“Analyse the way in which user-centred design is used to service objectives and operational models. Discuss the way in which success can be evaluated in each individual case.”
During my first week on this research project, I was feeling quite lost. I didn’t know where to start and it all seemed very overwhelming to me. Along with coming down with a cold near the end of the week, I was feeling disheartened.
I always find that the most difficult part with essays is getting started. I ask myself “Do I start writing something?”, “Do I conduct some research?”, “Do I outline a structure first?” and so on and so forth. The dialogue in my head with this essay was no different, but my level of understanding was lower than usual. I couldn’t get my head around what was being asked of me, so I brought the project text into Word and deconstructed the whole thing.
I read through both paragraphs and highlighted important points in green and summarised this underneath, highlighted in yellow.
Deconstructing the brief in Microsoft Word
Now that I had a clearer idea of what was being asked of me, I was able to think of some case studies I am interested in exploring and how this will help impact the structure of my essay.
I have always had a strong interest in the way that technology can enhance healthcare services, so I felt this was a natural topic to gain more insight into. I have a lot of ideas about how I could apply my UX discipline to benefit others in need and I wondered whether these would line up with other companies.
When choosing companies, I went for those who I have had a prior engagement with along with those who I would like to engage with. I precariously read through different ‘about’ pages, team pages and case studies because I believe this to be an important aspect of not only the project, but with networking in general. If I display inquisitiveness to companies I am genuinely interested in, I expect this to work in my favour. These companies are:
- Foolproof – An international design company whose depth of understanding for their work never ceases to amaze me. I have attended multiple presentations delivered by their staff members and visited their London office in summer 2017 to help at a UX Strat event.
- Neontribe – A local (Norwich) design company who took me on for a weeks work placement in November 2018. I had a week of engagement with their creative leads and staff and left on a very positive note. Their “Tech For Good” projects aim to make the world an easier place for those in need.
- Sigma – Sigma has worked to improve the online experience of Mind, the biggest charity organisation in the mental health sector in the UK. Additionally, their online case study for this project is a gold mine of information relevant for this project.
- Happy Finish – An international, multimedia design company who seem to have a finger in every pie. Their extensive selection of case studies ranges from retouching to artificial intelligence. Very impressive. (They are also running a competition for students in the New Year of which I am really eager to get involved with)
- Cyber-Duck – Having worked with Cancer Research Technology, and have a case study to prove it, so this one was difficult to ignore. Their online case study is reasonably short and sweet, but I enjoy the statistics and “How We Work – User Experience” page provides an informative insight into the way they work.
My chosen companies and projects
Following this, I came up with a rough structure for my essay so I could have some direction researching in regards to what questions I should ask the companies. Even though I had an outline of questions in my head from highlighting the main brief, by coordinating the structure, my questions became more streamlined.
My first draft essay structure
I chose to include the recommended framework, Nielson’s heuristics and then felt like I was at a comfortable stage to think of how I was going to contact my chosen companies. I began by drafting up a generic e-mail and rough set of questions to include in a Google Form.
I wanted my e-mail to be warm and friendly whilst still keeping a professional manner. It is very important make a first impression, even over e-mail, so I put extra effort into the wording. My background of working in office-based companies definitely helped, so I collated all my most favourable techniques to build the example below.
My first draft e-mail
My first set of questions were very basic and I knew this was going to have to be revisited. I needed some time to digest my thoughts and carefully consider how I was going to word them.
My first draft of questions
Once I had decided on the wording, I sent out e-mails to all of my chosen companies. Each was structured the same and this is what I sent to Neontribe:
Screenshot of e-mail sent to Neontribe
My Google form contained eight questions in total (the same five as listed above but with the number of required options changed to 3) and two more at the beginning asking the name of their company, the name of the project and one at the end asking if they would like to add any extra information. I was happy with my work and excited to hear back with some data.