Design for Change Brief

Brief

Your client, who you can assume is a community, charitable, public or business organization, has commissioned you to help identify key changes in the social, economic, cultural or technological environment and to suggest concepts for products and initiatives which can address those changes.

For example, you may consider how people are using technology in their everyday lives, in their own ways and for their own needs.
How does choice impact on how everyday things are used or are likely to be used in the future?

In response to this you are required to identify, describe and evaluate what you believe to be the key changes and possible evolutions in these environments, with a particular emphasis on opportunities for the design of new interactive tasks, systems or products.

From this initial audit you must then consider a new or novel task, system or product that you would like to investigate and further develop to concept prototype stage and offer researched evidence in support of your proposal. Evaluate and specify design concepts to capture this opportunity.

60% of marks
You are required to develop a prototype which will be presented to your client. Presentation content will be discussed with tutors.

10% of marks
In addition you will need to develop short design report including the following constructs:

• Research and discussion documents

This must take the form of a written design report. You are advised to revisit guidelines for previous modules on design research.

Research into the history of your specified design concept, find out if it came from the convergence of technologies or if it was a technological progression.

Discuss the nature of this product or initiative and all that it currently encompasses.

• Concept document

Specify a design concept to capture the opportunity these changes create.

You could choose to follow a structured process by asking the following questions and using the answers to assist you.

WHY would people want to use a particular technology?

WHAT would they want to do with the technology?

Use scenarios of how real people might actually
use your application/platform/product/tool and note how this might then change and improve your initial set of answers.



This should include an introduction, summary and complete list of references.

The Web-report in its entirety should be a minimum 1000 words.




Time structure

Week 1
• Team allocation [the team dynamic will aid you in your evaluations during your prototype development
• Group work and discussion with Stuart Neil
• Idea generation

Week 2
• Peer assessment [progress of team development]
• Development of initial ideas to form a one page document
• Documented research and discussion

Week 3
• Peer assessment [Stuart]

Week 4
o Project deadline 9th March 07

Schedule:

Tuesday 13/02/07 10am:
Briefing, Split into working groups and begin research.

Wednesday 14/02/07 10am:
Group work and discussion with Stuart Neil.
Idea generation.

Tuesday 20/02/07 10 am:
One page - Development of initial ideas to be emailed to : sneil@uwic.ac.uk
Assignment development

Wednesday 21/02/07 10am:
Assignment development

Tuesday 27/02/07 10am:
Individual tutorials
Assignment development

Wednesday 28/02/07 10am:
Individual tutorials
Assignment development

7th + 8th March 10am:
Presentations

Web-reports Deadline 9th March 06

This schedule may change notification will be put on the DfIM notice boards on a daily basis.

Assessment methods

Assessment methods

100% coursework.
Delivery of:
• Written, practical & presentations of assignment that demonstrate the required learning outcomes (70%)

• Contribution to discourse as demonstrated through group work, seminars, tutorials (15%)

• Development of Personal Progress File, through theory and practice (15%)


Assessment is undertaken in relation to student’s ability to achieve required learning outcomes.

Assessable components:

Presentation
Think ‘Dragons Den’
You will have a short amount of time to present your ideas and communicate to your client the idea for your project. Remember this needs to be conveyed in a way that your client will understand quickly.
Supporting visual materials may be included. Consider the presentation methods very carefully to ensure that you communicate your research findings clearly and effectively. (Refer to guidance notes on presentations).

Prototype
Start to develop physical products that will help you communicate your ideas. Your prototype may be a storyboard, paper prototype, model prototype, software prototype or a combination of prototypes. Remember that your ideas are based on novel, creative and innovating methods, so let this be something that transpires in your prototype. Help communicate this creativity to your employer by developing a prototype that reflects its nature.

Reports
Your written web-report should be no less than 1000 words in length. Your web-report should be detailed with the correct assignment details and bearing your name, student number and email address.

Maintenance of Personal Development Journal
You must ensure that your Journal reflects your critical evaluation of this module. Refer to the Journal briefing sheet for details.


Seminars and Tutorials
Group seminars will be conducted in the Lab and should be used for reflection and for establishing a framework for discussion on which the group presentation can be built. These may be student or staff led and may include discussions with visiting speakers. See schedule and notice board for information.
You must ensure that you book regular tutorials with staff throughout this module. Booking sheets are available on the notice board.



Directed Reading:
• Students are expected to undertake significant directed reading in all aspects of the course and will be set reading tasks from the reading lists to extend and reinforce module content.
• The library's physical and electronic resources are also heavily utilized.
A selection of key reference books are available in the DfIM Lab.


Required reading:
• Negroponte N. Being Digital., 1996, Coronet;

Recommended reading:

• Castells, Manuel (2001) The Internet Galaxy, Oxford (Paperback - 304 pages (31 October 2002) Oxford University Press; ISBN: 0199255776)

A good journal issue to look at would be:
• Howard, Rainie, and Jones, 2001;Days and Nights in the internet: the impact of diffusing technology American Behavioral Scientist (special issue on the internet and everyday life)

Tracey and Anderson 2001 “The significance of lifestage and lifestyle transitions in the use and disuse of internet applications and services “American Behavioral Scientist (special issue on the internet and everyday life)

• Brand, S. How buildings learn, 1997; Orion Paperbacks;
• Castells, M. The Informational City. 1989 Blackwell, Oxford, UK..
• Alexander, C. A Pattern Language, 1978. Oxford University Press Inc, USA;
• Card, S. et al Readings in Information Visualization , 1999. Morgan Kaufmann;
• Jones, J C. Designing Designing, Phaidon Press, (Architecture Design and Technology Press), London, 1991
• Jones, J C. Design Methods, 2nd Edition, Van Nostrand Reinhold (International Thomson Publishing), New York, 1992
• Tufte, E R. Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. Graphic Press, 1997.
• Maeda J. Design by Numbers, The MIT Press, 2001;
Woolman, M. Digital Information Graphics. Thames & Hudson, London (Spring 2002)


LEARNING OUTCOMES
On completion of this modules students should be able to demonstrate:

Subject-specific skills
• Evaluate economic, social and technological aspects of change;
• Evaluate requirements of design for emerging technologies;
• Critically assess impact of change on design, production and use of interactive products;
• Deploy appropriate design principles to development of interactive software product of system.

Cognitive skills
• Understand essential concepts, principles and theories;
• Solve problems through the application of appropriate knowledge;
• Critically appraise and review a range of practices;
• Compare and evaluate various methodologies;
• Analyse tasks, systems and products;
• Synthesize various methods, approaches and theories into a distinct, personal practice;
• Think creatively;
• Develop ideas, concepts, proposals and solutions in response to a brief and as self-initiated activity;

Practical Abilities
• Specify and design interactive products or systems;
• Publicly present their own work in a cogent and concise manner;

Please refer to Module Handbook for further information