is a market demand I will try to connect with some of my engineering friends and make a functional prototype, ask my friends to use it. At the same time connect to various stakeholders too. Talk to some VC’s for funding if we have good traction. But on the way I will surely use my product pedo-preneur to become a successful entrepreneur.


Bibliography – ( Incase someone wants to refer to ideation and previous stages- comments are most welcome )


Ecosystem analysis


Ideation


3 ideas

i. the most practical idea (one that could be easily implemented)

Pedo-preneur

Normally I feel while we pursue our dreams we forgot to maintain a healthy work life balance. Its so important to be fit and healthy. Moreover to sustain as a entrepreneur you need to also have courage, gut , determination and perseverance. I think this can be achieved through various outdoor activities. It’s a app which connect you to relevant people ( similar people who are pursuing same ideas, VC’s, experts, relevant blogs , portals, upcoming ideas and future perspectives ) provided you finish monitored outdoor tasks . Which can be hiking , camping, cycling, running, walking……as this will be a group activity, there would be serendipitous connections which will be developed over time both in person and through virtual medium, which would have never happened ever before. You also learn a lot during the process about life, different perspectives. Also you collect points and rewards at the end of the day with relevant information which is customized to your career needs aspirations and Goals.


ii. the most disruptive idea (one that would make a huge impact, regardless of how feasible or affordable it is)

Senso R–

Every week you need to take a lemon tart ( or anything you like from a nearby sensomatic bakery – coffee shop) it contains edible sensors. It goes inside you understand your neural networks , your need ,aspirations, development ,fear anxiety. It then connects to your sensors on phone which will be loaded with web bots ( emotional virtual robots) and then bring you relevant information and connections over a period of time till the sensor is digested.


iii. your favorite idea (one idea that you are excited about for whatever reason... you don’t have to justify why)

Pedo-preneur

Described earlier……

Crystal Ball

Bringing fairy tale back……. A extremely personal experience…….