Phase 1: Explore the Challenge
During phase 1 the case for this project was presented and through some research and an interview with the case owner the challenge was defined and a list of requirements was settled for phases 2 and 3.
The following parts were taken into account for defining the challenge and list of requirements
Case Presentation
Who is the primary user?
The case consists of a five-year-old highly gifted child, called Arne, supported by his mother and father. According to his father, Arne is a very cheerful guy who does not talk much. He loves everything that has to do with mathematics: numbers, shapes, formulas, puzzles, dice, etcetera. He also enjoys graphic designing, he writes and draws a lot: colours, structures, fonts, logos, symbols, and 3D.
Arne took part in last year’s project as well, in which a maze was designed to help him communicate simple choices.
Who is the secondary user?
So far possible second users could be Arne’s family, and/or the specialists that work with him at the gifted practice and/or friends.
What is the aim of the project?
The aim of the project is to co-design a product/system/service that can support the case owners in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, taking into account their specific needs and wishes. (Redirecting, z.d.)
According to Oxford Reference, maintaining a healthy lifestyle refers to “A lifestyle which includes activities and habits that encourage the development of total physical, mental, and spiritual fitness, and which reduces the risk of major illness.” (Kent, 1997)
Pre-Meeting Research
To better introduce the group before the first meeting and to get the most out of the interview it was decide to have the team make and fill out a friendbook. A blank copy of this book was also given to Arne as a less intimidating way to introduce himself.
Friendbook
Here you can see how Arne filled in his friendbook. The reason two images were emailed to the group is that Arne decide to fill out more content of the friendbook at a later moment. He tried filling in a few more favourite things but he stopped and added some creative elements, drawings, and numbers. A few things will be highlighted that struck the attention of the group in how he filled out the page. Arne wrote his age to be 33. He writes three things he would take on an island and draws a square, and later he just changes the three into a four. In favourite things ‘band’ he wrote Zwemdiploma and draws a band which represents a band they gave to his sister during swimming practice. In colour, he says ‘rainbow’ painted in different colours. In this or that, he says ‘that’, he crosses out completely the sports and highlights the games. He also crosses out both dog and cat. He would rather be inside than outside, but then there is a comment next to it saying until evening. Altough the actual content that was filled out in the friendbook is not clear, the way that Arne filled out the page gives a good idea of how Arne would be during the meetings. The way in which Arne filled in the friendbook tells us that he is quite creative and likes to think outside of the box as he changes some of the questions and draws on the page. Furthermore, he only answers the questions he is interested in, which could mean that he is not motivated to do assignments he is not fully interested in. Lastly, it is clear that he sees himself as an older or more mature person and does not feel fully connected with his age of five years as he wrote his age to be 33.
ENJOY AND GET TO KNOW CLOSER TO THE CASE OWNER BY LISTENING TO HIS FAVOURITE SONG WHILE READING THROUGH
Meeting with the Case Owners
The goal of this meeting is to understand the needs of the case owner(s) and get as much information as possible in order to design for them.
Preparations
During the week before the first meeting, contact between Arne’s father and the group started and they provided some valuable information.
Since it was unknown what to expect from the first meeting, some questions were prepared, both for Arne as well as for the parents. The questions were intended to be used as a guidance for the conversation. They can be found on the attached document.
Additionally, looking at the potential of some of the games and psychology behind drawing games discovered while duing the preliminary research, some of them were planned to by tried out during the meeting.
It was decided that only three group members join the meeting with Arne and his parents, to ensure that it would not be overwhelming for Arne. One person as an observer and the other two as interviewers.
As the case owners had previous experience with the project they suggested to meet at a social corner in the horst, the group decided to take a look at the space previously so that the team could design the setting of the interview. It positively did fit into what the group was thinking about as the meeting set-up, as it is a very playful space full with colors, different seats, markers, a whiteboard and many more.
Post-Meeting Research
Context Mapping
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After collecting all the information from the meeting and getting more familiar with the case the context was defined. Here you are able to find:
- Persona
- Scenario
- Journey
Every image can easily be moved and made bigger, if they are clicked twice you can open them.
Challenge Definition
A product / service that stimulates Arne’s verbal communication and collaboration.
Stakeholders
To help better understand how to approach the different people involved in this project a stakeholder analysis was conducted. In the analysis a table is created where the power and interest the stakeholders have in the design process are determined. According to the table the stakeholders are placed on a power interest grid:
The power interest grid shows that, besides the project group, the two most important stakeholders in this project are the parents and the school staff.These stakeholders will have the most say about the outcome of the project. This means that the project group should try and include these stakeholders heavily during the design process. In the grid it can be seen that Arne sits in the top left corner with very high power and relatively low interest. This means that the stakeholder needs to be kept satisfied. Not satisfying the stakeholder by, for example not taking his interest seriously could lead to him not willing to further cooperate in the design process. On the other hand the sister can be seen in the bottom right corner. As a stakeholder with low power and high interest it is important to keep her well informed of the project. This can be done by, for example having her be present during some of the meetings or sharing the developments of the project with her in a separate moment. In the bottom left corner are the least important stakeholders. Due to the limited time in the project it is best to not focus on including them in the design process. Interesting side studies could however be made into for example patients with communication issues in healthcare.
Name | Interest | Power |
|---|---|---|
Arne | Low interest in the actual end goal of the product as Arne does not see his communication issue as problematic. However the product will have a big influence on Arnes life. | Heavy influence in the design and the design for the product as he will be the primary user of the product |
Parents | High interest in the design as they signed Arne up for this project and would like Arne to overcome his communication challenge. | As caretaker of Arne they have a large influence. They are the most important secondary users. |
Sister Arne | High interest as she spends a lot of time with Arne at home. | Very little influence in the design process but due to her relation with Arne might be a good source of inspiration for the design. |
School staff / mentors Arne | High interest in the product as they work with similar cases like Arne and this product directly contributes to the challenges they overcome with Arne. | They interact a lot with Arne and are professionals. They can have important insights that influence the design process |
Peers of Arne | Right now it is unknown if Arne has friends. They would benefit as they would see Arne often. | Right now it is unknown if Arne has friends. Since these potential peers are not contactable they won't have an influence in the design |
Family | Interest of this group is moderate as they do not see Arne very often but they are | Similar to the sister of Arne they have very little influence in the design. |
Health care workers | As the case of Arne is very unique, general health care is most likely not very interested in this case. | Due to the scope of the project the healthcare workers have probably no influence on the design. It would however be very interesting to see how healthcare workers help patients with poor communication skills. |
Project group | The project group has one of the highest interests in the design as they are the designers of the product. | The project group has one of the highest influences in the design as they are the designers of the product. |
List of requirements
Project Requirements
1.1 The product shall support the participant in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
1.2 The specific needs and wishes of the participant shall be taken into account. / The defined problem based on the user’s needs and wishes shall be solved.
1.3 The product shall be made through co-design with the participant.