Research and ideation

Explain in your own words what Design Thinking is and why it is said to put the user at the centre of the process.

These Design Thinking phases are jumbled: (a) prototype, (b) define the problem, (c) test with users, (d) empathise, (e) ideate. Put them in order and explain in one sentence what is done in each.

The diagram shows the phases of Design Thinking, but one of them is covered with a question mark, as shown in the figure.

State which phase is missing, what it consists of, and why the feedback loop arrow is an important part of the process.

Explain what 'empathise' means in Design Thinking and name two specific techniques used to better understand users (interview, observation, questionnaire...), writing one sentence about each.

A school team wants to reduce the plastic generated in the canteen. Write three questions you would ask users (students, kitchen staff) in the empathise phase, and explain what information you expect to gain from each.

These interview questions are poorly phrased: (a) "don't you think the current app is terrible?", (b) "do you like the app: yes or no?" and (c) "would you use an app with blue screens and large text?". Explain what is wrong with each (leading question, closed question, solution-loaded question) and rewrite them correctly.

In the define phase, a user-centred problem statement is written. Rewrite this poorly framed sentence as a good problem statement: "students arrive late to first period because they are terribly disorganised".

An empathy map captures what the user says, thinks, feels and does. Choose a school library user as your subject and complete at least two of the four quadrants with realistic content, explaining where you would gather that information.

In the empathy phase of designing a technological medication dispenser for older adults living alone, a team gathered two seemingly contradictory pieces of data:

1. In a prior survey, 88 % stated that "they never forget to take their pills on time and do not need technical help".

2. During direct observation in their homes, it was found that 62 % had messy pillboxes, open boxes with expired blister packs, and recurring doubts about whether they had already taken their morning dose.

1. a) Justify why this discrepancy occurs by analysing the limitations of the self-reported method (survey) versus the observational method for this user profile.
2. b) Based on the tension detected between what they say and what they do, formulate the problem statement (POV: user + need + insight) avoiding preconceived solutions and write two challenge-generating questions ("How might we...?") that address the true root cause.

In team brainstorming, there are two basic rules: do not criticise others' ideas during the session and aim for quantity before quality. Explain why each of these rules helps generate better solutions.

The 'How might we...?' questioning technique opens the ideation phase. Write three 'How might we...?' questions for the challenge of improving a school bag (weight, organization, night visibility...) and select the one that interests you most, justifying your choice.

After coming up with twenty proposals, you must narrow them down to two. Explain the difference between diverging and converging in an ideation process and name three useful criteria for selecting ideas (feasibility, cost, impact, originality...), providing an example of how one of them would be applied.

What is the purpose of building a prototype even if we know in advance that it will not be the final version? Give two specific reasons (learning before spending, demonstrating and gathering feedback...).

Explain the difference between a low-fidelity prototype (for example, cardboard or sketched) and a high-fidelity one, and explain why in the early stages of a project it is advisable to start with low-fidelity ones even if they do not actually function.

The following table shows the results of a usability test on a functional prototype of smart lockers for a municipal sports centre, evaluated with two groups of 10 users each:

• Group A (young people aged 16 to 25, regular users of the facility): average opening time 8,2 s; success rate on the first attempt: 95 %; help panel consultations: 0.

• Group B (people aged 60 to 75, users of gentle exercise classes): average opening time 54,6 s; success rate on the first attempt: 20 %; help panel consultations: 85 % (70 % gave up because they did not understand the capacitive numeric keypad lacking tactile feedback and sound confirmation).

1. a) Interpret these results: refute the team's conclusion that "the machine works well and the problem is the older adults' lack of digital competence". Justify which principles of accessible design and physical interfaces were ignored.
2. b) Design an A/B evaluation test for a new prototype: describe the proposed variant to resolve the identified barrier, what environmental conditions you must control, and which two quantitative metrics will determine whether the redesign is valid before manufacturing the final lockers.