Discovery Lab
Homework 3
Personas
Introduction
As you’ve probably noticed by now, identifying problems is not too difficult. You identified many and have some observations and stories to back them up. Often this is enough to start an intelligent conversation with stakeholders, or even enough to convince your friends or others that there’s a problem worth solving. Congratulations, Huihui is impressed that you followed up and have some specific insights and problems that need solving.
In this next exercise, we’re going to learn about how different personas (software engineer, designer and MBA) might approach solving a specific challenge. We’re going to put ourselves in the shoes of those with some (but not all) of the skills needed to solve a problem. You’ll do this by reading about each persona below followed by writing, psuedo-coding, analyzing and sketching a solution to the problem you clarified to Huihui last week.
Keep in mind that this exercise is for illustrative purposes only. No one person should fit neatly into the roles we’re outlining below, but I believe that these personas possess individual skills that tend to complement one another during early stages of developing applications of technology and innovation.
By the end of this activity, you should be able to think about how to design solutions from a variety of perspectives, or at least be more open to and appreciative of alternative approaches.
Instructions:
Read the following essays from Paul Graham, one of the founders of Y Combinator.
Review the bios and other materials for each persona below.
As each persona, draft one email (3 in total), each proposing a solution that you believe could be implemented by the persona. In your response, be sure and outline specific steps you would take in the development of your solution.
Think like a … Software Engineer:
About Brenda Jin:
Brenda taught herself to code in 2013 and has since become one of the highest ranking technical contributors at Slack. She’s passionate about sharing the professional, leadership, and communication tools to support women of all levels and professional backgrounds in their careers. As a Board Member for Girl Develop It, she removes the barriers that keep women out of technology.
- Review her experience
- Read Technical Leadership: Getting Started and Not Technical Enough: What Does That Mean. Designing Web APIs that Developers Love
- Read her AMA on Reddit.com
Instructions:
You are Brenda, an accomplished ‘full-stack’ web developer. You’ve had a chance to review the problems and have a proposal for an application to improve the customer experience. Write a short (a few paragraphs) email to Huihui as Brenda detailing your solution.
Think like a … Business Thinker:
About Peter Drucker:
Peter Ferdinand Drucker was an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business corporation.
Some notable quotes:
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.
- Read a timeline of his life and accomplishments
- Read his thoughts on the Discipline of Innovation
- Read this investor relations report from Starbucks on their growth and plans in the China market.
Instructions:
You are a young Peter Drucker and you’ve had a chance to observe the coffee shop’s operations. You have some recommendations for opportunities to improve the customer experience and their business.
Write a short (a few paragraphs) email to Huihui as Peter Drucker with your observations and recommendations, drawing upon the Discipline of Innovation article and your understanding of the China coffee culture and market.
Think like a … Designer
About David Kelley
David Kelley is the founder of the global design and innovation company IDEO as well as the Stanford d.school. He has made great contributions in the field of human-centered design methodology and design thinking.
- Watch his TED Talk and see how they at IDEO take a more human-centered approach to solve problems.
- Read about this case study from IDEO on how they redesign a student-centered cafeteria experience. (We all know how big of a challenge that is)
- Explore other works that IDEO has done
Instructions:
You are a new designer at IDEO. Learning from the past projects that your colleagues have worked on, you have a proposal to redesign the coffee shop experience (to improve operations or ultimately, increase sales). Write a short email about your proposal and how it might improve the experience, includes a few sketches if necessary.
Post your 3 emails (and sketch) to the course web app assignment prior to the start of the next business lab.
