Unit 1 - Assignment - introduction

Rationale 
This first assignment asks you to apply the design thinking process to an everyday problem for someone you know. It is meant to expose you to the different stages of the design thinking process, as well as introduce you to a few key design skills that you will continue to develop in Units 2 and 3. As with any new skill, the more you practice the design process, the better you will become.  


You'll center your project for this assignment around ONE of the following experiences:

• Morning OR bedtime routine (student being consistently late for class)
  
• Preparing a meal (could include grocery shopping)
• Hosting a party or event
• Preparing for a trip

You'll produce a low-fidelity prototype in response to the user problem you have identified, as well as other documents/materials that show your thought trajectory and your progress through the various steps.  

This assignment will be split into multiple steps and interspersed with video content that will provide guidance. You’ll have two weeks to complete all steps. 

• Step 1: Select Your User (Discover) (5 minutes)
• Step 2: Prepare for and Conduct Interview (Discover) (20-25 minutes)
• Step 3: Select Specific Problem and Identify Insights (Focus) (10-15 minutes)
• Step 4: Generate Ideas and Evaluate (Imagine) (10 minutes)
• Step 5: Build Your Solution (Prototype) (10-15 minutes)
• Step 6: Get User Feedback and Iterate (Try) (15-20 minutes)
• Step 7: Reflect, Share, and Give Peer Feedback (Reflect & Share) (25+ minutes) - You'll synthesize, reflect, and share your work from throughout the design process with classmates and the teaching team. You'll provide feedback to your classmates and receive feedback from them.

Plan to deliver

• General information about your user. 
• Your interview questions, notes and key takeaways
• User problem, expressed concisely
• Images and description of your brainstorming process and the solution idea you selected
• Your original prototype and description of additional iterations
• Your feedback session questions, notes, key takeaways and reflections on ways to iterate your prototype
• Your reflections on the design thinking process

https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.155x+1T2017/courseware/1405e28dc90e431c84d86dbdfc8e1e77/6717b7cfb852414ea40ef9dabc6843ff/?child=first