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Week 2 Design thinking - Build the right thing


This week focused around building the thing right as opposed to building the right thing. Great design has always been concerned with the whole experience of interaction.

One of the most interesting topics emerging from the class was prompted by a quote from Alan Cooper. It prompted discussion around what do you get when you cross a computer with a camera? A phone? A plane? With a car? A ship? You get a bigger computer.  The products we use on a daily basis are becoming ever more like software.

Allen stressed that we need to develop an annoyance and radar for bad design and an appreciation for superior design. He showed us a variety of good and bad design examples and showed examples of how users will highlight the problems in your products or else they will leave marks e.g. a sign telling the user how to interact correctly with a product / service


During the lecture, we also watched a video "Inside IDEO" which followed the IDEO design team revolutionizing the shopping cart. It was amazing to see their design process. It appeared chaotic and messy and yet they were able to create some fantastic creative designs. It was evident that the organization stresses a lot of importance on sketches and iterative design.

One quote mentioned during the video which stood out for me was "fail often in order to succeed sooner." This resonated well with me and reminded me of a previous module I had taken, Game Thinking where there was an emphasis on iterative design, paper prototypes and brainstorming to create a product from design through to working proto-type in just five days. The module co-coordinators stressed the importance of failing many times before reaching our desired product.


Although it appeared that everyone's voice was heard in the organization, it is not a place I would like to work in. During challenging times or when decisions need to be made, the decision making process remains with the senior leadership team and other members of the organization are treated like children.

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