Ramping Up
A recap of our busiest week yet
Looking back on our fifth week at Made by Many, two things strike me: a lot can happen in one week; and, we are more than a third of the way through the internship. Right now I am excited in a very literal sense: energized by our progress but also anxious for what comes next.
1) A lot can (and has) happened.
We came into the studio this past Monday ready to synthesize our findings from our first round of user interviews. Today we are leaving with our first prototypes and already planning round two of our user research.
I personally am leaving the office today with a much more tangible grasp on our project and a lot more to show for it. There’s still a ways to go before we settle on a final product idea to build out in full, but it does feel like we are starting level out.
Translation: we have actual ideas — localized event (i.e. “Tinder for”) sponsorship discovery, event task management, venue finders — ready to test.
And yet again, we have gotten to this point learning and applying the number of methods the Made by Many staff have cultivated over the years. We were guided through process mapping to help derive themes and insights from our interviews. We led another sketch session to brainstorm the basis for our prototypes. And we have put pen to paper — and by “we” I mean Emily — defining our first prototypes.
2) We are more than a third done.
In some ways it feels like we really have been at this for five weeks; in others, it feels like we just walked through the studio doors for the first time the other day.
But what really impresses upon me today is what we have to show for these first five weeks of work. As already mentioned, we now have some really concrete stuff to show off: paper prototypes ready for user input and easily translated into composable pieces.
In turn, I personally have absorbed so many valuable lessons in my time here already. At our all-hands yesterday I made some rambling, incoherent comments to this regard. I already feel so much better equipped to translate my internal passions for product development into coherent thoughts and informed ways of working.
And finally, we have only just started ramping up. Next week should not only include our second round of user research but also a kickoff of the real build phase. The workload is about to move up a notch. I am anxious, excited, nervous, etc. It’s great!
I’m already looking forward to what I will have to share with everyone this time next week. Until then!
