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Process Journal #9: Reflection

If I had to improve anything, it would be the initial phase of asking questions. I was thinking about this from the beginning since it is so hard to know for sure if you are on the right path. I get decision fatigue when there are too many options and I tend to ruminate on a specific issue than an overall agenda or goal. I guess that’s something I’ll have to work on.

Another improvements I was thinking of is the need to make space and provide the right environment for creative problem solving. I work from home, so it’s pretty discouraging to get interrupted every 15 minutes with something to do. Whether it’s neighbors, the dog, the Amazon dude- it’s all just distracting and slows down my process.

Rather than remove any steps, I think I might shorten the Acceptance and Selection phases. I could benefit from tightening up the time frame here so I don’t get lost wondering if I’m suitable enough to tackle an issue or smart enough to choose the right one. I think I just have to go with my gut in both of these areas.

That said, I do think each stage requires we “look back” and evaluate what we’ve done. This way, we’ll always be checking ourselves, our work, and our next step. Plus, it’s a good feeling to see how far one has come with solving any given problem.

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Process Journal #8: Evaluation

In looking back on what we did, from Definition to Ideation to Selection, there were stages where it felt we worked alone, then came together, then worked alone again and came back as one team again. I guess you could say there were “Divergent” and then “Convergent” exercises for all of us to tackle individually and as a group. We really were a jury of peers when we came together, letting ideas live and breathe and then pruning our minds of things were thought were to broad to tackle or too small to have an impact.

There were points where self interest & competition were on the table. I think we all wanted to show our own skills in this presentation and compete with the other team, since they had a similar idea.

We also had the big payoff of the finishing the semester with an impressive pitch, something we thought had legs as an idea within 2U or another online learning enterprise. Of course, the big self-improvements came in tackling a project with design thinking. This is my first time through the process, so I’m really glad I got to implement an idea out of that framework and be with the team I was on.

During the various stages, we wanted measurable progress. We had a weekly call on Monday nights that helped us check in on what milestones we had accomplished. We would also set an agenda for next week and see if what we aimed to do was achievable. Although, I think we were trying to adapt during the project to the new paradigm of working across a digital space. It’s hard not to get instant feedback from your peers when you finish something, and given that time to go back and check, I would think again about what could be better or differently.

The most exciting stages for me were the Ideation and Implementation phases. There is just an energy about those steps that is refreshing and makes for a compelling conversation. Anyway, I’m looking forward to capping off the semester with a strong pitch about how effective a Virtual Student Union can be.

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Conceptualize It (group)

So here are two ways we’re going to implement the Virtual Student Union. One is with an app for mobile so students can quickly get important info about campus activities, mixers & groups, social media feeds, and a portal to the myUSC and 2U platforms. the other is a virtual tour of the campus and other exciting VR opportunities in conjunction with the school. We think these are both cool ways to engage our stakeholders and provide greater value for users.

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I hope this is legible, though small!  I think we put a lot of thought into our canvas and it’s probably more than we need, but all of us think the idea has legs, so we’re pretty proud of it. :-)

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Process Journal #7

Some of the methods we used to address implementation for our Virtual Student Union were defining performance specs and then we listed out the tasks that lay ahead in finishing a demonstration and final presentation. We’d like the portal to have four pillars for better engagement for online learners. It’s broken down into...

Virtual intro and tour of USC

News

Interest Groups and Mixers, Social Media

Networking & Opportunities

After that, we’ll need a good division of labor to tackle the features in each pillar. We have yet to define the look and feel on the online portal and the presentation, so that will take another conversation. It certainly helps that we are all advocating for the same overall features to be included, so there isn’t a question about how we’ll structure our virtual student union. However, we do need to figure out the mix and if there will be staging of these pillars as you work through the program. It seems now we might abandon that idea.

For our stakeholders, the best way we’ll be able to show our idea will be with a software called InVision. Ryan introduced us to the platform and it helps outline a digital product design. We should be able to demo a few features and possibly prototype the overall structure of the Virtual Student Union. I’m looking forward using it and in combination with our deck, we should have some compelling systems to showcase in an environment that is scalable as a business idea.

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Process Journal #6: Selection

Our group came to consensus about the Virtual Student Union (VSU) in a pretty organic way. Since our mind map was pretty robust, we starting exploring all our options. We talked about all the different pathways we could go on in order to make students feel like they were part of the university even though they were distance learning, and when we discussed what it was we would like to experience, we saw that the solution was in front of us the whole time. 

It’s kind of funny because for me, being a USC student doesn’t make me feel like I’m not part of the larger Trojan community. What I would really like is to connect with the cohort and the IYA in a more meaningful way. I know there will be lots of adjustments in this new program, so this is simply an observation and not a criticism of the curriculum or its organization. We’re just humans and bonding is so important that I think our team was looking for ways to amplify that.

Now that we have the greater idea selected, our next step is to design what it will look like and how it will work in a practical sense. I think there is room for us to add value for students in stages. For example, opening up part of the VSU in the first semester, then another part in the second semester, and so on. Or we can have new students tip-toe into getting to know the greater USC ecosystem, the IYA, and the cohort through an ambassador program- essentially having one cohort lead another into matriculation. That could be cool. Lots of possibilities to put under the umbrella of a VSU. 

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Choosing A  Solution (group)

What we landed on was to make distance learning more inclusive for students and to bring that to life, we proposed creating a Virtual Student Union. We had a lot of options to explore during our selection phase and wondered if it would make sense to combine similar ideas, or blend some them dissimilar ideas together. Maybe this was more of the Idea Potpourri that Aaron described in Unit 12. Could also be the Try Them All method since we had so many good ones, it was hard to let go of them.

What I think we excelled at was measuring our smaller ideas based on their merit and then defining criteria for how they would fit into the Virtual Student Union. It was a great discussion that allowed us to explore what was possible without judgment and push away the noise from other ideas that didn’t fit into the vision.

We could have been better at being objective, but inclusivity can be very subjective for students. It is one of our goals to make it work for a wide variety of students, so out one-size-fits all approach may need some tweaking.

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Process Journal #5: Ideation

I think Weaving was one of the main ways our team began Ideation. We were basically figuring out higher and lesser attributes and trying to come up a unified solution by drilling down. Other times we were “filling buckets” with a lot of ideas that may have seemed crazy given our definition...well, at least to me. 

Once you get going on a train of thought it’s hard to stop and take a step back, so I can tell from the mind map that tentacles began growing and growing with wild ideas, all of which are valid, but may not support our definition as we’ve described. 

There was also a healthy dose of “What if..?” doing on. If anyone was to see the “New Design@USC Student Organization” they might see a lot of possibilities under a very ambiguous umbrella.

One of several standout ideas that I love was Augmenting Existing Channels (both platforms and social) for IYA. We’re really onto something there and as the IYA graduates grow, we could be building a community that is really active and strong. Oh, and we are going to revisit for a debriefing because I had to catch up with the team via only email after one of our brainstorm sessions. We are all pretty active and alert, so I don’t feel like I’m not part of the discussion- and since we’re all supportive of the process I think our next steps will be really productive.

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Group Brainstorming and Debriefing Session

I still think our definition could be beyond just an emotional one since our brainstorming and debrief is telling a story that’s more complex than just feeling connected- but maybe that’s not really so important? I mean, we are all emotive and passionate about our area of study and our school, so regardless, we’re on the right track given the broad definition. 

We used Coogle to collaborate and generate ideas and there are lots of connections still present from our forced association exercise that I love. For example, mentoring and social programs have some really cool spin-offs. We believe there is overlap in these ideas and so, room to combine aspects of seemingly different parts of the brainstorm. 

Some of my favorite parts of the mind map below are the “virtual versions of in-person experiences” and “augmenting existing channels” - both of which could be exciting ways to help distance learning programs to be more inclusive, engaging and valuable for students.

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Process Journal #4

We all had a similar broad definition as we began our discussion that basically focused on what “non-traditional” aspects of online learning entail. Then we landed on “connection” as the primary issue online learning students face. From there we diverged a bit. We began to see our group define “connection” differently, as either emotional, physical, or both. And in further disseminating what these connections might entail, it became apparent that there are several issues popping up we didn’t think of before. For example, online students need to be adaptable, have great self-motivation to complete courses, and have computer and technical literacy. But are these physical or emotional problems regarding connections? I think it’s 50/50, since one can argue that adaptation and motivation require emotional qualities like mental stability or self-confidence. Having the tools and ability to use them could be the physical requirements of online learning. Ultimately, we did come up with a general answer. It will need some tweaking, but we’re 99% there. Most of what we’re looking at in terms of characteristics of the problem are the same, I think it’s just a matter of drilling down on the angle we want to emphasize and if that makes sense given what issues we can reasonably address. 

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Problem Definition (group)

Still a work in progress, but we’re 90% there.

Problem: As students move from the traditional university experience to an online curriculum, how can universities improve their distance learning programs to be more inclusive, engaging and valuable for students?

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Conjunction Junction

My Gibson SG was originally made in 1974 and is cherry red with a rosewood fretboard and a dual cut-away solid body made from mahogany. This model, like most SG’s, has two hum-buckers and two volume knobs and two tone controls.  Guitar players who like this guitar include Tony Iommi and Angus Young because it has a unique tone and performance quality and has been made in the USA since it began production. My Gibson SG was made in 1974 but is still the most popular color, cherry red. It has a rosewood fretboard but a dual cut-away mahogany body. It has two hum-buckers but four control knobs to control the sound. Many famous guitar players like the SG but others prefer the Les Paul because both guitars offer unique tone but differing performance quality. Gibson SD’s are still made in the USA, but Epiphone SG’s are made in other countries.

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Process Journal #3

Our group used a forced association process for analysis. We created a grid, or x+y axis from which we could pick similar or seemingly dissimilar things to join in the axis and then tackle them on our own. Mine turned out to be “Mentorship and Forums” and “Industry Specific Mixers & Digital Ads”. To build a knowledge base for these topics, I went straight to online learning platforms like Udemy, Udacity, Lynda, and Coursera. What we discovered was that there were many ways of creating course materials, but not so much in the way of creating a community that was as engaged and interactive as we envisioned. It’s certainly not clear whether it’s a deliberate function of the platform or if the students rely more on a client-side service we can’t see. Either way, we did gather info on how course interactions are structured-- they rely on a combination of moderator/facilitator and FAQ style techniques to bridge the gap between instructor and student. Sometimes it’s a TA style approach, but other times it’s a “how-to” page. My personal favorite was the student to student exchange of information, which I though was a cool insight and really informative. This is something we might cling to and help us better define what the problem is within distance learning.

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This is our attempt at morphological analysis. We had the forced association approach and listed as many attributes about our problem that we thought were important to include.

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Contingency Management

We all think there needs to be a bigger group discussion about this. Our ideas came together without setting many ground rules other than a deadline. I know we like our topic, but without much experience in the space, we’ll need to be honest and transparent about what we can and can’t do. I think some of our standards will vary based on our backgrounds. For example, someone might think something works because it’s functioning, but someone else might think it’s designed poorly or doesn’t have the aesthetic it could.

I’d like to see us agree on some points of contact and procedure. It’s more helpful to me to have expectations met even if they aren’t exactly what you envisioned them to be. That way, we have consistency and are responsible to one another in a formal way. Could be good to have the rules written down to. Again, we just have to discuss further about standards and practices.

Since it’s early, I don’t think we can draw up rewards or consequences. We need more validation in our work group to know what successes and failures look like. I think we should set markers/milestones, while others might value daily stand ups or maybe just a general sense progress.

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Process Journal #2 - Success At First

If we had to envision success, we’d want to see a successful implementation of an app or idea to solve the problem we’re addressing. Since our goal is to create awareness about prescription drug side effects, I think we’d all measure part of our success by being able to truly help someone answer a question they have about it. But I would go further to say that alone isn’t enough. We’ve all loosely agreed that its important to offer a service of some kind, but not just information. It might be better to repackage info that’s already out there, as long as we do it in a way that is more useful than what’s available now.

Personally, I think no matter how effective our implementation is, I’d want to at least have a potentially compelling product at the end. It doesn’t have to be extremely complex, but functional enough for anyone who uses it to get it and find it helpful. 

I do think that as a group, we need to better define what makes us passionate about the subject. It’s hard to know for sure how exactly each of us benefits from a positive outcome and so difficult to define that sense of deeper purpose or growth for everyone.  Also, some of us may have more vested in the subject than others, so it might not immediately aid in furthering our careers, but farther down the road it might be a great addition to our portfolio.

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What’s in it for me?

I think I’d learn a lot from the others on my team. They are going to come to the table with their own wisdom and methods, so I think at the very least, I’ll be able to learn something new from them.

It’s also not easy to unify a group behind a subject we don’t know a lot about. So as we coalesce our plan, it will be interesting for me to see who comes forward in a leadership capacity or strong vision of how to solve the problem. This is also a great opportunity to see how people in other industries manage their time and commitments.

I can’t speak for all of us, but I want to use this group project as a testing ground for other projects. We had one team member who is coming at a different issue with a similar approach (though we’re still in the early stages of defining our approach), and perhaps could add to her own project based on what we do and learn here. I feel the same, and it could be really cool if this has a bigger outcome for me than what we do in the program.

What is kind of weird about this question is that I don’t think anyone has asks this very often, or at least not in this way. People side-step the direct question about what is to gain and instead, talk a lot about passion and drive. Framing it differently is certainly a cool exercise. Maybe some of us need to feel a sense of pride or accomplishment, or just explore something we’ve always been curious about? It’s just strange to have to answer that and really think about why I would take on a challenge if it didn’t have some personal benefits.