Unit 1 - Step 7 - Reflecting & Peer feedback - details for peer review

User - male, 19 years old, student 

• a student who is often late for his morning class 

focus?

• morning or bedtime routine

key interview questions? takeaways?

• 4 key questions
• share with me a typical morning preparing to come to the school
• can you tell me about what has happened as a result of being late for these classes? what are the costs / benefits to you of either allowing the problem to continue or solving the problem?
• of the many things that you do as preparation for coming to class in the morning, which are likely to be the biggest reasons for causing you to be late? 
• what changes have you made to deal with the problem?  why are they not working? 

• 4 key questions / responses
• share with me a typical morning preparing to come the University
• get up at 0610 ... get washed ... have breakfast ... leave the house 0650
• leave for school -70 km drive .. deal with traffic ... find parking ... get to class often late because of it (good eye contact; matter of fact replies)  
• probed further 
• why not get up sooner to leave sooner?) 
• am getting up at 0445 to go pray 
• then go back to bed ... to catch more sleep ... but often have difficulty getting up at 0600 because of it (good eye contact; matter of fact replies .. some delay in response - reflection?) 
• probed further 
• why do you not get enough sleep? 
• tell me about the night before
• get to bed often at midnight .... if I go to bed at 2300 seem to be ok (realization that the problem would be addressed with more sleep) (good eye contact; matter of fact replies .. some delay in response - reflection?)
• probed further 
• why do you not go to be earlier if you know it is better?)
• has to work for his father or brother ... doing work no one else can or knows how to do 
• finish day of classes at University at 1800 then have a 70 km drive back home .. often arriving at 1900 or later due to traffic .. then asked to work by his father (good eye contact; matter of fact replies .. some delay in response - reflection?)
• can you tell me about what has happened as a result of being late for these classes? what are the costs / benefits to you of either allowing the problem to continue or solving the problem?
• feel badly about getting to class late 
• want to be an accountant.. want to finish as soon as I can (good eye contact ... more emotion in reply) 
• of the many things that you do as preparation for coming to class in the morning, which are likely to be the biggest reasons for causing you to be late? 
• never got to this question.. because the probing unearthed more than enough 
• what changes have you made to deal with the problem?  why are they not working? 
• never got to this question.. because the probing unearthed more than enough

• key takeaways 
• key issues 
• negotiating w/ people to earn their support / respect 
• father / brother 
• need for sleep and time to achieve your goal

• manage time .. too many demands.. in too short a time

• learn ways to prioritize so that you address your needs / goals first .... cost / benefit analysis 
• task lists 
• deadlines
• manage distractions / time killers / technology  
• identify where you are losing time
• phone calls 
• mobile phone chatting 
• gaming 

• clarify purpose / long term goal to ensure you make it your focus

• visualize .. manifest it so it is always around you
• logo 
• poster 
• shared with father / brother

key problem?

• user is sleep deprived yet driving long distances and risking losing the school term

key solution?
know your goal

• need to focus on getting adequate sleep so that he can then have the energy / drive to address the other matters - negotiating with father; focusing on his goals; managing time
• motivated to be an accountant 
• get what you need to succeed 
• enough sleep 
• not lose school term 
• safely drive to school 
• have energy to study / practice

development of prototype?

key prototype?

feedback session?
After you’ve finished your testing session, clean up your notes and highlight comments or thoughts from the user feedback session that you find to be especially important.  

I began with my assessment of his problem. Original focus was on the need for sleep, that without enough sleep .. he could not study properly, he could not travel to and from work by car safely, he could not succeed in reaching his goal - to be an accountant. I commented on his goal - to be an accountant - and suggest that this should be his motivation to get sleep. I presented the idea of producing a badge or tag with his name on the front, a picture of himself, the word "accountant" below, and the year that he would plan to graduate. On the back side, I suggested that it list what he needs to succeed .. and reminded him of the need to get adequate sleep, to drive safely, and to make time to study. This brought up the need to get support for his goal from of his brother and father, both of whom have been drawing on his already limited time to call on him to do work for them most evenings. I urged him to get their signatures on this tag as a show of their support and as an opening to discussing the issue and manifesting for them how serious he is about his goal of becoming an accountant. With the tag complete, I suggested that the tag could be hung in the car, posted on the fridge, fastened to the bedroom door. It could even be made into a sticker and placed on books .. and shared with his brother and father.

Identify key feedback takeaways that you can use to iterate and improve your prototype. Based on the feedback you received, what are the small edits you would make to your prototype? Would you make any major changes?

Not much feedback received .. probably hampered by the fact that he is a low intermediate EFL student. He noted how "organized" the prototype / idea was. He asked to take a photo of it so he could share it (?) He also mentioned how he had heeded my advice from the earlier interview - namely the need to speak to both his brother and father about gaining their support for his goal of becoming an accountant, and for minimizing their demands on him to work so he could find more time to study and get to bed earlier. The results surprised him. His father mentioned how "we will find someone to do (his) work so (he) can study".

 Based on the feedback you received, what are the small edits you would make to your prototype? Would you make any major changes? If you have time, apply 1-2 pieces of your user feedback to improve your prototype. If you have less time, simply make some notes about how you would improve your next prototype.

One matter stood out. I saw more focus from him on the need to find more time to study rather than sleep (though I think both are likely to be important).  While inferred in the current iteration, this could very well be given as much prominence as the issue of sleep when designing the next iteration of the tag / badge.

my reflections on the design thinking process?

I've done this sort of design process before - as part of the job of being an education technologist - but with a different structure and terminology. This has just underscored for me the importance of the process. I did observe my own impatience with prototyping when I felt a bit rushed to get it done .. yet sensing the need to make time to let ideas emerge. I am also keen to move forward, eagerly anticipating and perhaps even craving feedback to help push an idea forward. I realize the tremendous importance of getting buy in from the end user - after all, it's all for not, if the end user isn't inspired to implement or integrate the design.