Week 0 Musings

This week felt like a field trip to the beach. I got pushed by a few waves - of knowledge. I stumbled through sand - of confusion. The sun was warm and bright - like the students and professors. Now I am home, tired from all the adventure. Thinking about how much I loved it and how lucky I am to have found this brilliant and kind community. 

The week went by fast. Every day, we learned a new design process and its relationship with previous processes. We learned about research interviews, synthesis, prototyping, and field testing. Below is a summary of my main takeaways.  

Trust the Process: Situations will not always be explicit or within our control. However, we know steps and processes that help us move forward to gain clarity and confidence. We must trust that following those processes will lead us somewhere, even if it requires iterating.        

Unlearning, to learn: I thought my experience as a recruiter would help during Design research. I was wrong. Researchers ask broad questions and listen, while recruiters tend to control interviews, looking for a wrong\right answer. So to become a better researcher, I have to unlearn being a recruiter.  

Collaboration does not mean everything is a team activity: The purpose of collaboration is to work together to create. That does not mean doing the same thing at the same time or place. Teammates must learn each other’s styles and needs. Then give each other space to be themselves without the stigma of not being team players.         

This is all for now. I cannot wait for class to start next week and do all of it again.