The goal of Part II is to abandon a common error that new designers make: focusing on raw, surface-level description in needfinding. When students graduate from CS 147, typically their needfinding output focuses on the surface-level (e.g., "The space was loud, so we should find ways to make it quieter.") This time, the expectations are higher. We'll aim to turn those observations into focused needs.
In Part II, turn your observations into interpretations, and from interpretations into "How Might We" questions.
Start by reflecting on any feedback you got in class on Part I. Do you need to go do more observations? More interviews? Capture it in your sketchbook. Make sure that you feel like you've reached a reasonable saturation point in your understanding.
After you're done, synthesize your raw observations into interpretations. Make sure you call out needs. Remember, needs are verbs (activities or desires that your user could use some help). They are not nouns (solutions). If you want a reminder of these terms and methods, check this week's lecture and reading, or look at the d.school Bootcamp Bootleg.
The method we recommend: put your observations on stickies and organize, reorganize, and reorganize them. Keep discussioning and synthesizing what you've found - what do people say? what did they do? how did they think? what did they feel? Notice patterns and contradictions (things that people say are fine but are clearly too cumbersome) among these to draw out important insights. Set aside a large block of time to do this. It cannot be rushed. It often takes longer than the interviews themselves because you are working to pull out all the nuggets.
Your report should contain a combination of text, images, sketches, and potentially other media. Work to produce a number of How Might We...?" questions (see also this week's lecture) that can inspire specific brainstorms. Do not submit a raw dump of materials; rather, organize a subset of your most salient, insightful or inspiring observations and interpretations. In practice, having good observations and insights is just half the bill. Being able to communicate them effectively in an emotionally appealing and data-driven manner is another very important aspect of being a designer or a UX researcher.
In particular, back up each interpretation and How Might We question with an observation, a quote or a picture.
Pull everything together into your P1 submission folder with your partner. Keep in mind that this grading is cumulative, so you will be graded both on your observations (Part I) and your interpretations (Part II). Your submission should include:
| Category | Unsatisfactory | Adequate | Good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Visual tools 4pt |
1: Little use of sketching techniques, visual organization, or emphasis. | 2: Some use of visual tools such as sketching techniques to communicate ideas, but they are used ineffectively or sparsely. | 3: Effective use of visual communication techniques to convey ideas. | 4: Mastery of visual communication tools to convey the ideas. |
Observation and insight 4pt |
1: Observations and insights seem generic, few in volume, or missing important perspectives. | 2: Observations and insights report what happens, but do not provide a deeper synthesis of the environment. | 3: Some observations and insights provide interesting perspectives and synthesis, but several do not. | 4: Observations and insights produce many syntheses and perspectives that would not be obvious to a casual observer of the environment. |
If any of the deliverables are missing, we will reduce your score by 25% per deliverable.