-
I wish I had met with Dave more during
the term so that my project would have been more refined.
-
One recommendation I have for future
courses is to have an icebreaker for the students in the beginning of the
course to get them to be more comfortable with one another. A requirement for
the students to not get scattered all over the big room would also
help.
-
The only advice I would give future
students is to find something that you are interested in spending a quarter
researching and set an attainable goal for the final product. Have the goal be
something tangible, something you can hold and show off and
use.
-
If I were to go through this process
again, there are a few things I would do differently. I would like to spend a
larger amount of time on the empathizing step of the design process and be able
to get to know the consumer of the product and their concerns on a closer
level. Also, I would like to engage the team in a longer brainstorm process and
have repeated sessions after each idea is fully drawn out and created. These
sessions provided the best opportunities for advancing our design and making
each prototype more effective and efficient at accomplishing the set
tasks.
-
If I were to give any advice to
incoming students, I would probably advise them to take advantage of the team
projects rather than do an individual project. Better work always comes out of
teams.
-
Looking back, I now realize how
important it is to really define the problem as specifically as possible from
the beginning, without being too narrow-minded that the general purpose is
forgotten.
-
I definitely learned that prototyping
early on is a must - even if I had no clue what I was going to do then. Next
time, I will definitely try to get started earlier on building things - even if
they are at their less-than-best quality!
-
If I could go back, I would have
sought out more users to discuss the topic sooner. I wish I could have received
more feedback from members of my target group to incorporate their thoughts and
concerns in my final design. Moving forward, I will definitely make a
concentrated effort to involve the user group throughout the entire design
process. I think this will contribute to an overall more effective and
successful concept and design.
-
I would have attempted to prototype
far more often, preferably at least 8 hours a week, instead of about 8 hours
total, with some more time working on further ideas.
-
In retrospection, improving the
success of our design would have been most largely dependent on determining a
solvable need as quickly as possible. If this could have been decided upon
within the first two weeks of class through user and company interviews, teams
would be much more successful in design prototyping and brainstorming being
that iteration would have been a more realistic
possibility.
-
If I were to do the entire process
again I would invest more time talking to fellow students and bouncing off
ideas.
-
I would have liked to approach the
problem with a more realistic understanding of what could be
accomplished.
-
If I were to go through this process
again, I would utilize the teaching staff more.
-
Throughout the design process, I now
see that it is imperative to keep in touch with users. I feel it would be very
beneficial to consult different professionals in expertise related to the
project. Insight from a range of perspectives, from users to experts, would
truly enhance a design. I also learned the importance of making sure we can
prototype our ideas.
-
In terms of advice for future
students, I would encourage the students to be sure to take on projects they
are comfortable with. For example, do not take on a CS project if you are not
proficient in CS. I say this because there simply is not enough time in this
class to learn a subject and develop a successful project. This comes from
direct experience because occasionally my project would require mechanical
knowledge that I did feel I was proficient in. Additionally, choosing a project
that is not above your skills allows you to truly focus on the design process
and the project itself.
