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/or 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.
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 Paula Scher
Paula Scher is one of the most influential graphic designers in the world. Described as the “master conjurer of the instantly familiar,” Scher straddles the line between pop culture and fine art in her work. Iconic, smart, and accessible, her images have entered into the American vernacular.
Scher has been a partner in the New York office of Pentagram, a world-famous design consultancy, since 1991. She began her career as an art director in the 1970s and early 80s, when her eclectic approach to typography became highly influential. In the mid-1990s her landmark identity for The Public Theaterfused high and low into a wholly new symbology for cultural institutions, and her recent architectural collaborations have re-imagined the urban landscape as a dynamic environment of dimensional graphic design. Her graphic identities for Citibank and Tiffany & Co. have become case studies for the contemporary regeneration of American brands.
- Watch her Ted talk.
- Browse the world of her design consultancy: https://www.pentagram.com/
Instructions:
Compose an email to Huihui consisting of no more than one paragraph and a proposed A2 sized (420 x 594 mm) poster to help her improve operations or increase sales. Include your poster in the email along with a description of how it might improve the customer experience.
Post your 3 emails (and poster) to the course web app assignment prior to the start of the next business lab.
