As this course comes to an end, we take this time to apply
everything we have learned about consumer behavior and apply it to a real-world
problem. I am so excited to finally be faced with something that can be
applicable to the real world. All of my courses have led up to this kind of
work.
The design sprint process is devised into 5 phases: Understand,
Diverge, Converge, Prototype, and lastly Test and Learn. Reflecting back I
sometimes had a hard time just going with the flow. An example being the Crazy
8's exercise. Being able to quickly produce something, anything, with little to
no thought was something I have never done before. I don't understand why I was
so terrified to try it, because it turns out I really enjoyed it! (Refer back
to my ZMET experience)
In the beginning, we were asked to find a problem we wanted to
solve for type-one diabetics. It was stated that it is easy to conclude with
the solution, which I quickly saw become true. While giving our 3 minute
critiques we all loved Tessa's idea of a watch that would allow type-one
diabetics to check their blood sugar easily and discretely.
This project has made me understand how empathy is so vital for
"success". I say that because at times it is okay to fail, and must
restart on an idea. Trying to kill our baby of an idea was a lot harder than I thought
due to all the work put into it.
According to Wikipedia, empathy is the
capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within
the other being's frame of reference. Empathy is seeing seeing with the eyes of
another, listening with the ears of another, and feelings with the heart of
another.
The part I found the most interesting was learning about type-one
diabetes, how many people this effects, and how our group put ourselves in a
type-one diabetic's shoes for a day. We started listing tasks, activities, and
emotional events everyone experiences and how it might be different for someone
with this disease. After some more research we sought out friends and family
members who suffer from type-one diabetes in order to gain a more personal
perspective.
Hearing stories of how difficult it is to go on a road trip, or
enjoy an evening night out with friends made me realize how our product could
really make a difference. Throughout college it’s been hypothetical scenarios
to learn from, which have helped me understand how to approach a problem. However,
this assignment was different all due to empathic implementation. This
assignment has confirmed to me that this may be the line of work I may want to
pursue.
Growing up I always thought that doctors could help those who were
injured or sick. That police officers fought crime. And that businessmen and
businesswomen worked with money. Although I have a better understanding of how
occupations interlink and all pertain to helping one another, this design
sprint process and class has brought to my attention how consumer behavior goes
beyond the numbers, statistics, and marketing tactics. Now marketing strategies
that I have learned make more sense and have made a full circle.
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