So yes, it took us some time to come up with a team name, from Team Prisoners to Project X to X-Men to finally X-Fours!! This is the four of us with our G4 Jet coach, Mick!!
We had a long Sprint 1, including our trips to Exodus houses in Rotterdam and Leiden and we entered into Sprint 2 carrying all those insights with a Bang!!
Research Challenge
Sprint 1 gave us a lot of data about our project and the participants and our first task were to contain these insights somehow. So, we kicked off Sprint 2 by narrowing down our research to one focus point. We came up with our Research challenge which was:
How do we use participant data to inform them of an aggressive state so that they may release or reduce it in order to aid them in their reintegration process?
We took aggression out of the other factors which lead to recidivism because this was the most measurable of all plus our research directed us towards it. Some participants experience recidivism because they do things out of anger.
Aggression in itself is a huge topic and I believed narrowing it down helped us a lot to focus on what actually we needed and wanted to do. Through our visits to the Exodus houses and talks with the participants, we gathered insight into what participants require for motivation to move forward in their life.
Insights
Reframing negative tracking into positive behaviour tracking is an important focal point for our product as “tracking” sends our users the wrong signal.
Some of these motivation factors or methods were buddy systems, self-reflection systems, feedback mechanism and competition. Also reframing negative tracking into positive behaviour tracking is an important focal point for our product as “tracking” sends our users the wrong signal.
In one of our meetings in the Exodus house, one of the participants was reluctant to use a tracking device, but when we explained to him all the positive possibilities that data tracking can offer, he was convinced!!
Experts
One of our goals for this sprint was to talk to experts in order to gain a better understanding of aggression and technology. We managed to talk to two such experts. One of them was a behavioural cognitive therapist, Francesca Eleuteri, who gave us valuable insights into aggression and how most of the people are unaware of their aggressive state. Another one was Gijs Huisman, haptic expert, who informed us a lot about the haptic technology and gave us a deep understanding of the wearable market.
Task Map
From the above insights, we created a Task Map to get an overview of our project. It helped us in defining where we are and what more do we want to achieve. The process involved 4 steps and each process had 2 different paths that could be taken. Now, it was upon us to decide which path do we want to choose. Tough decision!!
So, one of our ideas was Wearable Technology.
Wearable technology is a blanket term for electronics that can be worn on the body, as an accessory. There are many types of wearable technology but some of the most popular devices are activity trackers and smartwatches.
Desk Research
In order to get a deeper understanding and to create something which can detect aggression, first we had to know which symptoms arise during aggression. Next step was to get acquainted with different types of sensors, know how do they work and where all can they be placed on our body.
User Research
After all our desk research and accumulated insights, we created scenarios where people experience scenarios that cause aggression and conducted user research to record their reactions and emotions. Some of the feedback that we received was:
- Physical activity helps in venting out frustration
- Music helps people calm down (kind depending on the mood)
- Call a friend or talk to someone
- Take a walk or be alone for a while
This research was a useful tool in making us understand that most people suffer from FRUSTRATION rather than AGGRESSION.
Wrapping up
We used various Design methods like interviews, surveys, mind mapping, brainstorming and brain writing and had a perfect ending of our Sprint 2 by attending Dutch Design Week on Friday. It was inspirational, motivating and pumped us up for our next Sprint.
What to expect in Sprint 3?
This was Team X-Fours!! See you next Sprint!! 😄
If you want to follow our process through this project, follow our Tumblr page. If you have expertise in a field relating to behaviour modification, wearable tech, or anything you feel is related to our topic and want to help with this project, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
The Digital Society School is a growing community of learners, creators and designers who create meaningful impact on society and its global digital transformation. Check us out at digitalsocietyschool.org.
