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Personal Reflection MIS41020 Design, Development, Creativity

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Before beginning Design, Development and Creativity, I knew that I was going to be taken outside of my comfort zone because I came from a business background. However, after reading the course outline, I became excited because I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to be introduced to the world of digital and technology. I was eager to get started. It took me a few weeks to adjust to the terminology and concepts presented throughout this module. However, the more exposure I received from the class exercises, readings and class discussions, the more I became comfortable with the concepts and terminology. For our very first exercise in this module, we were given the task of testing one of Ideo’s ‘Look’ research methods – the time lapse – on a product in use, people at work, or a system in the wild. I applied this method to the use of the drive through system at a McDonalds restaurant, to show how effectively this system works. My general observation was that this system worked perfectly for consumers. The drive through system is a simple, efficient and easy system for consumers. It is done from the comfort of your own car and it is an extremely efficient system. However, going into the restaurant requires a lot more effort. I recorded a time lapse that was able to capture both the drive through and the front entrance of the restaurant. After analysing my time lapse, I counted 14 consumers in their cars decided to opt for the drive through. During the same time frame only 2 consumers walked through the front door of the McDonalds and physically ate in the restaurant. A key learning from this exercise was the effective use of the Ideo ‘look’ method, and the potential insights that can be gained from using this method. By using this method, it made me realise that consumers prefer a simple, less time consuming and efficient system. In week 3, we completed a ‘Cantilever Exercise’. We were split up into groups of 7/8 and we were asked to build the longest cantilever possible branching out from our desks using spaghetti. One person in each group acted as a researcher, and this role switched around the group every 5 minutes. We were given a packet of spaghetti, a roll of tape and 2 sheets of A4 paper. We were also given a sheet of graph paper in order to create a Guindon graph. Myself and my teammates started analysing our items and we all brainstormed ideas as to how we would proceed. My group used the following stages to complete the exercise: Brainstorming, Design, Re-Design, Build, Construction and Repair. We all decided that the best way to approach it was if we grouped the pieces of spaghetti together and used the tape to bind it together. We successfully did this, and we built a final cantilever size of 70cm (the best in the class). I really enjoyed this exercise because we all worked as a team. The key to building and designing a successful cantilever was to work and to co-operate as a team to come to the best solution. This exercise made me realize that each individual group member’s different experience, background and expertise helped design the best cantilever. In team building exercising like this one, I think it is very important to have group members who all think differently and have different backgrounds as this adds to the experience and helps create the perfect design. In Week 8, we played a very interesting game called ‘Battleship’. We were each given a page and we had to map out a grid. We were given a total number of 40 shots and we had to mark these shots on the given grid in any pattern we wanted to use. After this, we went onto a website, where we played an interactive battleship game. We were given a balance of €400,000. When we placed our 40 shots onto the interactive grid, we were told how many bombs we hit and how much money we made or lost. After this, we were then given just 10 shots, and then 2 shots.

My group results were as follows: -€400,000 (40 shots) +€200,000 (10 shots) +€510,000 (2 shots) My group results clearly show that we earned the most money with just 2 shots. This shows that the more we practised the game, the more we gained a better understanding of how the game operated. This game is significant for agility because after each time we played the game, we were able to learn from our mistakes and analyse our strategy and decide how we were going to approach it the next time. A key learning I took from this exercise was the use of trial and error in order to find out where you are going wrong. This allows you to change the particular strategy according to what you’ve learnt. This exemplifies the importance of continuous evaluation. In week 10, we were asked to design a text free search interface. I really enjoyed this exercise as it gave me a great insight into interface design and the tools that can be used. We used the Balsamiq tool to do a mock-up of our own design. Before we used Balsamiq, we were asked to do a paper sketch of our own design ideas. The whole class then shared our sketches and we discussed them. After we did the paper sketch, we used Balsamiq. This was my first time using Balsamiq and I loved it. It was interesting to notice the differences between the paper sketch and the sketch on Balsamiq. Personally, I preferred using the paper sketch for the interface design as I was not limited in what I could draw. However, I felt that I was limited in my choice whilst using Balsamiq. I felt that I could only base my ideas on what Balsamiq could offer me. However, I was free to draw absolutely anything on the paper sketch. In our final lecture, we completed a very entertaining Lego exercise that involved a lot of the concepts we covered throughout the course. We were in groups of three and our goal was to build an operating Lego Robot. This exercise portrayed the principles of working in a project development team. The key to successfully complete this exercise was to work together and co-operate as a team. In our team, we decided to assign a task to each member, which meant we could have 1 builder and 2 organizers. By assigning a task to each group member, we were more efficient at building the robot. Most of the parts of the robot were disorganized and messy in the box we were given, so the designers had to source each part from the messy box. The builder had to read the instructions given on the manual in order to build the robot. We were asked to switch roles every few minutes, which turned out to be stressful at times. However, we each had to quickly adjust to our new roles. I thought the aspect of changing roles was very applicable because as we move into the workforce and start working in teams, there is always the possibility of being asked to switch roles without having time to adjust. I learned from this exercise that co-operation and role familiarization is key throughout a project. Also, if everyone on a team in a project is enjoying what they are doing, this can lead to positive emotions which can potentially improve the effectiveness of the team. If people are happy with what they are doing, and they are happy with what they are building, then this will result in a brilliant product/design. We were presented with many readings throughout this module which gave conflicting opinions on various concepts. One such reading that I found interesting was “Expressing Experiences in Design” – Bill Moggridge. This reading explores the idea that good design is

concerned with the experience of interaction. Moggridge describes how a product should be designed for the whole experience, and not just the visual aspect. Whilst reading this article, I could personally relate to Moggridge’s arguments. As a consumer, I am deeply concerned with how a product operates, and not just how it looks. Most smart phones nowadays have a slick design, but that doesn’t mean that they have great features and good usability. For example, I was recently in the market for a new smart phone. Whilst in the market, I tested various smart phones on both their visual aspect and usability aspect. I noticed that the new Samsung Galaxy S7 looked very slick, but I wasn’t happy with the interface and the quality of the camera. In the end, I decided to buy the Iphone 7 because I loved how it looked, but most importantly I loved how efficient the interface operated. The concept of design was new to me, so after reading this article I wanted to look further into the concept and find out what makes a ‘good design’. I watched a very interesting Ted talk by Tony Fadel, where he discusses the first secret of great design. Throughout this talk, Fadel kept referring to the idea of Habituation, i.e. the more frequently we are exposed to something, the more we get used to it. Fadel explains how it is easy to solve a problem that everyone sees, but hard to solve a problem that nobody sees. He identifies the best solution to beating Habituation, which is to ‘think younger’. He describes again how the more we get exposed to something, the more we get used to it. However, kids haven’t been around long enough to get used to it. He advises that it is very important to have young people on your team or people with young minds on your team. His key message is to think young. I agree with him because as we grow up and experience the world, normal everyday things become second nature to us. But if we could view the world from a kid’s eyes, where we are amazed by simple things, we could become more aware of our surroundings and this could help us solve problems and potentially come up with great design ideas. My favourite reading from this module was How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity – E Catmull. In this paper, the author argues that creativity is based on good people, and not just on good ideas. I loved how the author portrays that Pixar involve people from all levels in the creativity process. His ideas in this reading are very applicable to what I’ve learnt in this course – that the best ideas and best designs come from a group of people with diverse backgrounds, skills and knowledge. This is very applicable to my masters class as we all come from different countries and different backgrounds and I felt that during our exercises in class, the diversity of backgrounds helped us create great ideas and designs. I loved how the author shows that you don’t have to make sure your idea is good before you share it with others. This is a great concept in Pixar because I think sometimes part of a bad idea can be used to form part of another great idea. My favourite quote from this reading was “If you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they’ll screw it up. But if you give a mediocre idea to a great team, they’ll make it work.” This quote exemplifies exactly what the culture is like at Pixar. Their great ideas come from their talented workforce. After reading what Catmull has described in this article about Pixar, it has made me want to work in a company that operates with the same principles as Pixar. The culture in Pixar as described by Catmull allows their employees to come up with the best ideas. I think some other companies who are stuggling to come up with creative ideas need to take a leaf out of Pixar’s book. Another reading I found interesting in this course was They Write the Right Stuff – Charles Fishman. In this article, the authors describe how software is key. He argues that people should be goaled towards writing perfect software, and that they should get it right the first

time, because it is not ideal to keep changing your mind. I would definitely argue against this because it is not possible to get it right the first time. As previously discussed, agility is key. Trial and error is so important. Nowadays, customers are continuously changing their mind and requirements need to be constantly altered to meet customers needs. Aiming to reach perfection the first time is too unrealistic. Furthermore, the author argues that speed and producing the product at a rapid rate are a lot more important than quality and how well the finished software operates. I agree with the author to some extent. I agree that speed of production is very important to meet a customer’s needs, however the right balance needs to be struck between speed of production and quality of production. If the perfect balance between speed and quality can be reached, then this would lead to the optimal result. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this module. One of the main reasons I decided to do the MSc in Digital Innovation was due to the practical side of the course and this module provided plenty of practical learning through exercises. Due to my Business background, I previously had very limited knowledge on Software Development, Creativity, Design, Agility and all the other concepts covered in this module. However, I now feel that I have gained some valuable insights that will be very applicable for me as I embark on my professional life.

References Moggridge, B. (1999) “Expressing Experiences in Design”, Magazine Interactions, 6 (4), pp. 17-25 Tony Fadel. (2015). The First Secret of Great Design. [Online Video]. 3 June 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uOMectkCCs. [Accessed: 4 December 2017] Catmull, E. (2008) “How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity”, Havard Business Review, September 2008 Issue Fishman, C. (1996) “They write the right stuff”...