Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. A Handbook of Methods Py celts een)CREDITSForeword By John Gero and Mary Lou Maher Design isa way of thinking that is relevant in our everyday life and our professional life Everyday design thinking sa response to the needs and scenarios ‘that arise in our personal day-to-day activities: deciding on the components (of a meal, selecting the clothing we will ‘wear, arranging the items on our shelves ‘or in our rooms. As professional designers, \we engage in a more complex process of design that draws on and reflects our ‘education, previous experiences, and the application and adaptation of generalised methods Formalised design methods date back more than 4,000 years to Babylonian times. Vitruvius, the Roman architect-engineer, 2,000 years ago, wrote a ten-volume treatise containing design methods for a wide range of specific. problems in architecture and engineering of his day Today we have moved from specific methods for individual problems to an array of methods that are applicable ‘across a wide range of contexts. This book provides a collection of methods asa toolbox that can be adopted and adapted with ease by both professional and everyday designers, Designers increasingly define the world ‘we inhabit and affect our quality of life, our social life and our economic ‘wellbeing. Design is deeper than a style ‘ot an aesthetic that is applied after the ‘engineering has been completed Early approaches to design methods had @ focus on the mapping from requirements and performance criteria to an efficient ‘and cost-effective solution. With the {design thinking movernent, we are seeing design methods that include and {go beyond thinking about the object cor system being designed, to focus on the people that the design is intended to serve This book, which is based on design research, practice and education In the Design Lab at the University of Sydney, includes a broad range of design ‘methods that help the designer focus on how new designs can be responsive and mindful of the needs, desires and mental models of people. The Design Lab, and its precursor the key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, has its roots in the 1960s with a focus on the quality of design and the ways in which computational systems can improve our understanding of design, asa creative process, Over the years, the faculty and students in the Design Lab have been influential in providing 3 ‘strong theoretical and methodological bbasis for design cognition, Al models of design, computational creativity ang, more recently, human-centred design, ‘This book represents anther significant contribution to the community for both design education and practice, It provides a resource and a guide for ovice and expert designers. As a guide for novice designers and designers still engaging in educational experiences, it provides a sense of scope and variety in the methods that can be applied at various stages in the design process. For expert designers, itis a resource that provides inspiration to try methods they may not have considered yet. The book represents a collection of methods described generally and in the context of case ‘studies as well as a synthesis of views from authors with multiple perspectives on design education and theory,— SDs tai iioremyy tit) ci participants ‘o-design workshops bring users, customers, stakeholders and designers together to rapidly and iteratively eitique design concepts, ensuring that the needs cof the people we are designing for rernain at the centre of the design process. Co Jesign and simnilat methodologies, such as participatory design, invite users and other stakeholders ta build on concepts hey are presented with (be ita current ier experience or a new design concept} and inform the future direction of the design The princip| of co-design isto nan ‘designing for design with’ rather 0 people Users and other stakeholders ate in an active role, contributing to the design, rather than passively responding to design decisions. Co-design workshops build on thi principle and include a preparation phase, recruitment phase, the workshop itself interpretation and action The preparation phase is used to determine the overall volve the development of an initia concept that users car example, a low-fidelity prot a storyboard (p 150). During participants are taken th stages They are immersed in the probler by talkir before moving on toa dis about current exp experiences and finally © a iterating the initial concept. Commer from participants along with any ar that were co-designed d workshop are then analysed 4 bad Into the design process Co-design v at any stage of the During the research phase, they can be used to inform a complete view o people's circumstan: nd situat projects that focus on the rede xisting product or service, this includes eveloping an under anding off people currently make use of the product or service During the prototyping phase. co-design workshops can be used to rapidly iterate conceptMaking visible the invisible to lay understand your user and their experiencesGaining insights by ae EVelel listening to group discussions ACADEMIC ‘As ts name suggests, a focus group of users, experts or stakeholders that you RESOURCES: involves a group of people having a may not know very much about. Their focused discussion on a specific topic {group nature makes them especially Like interviews [p92},focus groupselicit relevant to designers working with Understandings through asking questions different target groups. For example, in ‘and prompting conversations, While ‘evaluating one system, a focus group with users may reveal vastly diferent to one conducted with expertEXERCISE In this Rocco ta Restart Pes meal on arte. Draft the structure of your focus group. Delegate the following roles and responsibilities with your team Moderator: responsible for running the focus group and keeping people talking. + Scribe/observer: responsible for taking notes on what participants say and do. [NO minutes} Prepare a space for 4-6 participants. Create a quiet and private setting to limit distractions for your participants, The seating is often a circular arrangement with the moderator positioned in the middle and the scribe on the side. You may wish to set up audio or video recording equipment to record your [20 minutes} Introduce your study and warm up your participants. The moderator should ask everyone to introduce themselves and include some relevant background information. Eg. your name, what you do, where you shop? The scribe should record this information. {As this is a group environment, be careful about asking for sensitive information such as age oF weight. [5 minutes} Roe ey Ure Co Coa keen era iu Na ec ine et cet Ce eae YOU WILLNEED. A partner, 4-6 participa 5, Pen, paper, audio/video recorder (optional) De Meee Rast zal design brief (p186), Use the following open-ended ‘questions to get the conversation started. These can be tailored to your topic: Tell us about the last time you went to What were the best parts of the experience? What caused you frustration or prevented you from doing something? ‘What would you like to change about the experience? Allow the participants to follow relevant tangents, but try to make sure everyone gets the chance to speak at some point. 1S minutes} Conclude your focus group by thanking your participants for their time. ‘With your partner discuss your findings = what have you learnt? + What key findings answer your ‘original questions? What understanding of the design problem do you have now that you didn't have before? How can this information be translated into new design proposals? Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. 77ace ae Only by asking AA CLECs a (OED will you get good answersEXERCISE YOU WILL NEED. A partner, pen, Paper, audio recorder (recommended) ea Sete tetra heal ree emer aiad Ee? Choose a topic to interview your partner about, for example, going to the cinema of taking public transport. You can also choose one of the design briefs as your focus topic (p.180). Start by warming up your participants with simple questions. One way is to gather demographic data relevant to your topic. Eg. name, age, gender, cultural background [2-5 minutes} Use the following open-ended questions to conduct your interview. These can be tailored to your topic: ‘Tell me about the last time you went to What were the best parts of the experience? ‘What caused you frustration or prevented you from doing something? What motivates you to use/go to ‘What would you like to change about the experience? 10-60 minutes} aeons eee SI Sa Wes Loe a Eerie aera ee De Noes te ae mer Ct ing leads. Use the provided template d Prompt your interviewee to provide ‘more detail when they hit on an interesting topic. Try using the laddering ‘method (p.96) to discover their deeper motivations and underlying reasons. ‘Take notes as you go. Practice recording keywords and pertinent details, without disturbing the flow of your interview by pausing for too long. In real interviews. the interviewer will often use a recording device to assist, in which case itis necessary to seek permission from the interviewee to record their responses, You can use the data gathered from interviews in many ways, such as creating an affinity diagram (p22), developing personas (p122} or reflecting on what this Information means for yout design. Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. 93il idel a Prototyping | L See ES ACADEMIC RESOURCE a e login f o design them, he 100 Low-fidelity PrototypingSeen a (CRY eY= oii =) a from online communities ACADEMIC RESOURCES: 116 Online Ethnographymee Gathering large amounts of user data 126 Questionnaires ten form and m: by paper or digitally Th lecting laige amounts 0 ut requiting train during early us ‘current experiences with existing ices. consent form obtain permission for collecting data from of the que: Each question shot jespondents behaviours, attitudes or p To ensure a questionnaire nieve this, itis important to: research questions in advance and ecify the type of data that can answer ent and reliable dminister important to he data collected through the questionnaire devise a plan for how to: before distributing it of the auestionnaln len g and. thinking ugh pen and paperae aco) soa cesta yA Le NA aa Ee niavele Moy aK=y el 160 Usability Testingee mckshaas teatea isan Ce ot test Ac sy cata fate Pompete the tak eee srcing fora person, Task Eg ae sryou would lke to add a rm me is beter Friend Poe ean to eich ors You want ty Eee aeapie xn cargos tng ewout hel. 110 minutes} prepare pre-test and post-test interview questions. Pre-test questions should include factors relevant to your product. Eg, previous experience with similar products, demographic data (age, profession) Post-test questions should capture the participant's experience with the product Eg. what they liked, what can be improved You can use the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire template (on the ‘companion website) nutes] Explain the product and purpose of the test and that you are testing the Product, not the participant. Outline the Procedure and ask for your participant's Permission to audio-record the session. Ask your pre-test questions and record the answers, [5 minutes EXERCISE YOU WILL NEED Apartn, A partner. audio SOPWALCH, Ban, pape, der (optional Give your Participant weit instructior ee ns fOr the frst task. Using they make. ifthe participant can't Complete a task alone, you can provide help but be sure to record this Using the think-aloud protocol method (ps8) can Give additional insight. Continue with the Femaining tasks [50 minutes) Ask your post-test questions and record the answers. Finish the test by thanking your participant. [lO minutes} Prepare a report about your findings. Include details about the procedure (number of participants, tasks, set-up, etc). This is an important step in design projects, as the report is used to inform the next iteration of the product [several hours} Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. 161ll skeleton ACADEMIC RESOURCES 1% Wiretraming Wireftames are line drawings that show the fundamental structure or functions ofa product or system. As an extension of sketching (p 142), wireframes offer a forrnal way for designers to think and communicate what a design can do They do this without surplus high-fidelity Information, such as images, fonts, colours. or typography. that may distract from the core purpose Because wireframes do not look or act lke a finished product, they are quick to produce and invite modification. Wireframing has long been a core element of 3D modeling and product design and 1s now also central to the design of digital applications. Conducted early in the ideation process, wireframes, fidelity prototypes (p 100) and mock-ups (p108), allow us to shift from researching and understanding 3 problem to building a solution. They an be especially useful for expanding Jp0n conceptual models, for example ‘hose thal are generated through card Drafting a structural and functional] sorting (p38) In this way, the mental models and ea combined and translated Just as architectural blueprints h own codified visual lang) ‘ give us the sym and communic: system will w on paper or using applications (eg. Adobe ust specialised software tools (eg Balsamig ine workfiow tools e for the addition ef sme Interactivity to simulate the transtien from one screen to another Wirelrares ng with aren't very effective wher Users since most users won't be fara with the meaning of the codified symbols used in wireframes Ho wireframes can be used to seek redo rain experts from other designers ord: before turning them into mock vPs0" prototypesf£ EXERCISE wives A partner, Ben, pa marker Petes Pec nhs Ce ees Pena aero ieee space Travel’ (p:186). iL ae Cee ane SUT) ac tains Designing pro! rom a previously completed aN. Use the sa 1s earn companion websit =e Bee as lt a ee aeons tesies ful thought abexn OS eae Freee are leg he Principles, such as choose a specific scenario and your experience 9 finding the cheapest flight toa mobile app functions attain destination within two weeks that users will underst [15 minutes) (40 minutes) Prepare a canvas for every screen that Present your ser same proportions as the screen's display format. For a search function, you are likely to have a ‘home screen’ and ‘results screen’ at a minimum. If you choose a mobile app, you can use the provided wireframes makes sense to others ‘and modity them based on feedback Consider making a witeflow (p172) to explore how they relate to one another. [15 minutes} | Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. 175