Reflections on NM4210

25Apr08

It’s come to an end… the module at least. I must say, when I first started off this module, I had no idea what to expect. I made a last minute transfer in because I needed to fulfill some level 4000 modules. Looking back, I am rather glad I did take this module. I’ll list the reasons below.

1. I love the assignments! Okay, I know this sounds sado-masochistic, but it’s true. It’s fun going to find terrible designs. It’s fun finding products and understanding their appeals to the consumer. It really made me think a little more about products and why consumers buy them. I also admit I like the persona building part, it made my imagination go wild.

2. Although it wasn’t exact science, the methodologies introduce during the module such as card-stacking, laddering, etc… really exposed me to a variety of ways in which user experience can be better understood and tailored to help build experiences. It made me think further upon the level of detail that needs to be paid attention to when developing a product or service. It isn’t just about the product’s functionality, but the entire user experience from before purchase, to unwrapping, to using and even when not using. While Reddy, loves to use Mac as an example, I have to admit that I have not seen many other companies who do this user experience design stuff quite as well as Apple, it’s almost as if they are masters of the art. When creating the first iPod and challenging the Creative Zen’s stronghold on the market, it continues to intrigue me how the iPod with less features(no radio, cannot play quite as many video formats as the creative’s) then creative’s zen continues to outsell the zen. The biggest joke came along when microsoft came in with the Zune. As far as Singapore is concerned I haven’t seen a soul using it. I digress. Anyway, the fact is this module has really got me thinking of not just creating a product or innovation but what is the entire experience of wanting to own, owning and even having once owned the product.

3. I like this module because…. there isn’t an exact right or wrong (and no exams! sorry can’t resist). I mean the methodologies such as things like heuristic evaluations and ethnographic studies are not definitive methods. Much of the areas are pretty grey. I like grey! That’s where the process can get creative and I think user-experience design greyness helps make better designs as people become more creative through ideas and feedback offered by the methodologies. They are good guidelines and even fuels for creative ideas.

4. The process of creating a new product has taught me many things. Even right from the start when we were identifying the needs. It was a pretty cool process that had me reeducating my brain. I was full of solutions from the start, it was hard to sit down without a solution in mind and focusing on the needs. But it was so necessary. The same needs could be met by a variety of solutions and some would solve the needs better then others but if I had jumped right into a solution, I might not even have addressed a real need. I guess this really helped me to think out of the box for a moment there at possible solutions for needs. But more importantly, I believe an exercise in identifying real needs is very useful for anyone. It makes your mind more keenly aware of the needs that are around, and stimulates the brain to find good solutions. I think this is a quality that will one day make people influential or rich. When you are finely in tune with people’s real needs, you can develop solutions that will generate demand. I may sound very excited about this, but I really think its the most important thing I learnt.

5. Creating this paper product planner for the project was quite exciting. We had a just to make a difference in today’s planners. It really caused us to think deeply, what are the functionalities that a planner needs to perform and force us to rethink old-paradigms. We identified that to improve productivity, we really have to do 3 things

1. keep track of events/activities
2. plan your tasks around what’s really important
3. know what to do, when

Our solution had to meet these criterias and a planner seemed to be the logical answer. We threw out the idea of a to-do list when we needed a solution that could really help people plan around what’s important. we introduced the quadrant. Then we had to ask what is “important”? and we included a missions statement and statement of core-values. We introduced roles when we realised also that there are spheres of relationships and roles that also help define importance and our lifes are balanced around our roles. It is critical then that we do not miss out on doing important things in all the different roles in our lifes. The whole process in this module though was broken down into 4 stages, was very much more iterative to me. We found ourselves going back and forth from phase 1-2 and in phase 3 and 4 as well. Sometimes we learn of things that require us to rethink our previous phase. Admittedly some mistakes were made as we were so new to this thing, but still I see it as a reiterative process. We learnt many things as we pieced the lo-fi and hi-fi protoypes together. I learnt the importance of a quick and easy paper and pencil lo-fi prototype. It really saved us a lot of time and tears, I would have prefered to stay lo-fi for a while longer if the module had permitted. But still even 1 iteration of lo-fi helped us tons in our hi-fi prototype.

6. I know I’m going to carry this module away with me for a long time to come. Honestly, its been one of those really useful modules. I have so many ideas for developing applications on the iPhone and I really think what I went through this semester at nm4210 has placed me at a better standing in developing these applications and future products. I must say, my expectations for products that I use and (more importantly) that I create have gone up a lot higher. It’s no longer sufficient for me to have a product that works… It needs to be in the words of Steve Jobs, “A Great Product!”

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