Final Reflection

Takeaways:

It is important to incorporate wild ideas into potential solutions.
The “yes, and” technique really allows us to build on our own/others’ ideas and fosters collaboration.
User testing is highly important because it allows you, as the researcher, to get first-hand feedback about your product/idea. Allows you to see from an unbiased perspective to see how a user interacts with your product.
This class introduced me to important programs like Tableau and interesting concepts like the POP app.
I now have a base understanding of different concepts/layers of HCDE such as interaction design, usability, user testing, etc. and an introduction to the major.
I will now consider the HCDE masters program as a potential goal.
I have found inspiration in companies like IDEO and am interested in a potential internship to see what role I could play in the company.
I can now speak the basic language of the people in the HCDE domain studying/doing visualization, user research, etc.
I can appreciate the complexity of how much research goes into developing and improving products and ideas. Things are not often a lightbulb we suddenly have in our heads, they are slow and they build up and they draw lots of inspiration from others.
I now know how to use medium and have been introduced to the wide varieties of topics present on the site. I may continue using it to voice my opinion about other topics or showcase my writing.
HCDE is a fast-growing field of study because as companies try to target people and different market segments, you have to know what people want and how they interact with the concept/product you have come up with.

— Elaboration

I have been considering the HCDE masters program as a post-undergrad option for about a quarter, so I thought that taking this class could help me decide whether this was something I was interested in. I went into the class knowing that I was slightly interested in the field but I didn’t know anything about the different focuses you can choose. This class was extremely helpful because it informed me of this important factor that I will also consider.

Reactions

During week 2, when we got to learn about interaction design and designed our own mobile app, I was pleasantly surprised by the app POP that allowed us to prototype our ideas in a way that others could also interact with it.
I enjoyed having the three panels come to speak in lecture, because they gave me an inside look at how the concepts that we were learning about in class — usability, interaction design, ideation, etc. — could be applied in real-life scenarios and careers.
I wish that we had spent more time in studio going over how to use Tableau, and less time trying to figure out tasks on our own because I come away from that week having a vague understanding of the program but I don’t feel like I can successfully navigate how to do certain tasks.
I enjoyed getting to use the LittleBits kits because it allowed us to make so many variations of prototypes without having to exhaust our own resources. It was cool how much you could do with a seemingly small amount of parts.
I appreciated the time we spent on sketching because it reminded me of a visual way to practice the innovation technique “yes, and…”
I liked how during most studios, we were given opportunities to present our findings/what we had accomplished during our work time because it allowed us to develop our presentation skills and we got to see how others had interpreted the assignment as well.
I appreciated that photos were taken for our use during studio because these pictures really showcased the process of studios and sprints from an outside view. Therefore, viewers were really able to tell what we did in order to end up at our final results.
Video editing was kind of frustrating because I did not have access to programs such as iMovie or a Windows video editing program. I ended up making all the videos on my phone using an app called Splice, but I was frustrated because I knew it wasn’t as good of quality as others’.
I liked the feedback giving sessions; they were helpful and unexpectedly not hurtful like many people expected it to be. While we receive some feedback on our process blogs and deliverables, it is helpful to receive feedback in person and discuss it with the person critiquing it.
I also enjoyed the process blogs because it really forced me to look back on the past sprint and apply concepts unrelated to our class/assignment. I was able to see the deeper impact.

— Elaboration

Video editing is the thing that bothered me the most about this course. It seemed to be expected that we would have access to a video editing program. I have a Windows computer that does not come installed with one. The downloadable ones seemed to be pretty glitchy on my device, so I ended up filming and editing things on my phone. This worked for the most part, but it definitely wasn’t that ideal and I wish we had had more instruction on making proficient videos.

Future Opportunities

Job shadow someone in the HCDE field — specifically user interaction
Research internships at companies such as IDEO for next summer
Look into HCDE seminars for the upcoming autumn quarter
Research job opportunities next year on campus at the HCDE department or at design firms
Look more into opportunities at Catalyz, an ideation company I heard about that was started as a branch off Nordstrom (from my Com 495 class but pertains to HCDE)
Research the masters program more and other programs in California that pertain to HCDE
Reach out to one of the panel speakers to learn more about their work at the HCDE masters program
I can use my base knowledge of HCDE to help me in talking to professionals in the field
I can use the connections made in class to ask about future opportunities/career options — such as the TAs
Start user research of my own on something that interests me

— Elaboration

I am interested in job shadowing someone this summer or next year in the HCDE field because HCDE is something that I am seriously considering as a career. I know UW has started a job shadowing program that I would be highly interested in. I have a high interest in user interaction, and I think it would be very interesting and potentially inspiring to see that career in action. I could potentially seek this out at Catalyz, which is based here, or at IDEO, which is not far from my house in California.

Email

Dear Mr. Grossman-Kahn,
My name is Tanya Takahashi, and I am a sophomore attending the University of Washington. I am reaching out to you today because I heard you speak in my communications special topics class on innovation (taught by Dr. Gina Neff) earlier this quarter and was inspired by your career journey and company concept. I am highly interested in learning more about cultivating innovation and creativity and I love that you and your company strive to help others in that sense. I was wondering if you might have any internship or volunteer opportunities available this upcoming fall that I would be able to apply for. I have completed the introductory HCDE course at UW as well as the Comm. special topics class on innovation, and these classes have really fostered a curiosity and passion for the field. I would love to grow and learn from any opportunity you might have available, thank you so much for your time.