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PROCESS JOURNAL: PROCESS REFLECTION

Reflect on how you can make improvements to the structure of the creative problem-solving process to improve the outcome of each phase in order to get better overall results and summarize those ideas in a new post in your process journal. What stages can be removed, and what stages need to be added? What methods and techniques are mandatory for each stage of the process?

So here we are, my first, last week of grad school.

I’m really amazed how far we all have come in such a short amount of time! I’m excited to see what is to come for the rest of our time at USC. Just had to let that sink in for a second and celebrate everyone’s successes 😅, but back to the prompt!

As much as I dislike the length of the 7-step creative process, I think each step is necessary. I would, however, make adjustments to two steps.

In Acceptance, the first stage of the process, we were tasked with selecting a broad topic to build the basis of our project on. In this phase we were asked several questions regarding what mattered to us and why it mattered. This was important to ensure everyone had a reason to invest in and contribute to the success of the project, but I think this sets the wrong tone for the rest of the process. I think in this step it’s important to do this, but in addition to this to stay true to the “human-centric” design aspect we must also ask ourselves why and how it will help others. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, “Doesn’t that begin to bleed into the ‘Analysis’ stage?”. And to answer your question, sorta, but I’d look at it more as the bridge to cross over into this stage. I noticed when going through the process, being forced to stay within the constraints of one stage prevented chaos for some stages like “Definition” and “Ideate”, but in some other phases it was more of a shackle. By allowing people to initially focus solely on how the project could benefit them in some way, it’s easy for them to manipulate the next stages to fit their agenda. The research is then skewed to back up the claims made in acceptance, which shapes the problem statement, effecting ideation and so on and so forth.

The only other thing I would adjust is the transition from “Implement” to “Evaluation”. It may be as simple as changing the word “implement” to “prototype”, but for whatever reason something was lost in translation. Based on the techniques used and the “asks” for that week we were to select what we thought might be the best way to implement our solution. For me (and I could be nitpicking), this just meant what channel or method should we use to put our solution into action, when in actuality, we were supposed to prototype. As a result of the lack of clarity, I felt as though our evaluation was not as effective as it could of been.

Other than that, I learned so many new methods and techniques I will definitely keep in my toolbox. Fire example (though confusing at first), the morphological analysis grid as well as the business model canvas were extremely helpful in pinpointing a gap in the market and/or an opportunity and then finding the most successful way to bring it to market. The process itself also made me rethink my current creative process and how I could use this new knowledge and resources to adapt my own methodologies.

Thank you P&P, Davina, and Cohort 6! I learned a lot from all of you, and a lot about myself. You are appreciated. 🙏🏾 Until next time, keep being great!

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PROCESS JOURNAL: EVALUATION

Reflect on the methods and techniques that are most appropriate for evaluating the performance of your groups implementation and summarize those thoughts in a new post in your process journal. How do you assess the outcome of the various phases of the creative problem-solving process that your project has gone through?

This week Pet Peps entered into the Evaluation phase of the 7-step creative process. (It’s almost over! YIPPEE!!)

Ultimately, my group just worked on fine tuning everything from the implementation phase. After class Pet Peeps further discussed “proposed improvements” to our product, as well as starting to frame our final presentation. Aharon ever so graciously used the “iterative design” technique when further developing the renderings and prototype of our product ensuring we were meeting our “measurable goals” we set previously. He also incorporated universal design by testing the prototype on different people and using that information to improve the product. This past Monday we met to do a bit of an informal check in using the “formative evaluation” technique to make sure we were checking the boxes we had set for ourselves in each stage. Lastly, we finally came up with a name!! BUT my group decided we were only going to show the “trailer” this week, you’ll have to wait until the final week to see the feature presentation!!

Until then…

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PROCESS JOURNAL: IMPLEMENTATION

Reflect on the methods and techniques that your group plans to use to communicate the ways that your project should be implemented and summarize those thoughts in a new post in your process journal. How do you most effectively pitch your idea to various stakeholders? How do you visually communicate the objects, environments, systems, processes, and interactions involved in your project implementation?

This week Pet Peeps moved into the 6th stage of the 7 step creative solving process called, yup you guessed it, Implementation!

In this stage, our group only used a few methods and techniques to work through the best way to potentially implement our concept. (Not going to lie, this proved to be a bit more challenging than expected because we had to force ourselves to stay in this stage and not jump to the next.) 

After meeting to fill in our business canvas model, the group was able to wireframe pieces of our implementation ideas to see how all of the various components will fit and work together. We also made use of the resources in the course toolbox such as the persona poster to delve deeper into our customer segments to truly understand who our potential buyers were and what they valued most. On top of that, Aharon was able to flex his amazing design skills to develop (what he considers to be “rough”) renderings of the mechanisms used in our product that make the leash retract and release.

We used the business and project planning technique to discuss how we would want our project to flow (patents, crowdsourcing, partnerships, manufacturing, and final product). Here we briefly discussed how to get buy in from stakeholders (highlight the gap in the market and the pain point it creates then used proof of concept from our crowdsourcing to rope them in).

Lastly, our group did discuss what methods we wanted to utilize when communicating our implementation ideas visually; however, we did not delve too deep into their development in fear would would cross over into the next phase of the creative process. Hopefully next week when we take you through this story (showing visuals of panicked pet owners who have lost their furry friend, renderings of our product and its simple use, how the applications interface with your existing systems and devices, branding, customization, and how to purchase) you’ll have the reaction below.

Until then, I’ll leave you with this cutie:

Peace out Pet Peeps!

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PROCESS JOURNAL: SELECTION

Reflect on the methods and techniques that your group used to select the most appropriate idea to address the problem you have defined and summarize those activities in a new post in your process journal. How did your group come to a consensus on what ideas to select? What were the discussions and debates over ideas?

“How might we improve how we watch and safeguard our pets?”

The question we have continued to ask ourselves since its development in Week 10 (feels like an eternity has passed).

This week we used several methods and techniques to try and find the best solution to this problem statement. One of the first, and possibly the most effective, method Pet Peeps (oh, by the way we finally have a team name 🤗) used was “take a poll” during the synchronous session. Davina asked the class to vote on which of the top 5 ideas we presented they were most interested in. We were able to whittle the ideas down from 5 to 2, then pick our classmates brains about why they liked those ideas and what features stood out to them or those they considered beneficial. After collecting this information the selection for the best solution became clear...or so we thought.

Couldn’t resist the theatrics, but it wasn’t too dramatic. Once we were transported to our breakout session, we found the group was split on which idea should move to implementation (crazy how we all pulled different things from the feedback we received).

To resolve this we utilized the “ranking and weighing” technique using the criteria we established in earlier phases of the process as well as the “decision makers checklist”. Even after this discussion, though we were progressing towards a decision, there still was some apprehension within the group. At that moment, Davina, with the immaculate timing of a fairy-god professor, popped into our session.

She reassured us by telling us we were on the right track, and encouraged us to step away from our current perspectives for a moment to reimagine our solution in different ways. This is where we were able to start having fun again. Not realizing it at the moment, but we started to dive deep into “what would happen if...?”. We imagined our solutions on small dogs, large dogs, cats, iguanas, rabbits, snakes, camels and even children (not that children are pets, we just happened to get here after going deep down the rabbit hole moving into other applications of the product).

Before completely nixing the other idea, we did take a moment to freshen the air with “idea potpourri”. We took the features we loved from that idea, and some of our other top contenders, and thought of ways we could possibly incorporate this into our product. This allowed us to explore possible customization, upgrades, and features of the product. After boucing these ideas off of each other for awhile it became clear which of the two solutions fit all the criteria and also had the flexibility to scale in several ways. That being said...

The winner is......

*insert suspense inducing drum roll*

The retractable ring collar/leash thing! (Better name to come, we promise. ☺️)

Will this idea see it through to the end?

Is it acceptable to create this type of leash for children?

Will we be able to come up with a better name?

Find out next time on (my rendition of) Pet Peeps...the Implementation edition!

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PROCESS JOURNAL: IDEATION

Reflect on the methods and techniques that your group used to come up with ideas to address the problem you defined in the previous unit and summarize those activities in a new post in your process journal. What ideas were the outcome of your group brainstorming exercise? What were some of the standout ideas and discussion-points that came out of the debriefing session?

Before our mini holiday break, my group agreed to set two meetings to discuss the ideation stage (one during the break and one before the class met again). We agreed that we would all use the individual brainstorming technique to come up with at least five ideas each. This presented a bit of an unexpected challenge for me because I realized how little I knew about the wants and needs of our audience (since I have never been a pet owner).

*inserts take a break technique here*

I took what I knew from the research and a bit more information I picked from my friends’ brains and took another crack at it to no avail.

*inserts more of the take a break technique*

Boom. So it’s Monday afternoon, I have a group meeting in 4hours, and I am suppose to present five of my amazing ideas while I currently have zilch. Since brainstorming wasn’t working for me, and I know I have a far fetched thought process, I decided to brainstorm only crazy ideas and use the lateral thinking technique to draw the crazy ideas back into something practical.

Inspiration, finally!!!

After dissecting the words “watch” and “safeguard” in our Problem definition and what it truly meant to do those things I was able to start jotting down solutions. From pokéball teleportation devices, transformer-like ninja armor, Disney channel’s “Smart House” as a dog house, to magnetic force fields the ideas were just flowing. After I had a decent list, I asked myself which elements of these ideas might exist today, be affordable, and accessible. I took these elements and formulated practical ideas that could be integrated or implemented easily into existing systems.

After sharing our individual ideas, we had a mini group brainstorming session to evaluate the overlapping qualities and gaps within our concepts to formulate better solutions (the individual ideas became jumping off points). We utilized Mural.co to organize our thoughts in one shared document.

We met once more before class to revisit the shared document ideas, discuss any additional elements or revisions we may have wanted to address and “finalized” what we planned to present during class on Wednesday.

The Overlapping Ideas are below.

1) intuitive app that allows you to input info about household and pet(s) that would personalize a handbook for you that provided tips and guidance for different circumstances particularly for lost/stolen pets (i.e. preventative measures, what to do during, what to do for particular pets, etc.)

2) wearable tech (fit bit/Apple Watch) for dogs. Monitors activity, health, and location.

3) cameras/motion sensors setup throughout household and perimeter. Motions detectors sense when pet enters room, activating a camera in the room, so you can see real-time video of them. This will also be connected to an app that will alerts you of strange activity, or if your pet ventures outside of a preset boundary.

4) alarm system connected to sensors in the house that senses/analyzes heat signatures (infrared/temperature based) so if an unfamiliar person/thing is in or around the home, an alarm will sound on the pet owners smart phone.

5) personal drone that you can deploy to track down pet and notify you of their exact location in real-time.

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PROCESS JOURNAL: PROBLEM DEFINITION (group assignment)

This week our group entered the definition phase of the 7-step creative process. Before we could really dive into ”Definition” we had to take a step back to ”Analysis” and revisit our morphological grid. Initially, after collecting and organizing our research, we found ourselves ideating instead of analyzing and guiding the research to fit our solutions rather than letting the information guide us to a problem. Once we shifted our mindsets we were able to see obvious pain points and opportunity to make real change. Afterwards, we took about 20-30 minutes with Davina to go over our progress ensuring we were back on track and discuss the next steps. She suggested we poll our grid to find what the group was most passionate about. We found that the “lost/stolen” row on our grid incited the most reaction. The group then started compiling individual definitions into a shared document.

How similar were all of the definitions?

Each individual statement included improving preventative measures, a level of protection, and incorporating a better method of tracking/monitoring our pets.

How different were they?

All of the presented statements fit within our problem area topic, but some were more specific than others. In addition, some statements incorporated an element of empathy/concern while others focused solely on technology as an issue.

What were the patterns and what were the outliers?

It seemed as though we were all trying to address the inefficiencies and lack of solutions today and capture our concern for owners and their pets. Nothing presented was too far outside of the realm of the other problem statements.

THE CONSENSUS: How might we improve how we watch and safeguard our pets?

Using “watch” and “safeguard” gives us room to ideate while expressing the emotional aspect of protecting– something that all pet owners have about their furry loved ones. Additionally, the tone of the question is preventative whereas most of the current solutions are reactive. We also noted that some of the other topics of our interest could fall under the overarching topic of “lost/stolen”. It was a way to explore some of our other topics of interest while still honing in on the main topic we were all passionate about.

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PROCESS JOURNAL: DEFINITION

Team work definitely made the dream work when entering this week’s stage of definition. My group was a bit derailed (in part by my misdirection) from the previous week while we were working through the analysis stage. After receiving feedback from the class and Davina, we revisited and reworked our morphological grid, this time allowing our research to speak for itself instead of force fitting it into our preconceived notions. After shifting our perspectives, we immediately noticed gaps in the market, inefficiencies, and overlooked pain points in several of our rows. The group met briefly with Davina to share our discoveries. In doing this we confirmed we were back on track and received guidance to transition from Analysis to Definition.

To decide which subtopic to focus our energy on, Davina recommended polling the pain points that stood out in our grid to find something we could all get excited about. She advised us against developing a problem statement that was too broad or too specific. We needed the room to ideate freely in the next phase, but enough parameters to keep us within the same realm of thought. The “Lost/Stolen” subtopic won the bid as it generated the most reactions/stories out of our discussion and, from the research, one of the most common issues with little to no viable solutions. We all wanted to relieve that gut pain you get after your heart drops to your stomach when you find out a pet you know/own is missing.

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PROCESS JOURNAL: CONJUNCTION JUNCTION

1) My name is Jamae and it is my first name and about 2 out of 10 people will same my name correctly on the first try and the other 8 will call me Jamie. My name is a combination of my dad’s name James and also my grandmother’s name Lula Mae. I used to dislike my name and now I see it as an honor.

 My name is Jamae but it is my first name but about 2 out of 10 people will same my name correctly on the first try but the other 8 will call me Jamie. My name is a combination of my dad’s name James but also my grandmother’s name Lula Mae. I used to dislike my name but now I see it as an honor.

 2) I live in Greensboro, NC and I have been here since 2011 and I think it’s time for me to find a new home. I call Greensboro a mini-metropolitan and its nickname is Gate City and that is because three major interstates intersect here and you can get anywhere in 20 minutes. It is known as a college town, and when the students leave the city seems to die.

 I live in Greensboro, NC but I have been here since 2011 but I think it’s time for me to find a new home. I call Greensboro a mini-metropolitan but its nickname is Gate City but that is because three major interstates intersect here but you can get anywhere in 20 minutes. It is known as a college town, but when the students leave the city seems to die.

 3) My laptop is silver and made by HP and it is 17” and it is heavy and it is old. Sometimes it runs slowly and I can still complete what I need to on the device. It may not be convenient and it may take time, and I like that it still is reliable and it hasn’t quit on me after several years and even after a tumble down concrete stairs.

 My laptop is silver but made by HP but it is 17” but it is heavy but it is old. Sometimes it runs slowly but I can still complete what I need to on the device. It may not be convenient but it may take time, but I like that it still is reliable but it hasn’t quit on me after several years but even after a tumble down concrete stairs.

4) I have a car and it is a Mini Cooper Countryman and it is white and has black accents. I love my car and it was my first adult purchase and I named it Nona. Nona appears to be small and is surprisingly spacious and super cute and people tell me she fits my personality. Road trips with Nona are fun and she is great on gas and I currently don’t have to pay for her maintenance and I am not looking forward to the day that I do.

 I have a car but it is a Mini Cooper Countryman but it is white but has black accents. I love my car but it was my first adult purchase but I named it Nona. Nona appears to be small but is surprisingly spacious but super cute but people tell me she fits my personality. Road trips with Nona are fun but she is great on gas but I currently don’t have to pay for her maintenance but I am not looking forward to the day that I do.

 5) My bike is pink and purple and white and it has a bell and it is a 3-speed. I’ve had my bike for 2 years and I rode it one time and it was and it was at a school across the street and I walked back.

 My bike is pink but purple but white but it has a bell but it is a 3-speed. I’ve had my bike for 2 years but I rode it one time but it was at a school across the street but I walked back.

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PROCESS JOURNAL: ANALYSIS

As my team began to delve deeper into our topic of pet safety, I utilized a few analysis techniques from this week’s asynchronous work: Sensitivity and Common Sense, Micro and Macro, Look It Up, The Packrat and The Collector, Morphology, and Patterns and Paradigms. I have discussed possible small- and large-scale pain points on with my team members and friends in an attempt to hone in on a possible project. Additionally, I’ve researched the topic as well as possible impacted parties and their buy in. As I’ve collected data, I tend to use the “collector’s” approach in organizing data by filtering through it as I find it. Through this I’ve found a few patterns surfaced: affordability, awareness, and accessibility. With this information I chose to focus my morphological analysis on these patterns and how they relate to the potential target audiences.

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TEAM NORMS:

No work on Fridays!

Have each person speak to a subject or case in point before voting on decisions

Provide open and honest feedback

Since this course is designed to instill discipline for each stage of universal problem solving, let’s focus only on immediate deliverable instead of thinking ahead to the end goal or solution.

Creativity without judgment - let’s share all ideas that we have.

For posting group assignments, let’s take turns each week on who will be responsible for that week. (Maybe we can go in sequence of how Davina listed our names on the wall, so I’ll go first in posting the group assignment tomorrow, Ben will be next, Jamae, then Aharon.)

Establishing a clear line of weekly communication (time and platform)

Good vibes only! Remember this is supposed to be “fun”

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PROCESS JOURNAL: CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT (group assignment)

● Understand your limits. what are your capabilities and the collective capabilities of your team?

I think the team is more than capable of collaborating to address our problem through research, iterations, prototyping, testing, and design to promote a solution.

Probably the most restrictive of the team’s limits is the availability. With the team being three hour time difference away from each other, in addition to other courses that Ben and Jamae are currently taking, the trick will be to arrange the time for checking in with each other. But between Slack and emails, I’m sure we’ll find clever ways to work with one another.

● Establish reasonable and feasible goals and standards. What are your and your team’s intentions and are they in line with your abilities. Where does your team have gaps and how will you mitigate that?

I feel that the only gap we may have as a group is with the manufacturing side of things (cost, tooling, logistics, etc) and understanding the process that go along with it. As far as goals and standards, I would be happy if we could have a fully developed solution backed with a clear branding and marketing proposal.

Differing perspectives could be a strength or weakness as well. I know I am a bit “out there” when it comes to ideation whereas others on the team are more practical, but if balanced well, will develop something innovative and feasible. Because we all have a level of project management under our belts, the desirable goals listed should obtainable within the time constraint.

I think the differing backgrounds and perspectives will bring unique insights in ideation phases, as well as rolling out the final product.

● Be strict and consistent. Do not promise what you cannot deliver. Talk with your team on how to stay within scope and meet and exceed expectations with within your collective means.

I think this is where the weekly group meet-ups are key with keeping us accountable and open with the team. Establishing a clear weekly deliverable for each group member will ensure that we are still on track and in scope with our assignments (group & individual).

Once roles and action items for each member are established it will make project planning and blocking out a timeline clearer.

It would be great during the weekly group meet up if we can start by briefly discussing our schedules for the week. We all have careers and other obligations outside of the class, so communicating early on about what is realistic workload would benefit the entire team tremendously.

● Reward yourself. What incentives do you and your team value when you meet your goals and, conversely, what is agreed upon and accepted “consequences” for you or your team members not contributing or behaving poorly?

Having met everyone in the group at our cohort, I’m not worried about a team member not contributing or behaving poorly. Knowing how good of a team we have and our combined skill sets, I’m more concerned about being the one who becomes a burden on the group. For me the incentive is getting to collaborate, learn, and have fun working on the project with the group.

Agreed, we definitely have an extremely self motivated and supportive cohort. I will say my incentive is the experience of the process and the ability of getting a “second shot” per say. During the residential, I definitely skipped ahead to my favorite steps and the process is extremely unforgiving when you do this under a tight time constraint. I did not feel as though I got to fully embrace this methodology and I hope I can find redemption this time around.

Having met everyone at the IPR, I believe we’ll all achieve the “internal” incentive of feeling accomplished after a job well done after a goal is met or exceeded.

I agree with everyone here. The IPR experience revealed that everyone in our cohort is very motivated and driven and I don’t think there will be anyone who lag behind or unwilling to be a team player. I think our trust in each other will motivate us further to put our best foot forward for the team.

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PROCESS JOURNAL: THE DESTINATION AND JOURNEY (group assignment)

Review and select a subject matter that you anticipate will contain a problem to solve. Provide a rationale why you should be part of the team, outlining your interest, expertise and contributions. You will work with a team, throughout the remainder of the course, to collectively and collaboratively work through the stages of the creative problem solving process. Each team member should post a copy of this document to their process journal.

Aharon:

Having grown up with pets most of my life I am excited about starting our group topic of pet safety. This seems like a market that has been lagging with providing well thought out design solutions for people and their pets.

I feel that I can bring my knowledge in design research (quantitative and qualitative) and product development (iterating, sketching, storyboarding, prototyping/user testing, and manufacturing) to the group. My interests, aside for my love of pets, are product development, graphic design, and working with the team to develop an amazing solution.

Ben

I’m irrationally in love with my pet and even named my company after her (Lola Digital Media). Beyond the emotional connection, I’m aware at how quickly the industry is growing, and how rapidly it’s evolving (pet insurance, healthy food, etc) -- there’s a lot of opportunity to design innovative products.

I can bring market research, forecasting, modeling, strategy, business development, and collaborating with the team to bring forth an amazing (and perhaps quirky!) solution.

Jamae

Unfortunately, I’ve never had a pet, but I have always wanted one! I have, however, “pet sat” several of my friends’ furry friends and I have never been so paranoid in my life. I think this topic has several avenues to ease the anxiety of pet owners and pet sitters.

I believe my experience, and lack thereof, can bring a “fresh eye” perspective to the group. In addition to this, I hope my desire to understand, find the best solutions, and be a team player will add to our success. As far as practical skills, I enjoy research, ideation, product development, strategy, branding, and design.

Minah

I have always loved four-legged furry animals, especially cats and dogs. I developed a cat allergy after moving to the States which meant that I could only be around dogs, and I dog-sat for many of my friends. Currently I have a miniature poodle named Sebastian who was rescued from the Interstate 10 and have been a part of my family for over ten years and a hermit crab named Claus who’s been with us for almost two years.

Sebastian has had a major health scare four years ago when tests revealed that he had about a dozen bladder stones. He was already a senior dog then and it was a very tricky surgery, but we were lucky that the surgery went without complications and the little one eventually pulled through. It was a very educational experience for me, seeing my fur-child go through this, learning that the condition is very much diet-related. Although health-related safety is just one dimension of our topic “pet safety”, it is also a major concern of many pet parents especially since related costs can be exorbitant.

I can bring my strong research skills to the team, along with my compassion for all animals. Sebastian is also ready for beta-testing!

Pet Safety

According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA) 68 percent of U.S. households owned some sort of pet in 2016 . Among those pets were about 90 million dogs and 94 million cats. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/01/31/how-many-americans-have-pets-an-investigation-into-fuzzy-statistics/?utm_term=.a5d806fe80fd)

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PROCESS JOURNAL: ACCEPTANCE

Picture Success

What makes you interested in the problem in the first place? What would accomplishing your goal be like?

I was drawn to this topic because current environmental sustainability efforts seem to only slow down the inevitable. With this project we hope to come up with a solution that doesn’t just plug holes in a sinking boat but resolves it completely. If we cannot undo the damage that has been done, then accomplishing the goal for me would look like developing an infrastructure that we could continue to live in despite the conditions of our environment.

Who will be benefitting from your success?

Ultimately, if we are successful, our solution could save the world from future crisis.

What positive impact will you be making locally and globally through your success? What do you think is compelling about seeing the problem-solving endeavor to its end result?

Our efforts to develop sustainable solutions to our current environmental challenges, and map out possible contingency plans for future infrastructures on this planet and elsewhere could potentially save the generations to come and the existence of human kind. The thought of being a part of this solution and knowing I could potentially “save the world” is extremely compelling.

What kind of rewards could come from the success of your undertaking? What are your motivating factors for succeeding?

Personally, the satisfaction of knowing I had the power to affect future generations is reward enough. It has always been my goal to leave the world a better place then whence I came and the success of this project would do just that. My main motivation for anything I choose to tackle will always be based in empathy.

Will there be some monetary reward? How will this aid in furthering your career?

Potentially, but money and notoriety are not the goal. I’m sure slapping “saved the world” on any resume would probably help in furthering anyone’s career, but I would just want to use this a platform to demonstrate how and why interdisciplinary teams critical to the problem-solving process.

What would be the immediately expected results of the best-case scenario? Do you expect to get a product back from this undertaking?

No, not necessarily in regard to this process we will be going through. Due to the scope of the project, I imagine initially this will be very conceptual and the immediate results will be about laying the groundwork we can build on in the next phase. This might entail a proposal for a grant, or something along those lines to get support and funding.

What level of investment do you have in the solution succeeding? How will you and others benefit along all of these different measurements of success?

I believe it’s our responsibility as a whole to protect the place we live so that we and the future of “we” can enjoy a better quality of life. Because this is not a simple task, the level of investment to succeed in making this happen is very high. I can only get out of it what I put in. Though the scope of the project is huge, having several different perspectives and measurements of success will be beneficial. If we exceed everyone’s expectations, we can ensure that the project does not fall short of success.

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Creative Problem Solving Interview: Shawn Waddell (Structural Engineer)

How do you generate ideas?

How, when, and where are you inspired?

There is a duality in my creative process because not only am I in a creative profession – architecture – but I hold a creative hobby in poetry and spoken word. Within architecture, most of my inspiration comes from who I am designing for. I find I am more invested when I am working closely with a client, or the project has a very detailed description of who the design is for. I am people-driven, and have a hard time creating without knowing the user groups. In poetry, I often use the art form to organize my thoughts or to get over troubling feelings. Through pen and paper, or the stage, I can express my thoughts clearly in a digestible fashion. Poetry is a method of speaking ideas that resonate more than the average conversation can. It also challenges others to express themselves clearly; true, great conversations take two open minds.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by the things I see and hear on my daily walk through life. Seeing precedents of other architect’s work, hearing someone drop a quote in a conversation, or even raw sketching helps cultivate my thoughts into a form or concept. You cannot design without a concept. You cannot solve a problem without learning as much information as possible. The best architects are not those who have the best forms, they are the ones who press the boundaries of the space they are given.

I also am drawn to the act of creation as an ideal. To have the ability to create in both the tangible/practical sense (architecture) and the emotional/creative sense (poetry), is an act of inspiration in itself. To know the impact I possess with the stroke of my pen, makes me feel a sense of responsibility and care with what I do. It pushes me to wake up in the morning and perfect my craft. Whether that be free writing for five minutes a day, journaling, reading new architectural works, or just walking around a downtown area to look at buildings, inspiration comes from wanting to do the work to be great.

What obstacles do you face in coming up with a new idea and how do you overcome these obstacles?

I am perfectionist, and I do not mean this as a compliment. I often get so obsessed with doing things right, that I get caught in my head, and don’t produce at all. This leads to procrastination or running behind when deadlines come. When this bad habit rears it head, I often find myself working late hours before the deadline because I stop thinking and just produce the work. This is not a healthy habit, and my best work has not come from doing this. I overcome this “perfectionist” by having passion! Being passionate about what I am doing, the emotions I am feeling, the people I am designing for, the lives I can save through crafted stanzas, is what pulls me from my self-created obstacles.

I also find, mostly when I am struggling in my architecture work, I use poetry as a life line. Instead of trying to draw a form or a parti diagram, I will instead work on a poem about the project. The poem could be abstract, about the people using the building, the concept I want to convey, or even not about the building at all. Poetry drives my brain forward, regardless of what I write on the page. For example, when I was stuck on a concept about an intergenerational care center, I used the frustration to write a poem about the friendship between my nephew and my father (my nephew’s grandfather). This poem helped me understand the purpose behind the intergenerational care center and why they were important. Poetry has become so important to my architecture, that I use it with every project I do – it also makes for a great opener into my presentations. The best way to counter known obstacles is to run to what works and make a procedure out of it. If done this way, there will be a method to navigate out of the chaos.

2) What process(es) do you use to solve problems? (Describe the steps of your problem-solving process. Explain your journey from inspiration to implementation.)

*Note: Because my poetry has no set means or method of creation, I will mostly be speaking about how I produce architecture. Poetry plays a part in that process, but it is more structured than the poems I create for performances or books.

To answer this question, the most effective way I can think to do this is with some kind of outline/list that will help itemize how I approach architectural problem solving.

Problem/Project Statement

Usually with architecture, we are servants of the people. We design based on fulfilling the needs of the clients, while also infusing our thoughts and training into the buildings we create. A client will give us their criteria, and we will then work with them to draw out as much information as we can to begin the design.

Design Process

“Metaphor”

All good buildings are birthed from strong concepts. It is like a thesis in a research paper, it gives you something to continually refer back to. If you feel you are straying from the original idea, a concept is your homing button. My best concepts usually start with taking what I gathered from the client’s information and trying to write a poem. Sometimes I get a concept right out the gate, but my best works have come from tackling the building design from another artistic lens. After the poem is completed, I then read it and try to draw out the emotion or concept I will use to design the building.

Guidelines

After creating a strong concept, you have to give yourself guidelines to follow in order to be successful. You cannot just take the concept and run with it – that will lead to unrealistic or impractical designs. Making rules also keeps your design focused and intentional. These rules could be having similar hallway widths, curves that follow a similar proportional value, or even a color scheme. Either way, you must have somewhere to start from somewhere.

Concept Drawing

This is where you begin to start drawing…anything. Any sketch of a perspective, elevation, diagram, or plan view brings you closer to producing. Numbers and dimensions do not matter much here, as long as there is a building you can birth from here. I like to make bubble diagrams of the required spaces to help figure out how the people will move in the space. I have always been a “form follows function” type of person, meaning that I allow the arrangement of spaces influence the end form of the building. In my opinion, designing this way allows no building to be the same, because no client will have the same problems. Every building should be its own individual act of creation. The diagrams that come from this, propel the design forward

Implantation

Schematic Design

All the concepts and diagrams that you have worked on to this point, are then modified with dimensions, materials, shapes, and people. In this stage, you are showing the client what is possible and charging their imagination to see the vision. If they like what you have made here, then you progress forward.

Design Development and Construction Documentation

This is where you get to all the details of your building. You have to really think about how this will actually get built. This is more of the technical side – which I like – because here is where you get to think about reality. Once every detail is thought out, and plans read clearly – clear enough so that someone else can build it – then the building has reached the end of its design phase and is ready to be bid and built.

[jamaelucas-blog]

Creative Problem Solving Interview: Freeman Cooper (Marketing Specialists & Trade Show Coordinator)

1) How do you generate ideas? (How, when, and where are you inspired? What inspires you? What obstacles do you face in coming up with a new idea and how do you overcome these obstacles?)

There is what we know, what we don’t know, and what we don’t know that we don’t know -- or simply put, the unknown. The unknown is where I find inspiration because it’s malleable and full of potential but it also has the highest risk of failure. How do we take on a challenge we’ve never faced before and beat it? The answer is always in the process.

2) What process(es) do you use to solve problems? (Describe the steps of your problem-solving process. Explain your journey from inspiration to implementation.)

I understand that everything operates within a system, and all systems are made of patterns that are recognizable if you know how to identify them. Chaos is simply patterns and/systems we don’t fully understand yet.

"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."

--Oliver Wendell Holmes

Step one is Identifying and understanding the patterns and systems that are the cause of the problem. The next step is deciding whether to be disruptive and implement a new system or to take a more measured approach and find ways to counterbalance the problem.

[jamaelucas-blog]

Creative Problem Solving Interview: L. Lucas (Sr. Display Project Planner)

How do you generate ideas?

How, when, and where are you inspired?

Inspiration comes from external/internal business partners. It could be a conversation, e-mail posting, frustrating development, inspiration comes in many forms.

What inspires you?

General Conversations and Events (i.e. a debate, holidays, layoffs, birthdays, weddings, the 11:00 news, internet, dreams, etc.)

What obstacles do you face in coming up with a new idea?

The obstacle is more about whether the new idea will be compliant with our Regulatory, Environmental, Quality and Legal restrictions and ultimately consumer friendly and inviting. In addition, can it be transported without huge concern, or are there limitations? Coming up with the idea is the easiest part, vetting and implementing it in a cost effective, profitable, customer focused manner is the challenge.

And how do you overcome these obstacles?

To overcome some of the major challenges, a Cross Functional department meeting is held to gain understanding of any concerns that would not be in my current realm. As I am not privy to all the rules and regulations, you bring in the experts to gain alignment to support the idea moving forward or shelving the idea until the concerns/challenges are rectified. Once over that hurdle, we do focus groups and voice-of-the-customer sessions prior to seeking funding for further development and distribution.

What process(es) do you use to solve problems?

Describe the steps of your problem-solving process.

The approach most often used is the DMAIIC, often used in Greenbelt processes.

Define, Measure, Analyze, Innovate/Improvement, Control

Each of these steps have several layers to manage and complete prior to moving to the next step.

Define: Project, SIPOC (SIPOC stands for suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, and customers), Voice-of-Customer

Measure: Data, Sampling, Gage R&R, (Gage repeatability and reproducibility), Patterns and Capability

Analyze: Process Analysis, Multi-Vari (Multi-vari charts are a way of presenting analysis of variance data in a graphical form, providing a "visual" alternative to analysis of variance, VOC, Organize Causes, Hypothesis Testing, Regression, DoE (Design of Experiments)

Innovate/Improvement: Solutions, FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis), Pilot, Implementation

Control: Standardize, Document, Monitor, Evaluate, Closure

Explain your journey from inspiration to implementation.

The journey can be long if it is something like a New Product Introduction (a couple of years) or short (weeks) if it is a Customized Promotion.

The DMAIIC approach is still used in its form, but not all of the layers may be required.

The journey goes through having the actual idea, creating a prototype (i.e. design creation), review by the stakeholders, acceptance by the target audience, alignment by all functions/departments that will touch the idea, development- production and then distribution.