Initial research framework & thougts of industrial project

We have great two weeks industrial project from Nokia. It is very intensive short period of time, but my team has done very good and rigorous design process from user research, persona, concept generation to video prototype. We did very well at very step. It is my first to make flash animation and I really made it. I still remember at last two day I was still learning how to make moving animation. I have to thank my classmates they are so helpful. My team also sat good expectation of the presentation, so there is nothing out of control. This project is confidential, so unfortunately I can't write detail about it.

Industrial project is great but too intensive, so I took one week to recover from that. Maybe the other reason why it takes me so long to recover is that I was confused with my thesis. I have no ideas how to continue. I have done something, user research, brainstorming and some intuitive ideas , but there is no clear user needs or problems that I can rely on to develop. What I have done is more like a tool to understand what I want to do.

I concluded what I have now into a initial research framework showed below.


Understand how information flow in the urban and how poeple communication in urban scale.
Then design an channel for efficient information transmission on mobile phone in the urban scale.

I will conduct a series of interviews relative to this topic to discover design opportunities.

The abilities a designer should have to make good design

I have background in architecture and my collage training is the best in Taiwan design education. I nearly never change the way I do design. When I did interaction design in Taiwan, it is more like design with new technology and advanced concept. After CIID, I totally change the process I do design. In the thesis phase, I can feel more and more about the power of design thinking.

Here are thoughts of abilities which a designer should have to make a good design. It is a reflection not a serious report.

ASK GOOD QUESTION / DEFINE A GOOD DESIGN CHALLENGE
Especially for thesis, it is very important to ask good question. This defines how high and how good a design could be. This represents designer's vision and personality. It is hardest design skill to teach.

CREATE GOOD ENVIRONMENT THAT INSPIRING AND SECURING CONCEPT
For my personal experience, every design decision is based on the resources now, so it is important to have rich resources to lead to a good decision. User research, brainstorming and prototype are great skill to create good environment to make good design decision. These skills are also great to failure earlier and proof of feasibility as earlier as possible.

PROTOTYPING
Prototyping is an ability to realize and evaluate the concept. It is similar to architect makes the model to visualize what is in their mind. Only through prototyping, we can failure earlier and evolve the design with evidence.

ABILITY TO CREATE INSIGHT
It is not only about creating insights from user research but also the insights of every phase of design such as brainstorming, prototyping. It is about seeing through the true values behind it or making a great philosophy to explain it.

ABILITY TO MAKE TOOLS
Design is about bridging expectation and resources with good strategy. Ability to make tools means that designer should have ability to design a design process according to the project.

Mobile Context

I want to do "Web2.0 application in mobile context". From my research, I found out we use the computer to access internet in a specific context. We will do it in a room, only focus on the using computer, individually and sit in front of the computer( see the chart in the first picture). Furthermore, use computer before or after an activity. In contrast, mobile context is more about outdoor, in an activity, with friends and on-the-go.

I made a little experiment in the afternoon open lecture to explore what we need in mobile context. There are few insights. First, before lecture we chatted and one classmate showed the iPhone app. This software is more about showing something not about finding something new. Second, I would like some software that can record this experience in simple reusable media. Third, I want to know what others opinions are in more casual way or opinion for specific section .

The second picture shows some mobile contexts to inspire me. Originally I made a attention distribution of the different mobile context scenario to understand the relationships of these context. I feel that there could be two kinds of the software used in an activity. One is the complement of the main activity. For example, in a lecture I have a device to record the experience. The other one is sub-activity that means a totally different activity parallel happens. For example, when biking, listen to music.

This week, Christena Nippert Eng from IIT(http://www.iit.edu/csl/ss/faculty/nippert_christena.shtml) is our visiting faculty. She gives me a great point of view about attention distribution. Attention should not be related to the different kinds of context. For example, if biking in the crowded traffic, user should pay lots of attention on it. Like the right side chart, it changes in different time not strongly relative to activity.

Small exercise - I want to know ......

My personal view point of Web 2.0 app is fulfill one human's curiosity. Digg is a platform for people to know what others are reading now and Twitter is a platform for people to know what others are doing now. Because every classmates are very busy for their own thesis, I do a small exercise for myself instead of brainstorming. This exercise is to write down everything I want to know about for inspiring.

In this phase, it is not easy to point out a direction only from this exercise. I do this for two reasons. I kept thinking something like this, so best strategy is to write it down and release some mental loading. This may not directly useful, but it aims to create a rich background with lots of similar activity. Once I have a great concept. It is easy to connect every thing to make a great design.

Mobile Phone Usage Diary

Many thanks to my good friend who did the cell phone diary for me every day. He is a PHD student and teaches at collage. He uses iPhone with unlimited subscription. I just take three days diary as example. The result looks most of the tasks are still phone function. There are two additional kind of usage: tool and social. Alarm and listening to music take phone as a tool. Originally we have alarm clock and walk man, now they are integrated into phone. The other finding is the iPhone is good to "show off" and invoke some social activity. In my plan, I want to see relationship between using cell phone and context. There is no astonishing findings, but it is great to visualize the true usage pattern.

20090514

0730 wake up alarm (home)

0830 check facebook and app store on iPhone (home)

0930 received a phone call from father (home)

1040 received a phone call from a commercial company (home)

1100 Sync iPhone to PC outlook (home)

1108 Set up laundry alarm on phone (home)

1220 received a phone call from a commercial company (home)

1700 check facebook on iPhone

1710 Play app KiDoWi on iPhone

1830 make a phone call to a friend (home)

1900-1950 Listen music on iPhone (dinner out)

1950 received a phone call from father (home)

2030 received a phone call from elder sister (home)

2300 make a phone call to a friend (home)

20090513

0730 wake up alarm (home)

0820-0840 download an app,(郵政資訊), from app store (Starbucks)

0850 Received a phone call from father (Starbucks)

0900-0920 Received and make few phone calls to co-workers (Starbucks)

1000-1130 Received and make few phone calls to co-workers (home)

1330 Received a phone call from a friend (home)

1430 make a phone call to a friend (home)

1700-1800 Received few phone calls from co-workers (gym)

1700-1830 Listen music on iPhone and workout (gym)

2050-2150 Received few phone calls from co-workers (home)

2300 make a phone call to a friend (home)

20090512

0730 Wake up alarm (home)

0930 Received a phone call from father (work school)

1008 Received a commercial phone call (work school)

1150 Received a phone call from a friend (work school)

1430 Received a phone call from a Student (work school)

1630 make a phone call to a co-worker (work school)

1850-1910 demo iPhone apps to co-workers (work school)

2300 download a app from App Store (Home)

2330 make a phone call to a friend (Home)

Interview with internet heavy user

I interviewed with three people, one boy and two girls, who are from Taiwan and study master degree at Denmark now about their internet usage behavior. They have been addicted to internet for more than 5 years and surfing internet is the routine every day . The main applications they use is BBS (Bullet Board System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system) which is super popular in Taiwan's college students and has existed for 15 years. It has its own sub-culture and they often invent new proper noun. The repondants also use some popular social network applications such as facebook and blog.

Here are the quotes:
"My new boy friend and I host a new board on BBS to collect our memory"
"I love to share information on bbs than facebook or blog, because it is faster to deliver information"
"I don't have time to see NBA live on TV, so I will see NBA board on BBS where lots of people will live broadcast through post"
"When there is live NBA game, lots of people will share the free link, watch online together and discuss. It is super interesting to watch them arguing"
"I can't help eliminating the new article sign of the board"
"When I browse the article, I will start from most responded one"
"Facebook is the place gathering friends' information"
"The most amazing board on BBS is beauty board. For example, some one saw a beauty at architecture department and post it on board. There are always someone know the girl"
"I like the group shopping board. We buy goods together for cheaper price with strangers"
"I like facebook can tag people on photo. It is great to collect my memory"
"The great restaurant board on BBS is my favorite. Once people found new restaurant near the school. There are always lots of people provide reviews"
"After using BBS for three years, I only brows my friends board now"

Brianstorming - what others are " "ing now?

My thesis focuses on "Web 2.0 Apps in Mobile Context"

What is Web 2.0 App? I have a very personal and not well defined view point that it is a platform satisfying human's curiosity. For instance, digg is a platform that you can know what others are reading now. Twitter is a platform that you can know what others are doing now. Facebook is a platform that you can know how and what your friends are doing now.

The Web 2.o Apps now are developed for the unique context for instance we use it at home or office individually and only focus on doing it. There are increasingly people using mobile phone to access internet. The context we use internet is dramatically different for instance accessing internet is more on-the-go, within a event or with others together. There should be some essential difference between accessing internet on mobile phone and pc.

Web 2.0 Apps in Mobile Context means a platform you can know something others are doing now in mobile context which is different from context using pc. Therefore, I want to do a brainstorming what do you want to know others are doing now and in what context? This could be very simple, for instance I want to know which store nearby sells great and cheap vegetable, which restaurant has good "today special" or which art piece is popular in the museum.

Brainstorming questions:
Please write down your favorite web services / applications with one sentence that it makes you know what. ex Twitter is a platform that you can know what others are doing now.

In the mobile context which means on-the-go, in the activity or with friends, what who how and why do you want to know about? ex I am curious about the pictures every one took in my wedding. It is the important moment in my life and I want to know every detail.