In an alternate universe if our submission was a 10 minute video instead, this would have been my script. It is largely the same but I go into more detail which sadly had to be cut due to time.
and I avoided over scopingHello, my name is Hannah, and this is my capstone video to the GDO710 module. This video is split into three parts: Development, Synthesis and Projection.
Act 1 – Development
Key skills and domains
I have learned a lot throughout the course of this introductory module, some information I already knew, while others were a complete surprise or added a depth to my previous knowledge that I didn’t know I needed.
Due to discussion with my peers, I established a ‘Journal Share’ where we passed around our journals for comment. I was advised that my journal posts were clear and concise which allowed me to progress with confidence. During the second Rapid Ideation, my teammate Sarah told me that my visual communication of ideas simplified complex problems making for an easier time for us to get on the same page. So, I am using this strength by applying it to the structure of this video. I borrowed the Three Act Structure from novel writing as inspiration for arranging this video (MasterClass 2021).
The Agile work methodology was completely new to me, in particular the importance of protecting sprint goals and conducting project retrospectives (Cho 2010; Schwaber and Sutherland 2023). I loved learning about the Double Diamond approach in particular as a method to combine divergent and convergent thinking processes to aid creative projects (Silvia 2015; Ball 2019). Of especial interest to me was Ericsson’s Theory of Deliberate Practice (Ericsson et al. 1993) as it highlighted that I am often too focused on ‘completing’ the task rather than finding an innovative outcome.
Research
Combining Ericsson’s theory with the concept that I am at the centre of my learning experience (Hase and Kenyon 2000) has reframed my outlook towards fitting the course to myself and my needs. Pretty Much Everything by Aaron James Draplin has been and will continue to be a big inspiration in this regard (Draplin 2016). An area that was completely new to me was ethics in the context of UX design and research. Research is fundamental, as it allows us to answer questions that we didn’t even know we need to ask (Nunnally and Farkas 2016). By looking at historical case studies through the lens of a research project gone wrong blasted open the importance of ethical considerations in my coursework and future career.
Improvements
Bringing these new skills together, I want to utilise agile and project management tools for the big projects coming up, as they can so easily lose focus. In particular, I want to practice envisioning and scrum estimation because that will align everyone in the group to the same vision and as Scrum is most commonly used methodology it is most likely to be used by future employers (Srivastava et al. 2017). Specifically, I will read ‘Agile Foundations’ by Peter Measey et al and ‘Being agile in business’ by Belinda Waldock to build my theoretical foundation.
I also hope to improve my general knowledge about all areas of UX to identify the key areas where I wish to gain a deeper knowledge through research and practice. Moving forwards, I will reframe my skills or competence as a flow perspective so I can share my knowledge with the group, but also receive knowledge in return (Gray et al. 2015). But not only will I share my knowledge and beliefs, I will endeavour to enact them, as Gray et. al. “propose that shifts in competence take place through performance of beliefs as enacted through explicit action.” (2015: 5). Through this, I aim to make myself an indispensable team member, no matter the team.
Synthesis
Rapid Ideation
When I first learned about design sprints, I was unsure of their efficacy and thought they promoted unhealthy working practices, but before cementing my opinion I spoke to Finlay MacDonald (digital design lecturer) who broadened my view.
We undertook two Rapid Ideation sessions where we designed and built two artefacts. This was my first time putting agile, sprints, rapid ideation and artefacts into practice. As we did two, I aimed to gain a different experience from each.
In Sprint one, I worked alone and conducted a short ideation stage but focussed on a higher quality vertical slice MVP as I wanted to gain experience in a wider range of UX design tools. With this sprint, I learned that despite many other responsibilities I still managed to produce an good artefact and I avoided over-scoping. Although I think more robust ideation and research stages would have been beneficial to the final artefact.
With Sprint two, I formed a team with Sarah Gomes Munro as I wanted to focus on how to build a community of practice specifically in the setting of a distance collaboration because “practice does not exist in the abstract. It exists because people are engaged in actions whose meanings they negotiate with one another” (Wenger 1999: 74). As a result, we had a heavier focus on ideation with a focus on how we could combine our ideas and working practices most effectively. Turning our sights to the information architecture, we produced a wider horizontal slice MVP which allowed us to learn how to adjust to each other’s working practices and responsibilities.
By approaching the Rapid Ideation sessions differently, I aspired to prove to myself my flexibility as a UX designer and as someone who can learn quickly under pressure. Sprint two was the most valuable learning experience as it showcased the importance of coordination, empathy and transparency within the team. We were able to organise our team schedule to avoid stress and constructed a supportive environment to share ideas. However, we could have benefitted from using a focussed, Scrum approach of short updates and quick decision making (Schwaber and Sutherland 2023). Better verbal clarity and further iterations would have also made for a smoother process and better outcome.
Development
The community that has developed as part of this MA is quickly becoming integral to my support network while studying. As we progress into other modules, I will endeavour to keep up with our small discord group and will organise online events between modules. But as this is an online community, I will also endeavour to join casual UX get-together’s and public UX conferences such as the Ginetta Tonic Festival in Zürich where I live to help me build a local community network.
In terms of professional development, I want to expand my knowledge on Dark Patterns, as I don’t want to become an unwitting accomplice in unethical practices through my ignorance. (Gray et al. 2018). On this topic, I have a long list for further personal reading including titles by Dombrowski et. al., Fallman, Hankerson et. al. and Kellingley.
Additionally, I want to learn more about accessible design as I find it a very interesting topic but don’t have any knowledge or experience in the area yet. In particular, I want to learn about dyslexia friendly techniques such as using Inconstant Regular from Daniel Brokstad (Dyslexia Scotland 2023) and the psychology of how a simple design choice can impact the lives of users.
Projection
SMART Goals
Synthesising everything I have learned and all my desires for development in the MA and professionally, I have created the following two goals adhering to the SMART framework:
Professional goal
Ultimately, I want to be employed by a company that focusses on digital design to act as a solid foundation for my professional development. To that end, I aim to be employed in a 6-12 month internship where I can gain ‘on-the-ground’ skills to underpin my theoretical knowledge gained as part of the MA. As I progress through the course, I will continuously update my CV and portfolio and send it to internship opportunities in Zürich with the goal of landing an internship before the end of the course.
Academic goal
Now I have a basic understanding of the practices that underpin UX design, I will use the rest of the MA to experiment with domains and skills I want to pursue beyond the course material. With each project, I will identify an aspect of UX that I will explore further by reading the academic theory then implementing it into my project so I can further explore the tensions between theory and creative output. After each project, I will include a section in my retrospective reflecting on the additional knowledge gained. To keep this controlled, I will focus on one area at a time to focus on in more depth.
Conclusion
To round off my experience of the first module of the course in a reflective nutshell, I can only describe my experience as great. By touching lightly on so many topics I have gained insights into my interests that I never would have suspected before which has given me clear directions for my professional and academic progress. Despite the course being distance learning, I nevertheless feel a strong connection to my classmates and teachers which are bonds I hope will stay strong even beyond the course.
References
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DRAPLIN, Aaron James. 2016. Draplin Design Co: Pretty Much Everything. New York, New York: Abrams.
DYSLEXIA SCOTLAND. 2023. ‘TYPEFACE – THERE’S NOTHING COMIC ABOUT DYSLEXIA’. Nothing Comic About Dyslexia [online]. Available at: https://www.nothingcomicaboutdyslexia.com/inconstant-regular [accessed 11 Apr 2023].
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GRAY, Colin M. et al. 2018. ‘The Dark (Patterns) Side of UX Design’. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 1–14. Available at: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3173574.3174108 [accessed 11 Apr 2023].
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MASTERCLASS. 2021. ‘How to Write Three Act Structure’. MasterClass [online]. Available at: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-three-act-structure [accessed 11 Apr 2023].
NUNNALLY, Brad and David FARKAS. 2016. UX Research: Practical Techniques for Designing Better Products. O’Reilly Media, Inc.
SCHWABER, K and J SUTHERLAND. 2023. ‘Scrum Guide | Scrum Guides’. Scrum Guides [online]. Available at: https://scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html [accessed 23 Jan 2023].
SILVIA, Paul J. 2015. ‘Intelligence and Creativity Are Pretty Similar After All’. Educational Psychology Review 27(4), 599–606.
SRIVASTAVA, Apoorva, Sukriti BHARDWAJ and Shipra SARASWAT. 2017. ‘SCRUM Model for Agile Methodology’. In 2017 International Conference on Computing, Communication and Automation (ICCCA). 2017 International Conference on Computing, Communication and Automation (ICCCA), May 2017, 864–9.
WENGER, Etienne. 1999. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. 2004 Reprint. Cambridge University Press.
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