reflections on the co-creating user experience class - 26th november

The class brought together the concepts learnt in class throughout the
semester. Seeing them applied in various contexts in the projects which
were presented in class before was useful in building confidence and more
proficiency in learning how to apply the framework in different
situations.

I had seen the IDEO video before in an earlier class on design methods.
There it was mostly about how to gather user needs and requirements and
synthesize them to design products. Therefore, it was all the more
interesting to look at it now from a experience centric perspective. It's
interesting to note here that most technology companies (amongst others
I'm sure) now have some sorts of groups focussing on user experience. More
often than not user experience is thought to automatically follow if you
design a good product. The IDEO video, and it's discussion in the light of
looking at it by 'putting on the co-creator's hat' brings this point
nicely into perspective. While a good product design does include the
user's experience there is a difference in the way you look at the
problem. Designing for user experience looks beyond designing just the
product but designing for the other three platform actors too - processes,
places and people!

Once you look at it from the perspective of designing considering three
four factors at the *start* of the problem there may be a lot more
opportunities that crop up even if the ultimat aim is to design a better
product. The idea is that looking into these gives you a deeper insight
into the locus of interaction of the product with these factors - giving
you a firmer foundation for your design decisions. I think this was my
main takeaway from the class.

The other interesting aspect was the more analytical approach we are
beginning to take in class now, and appreciating that designing for
co-creation requires iterating between the big picture view and the
details. This is essential in ensuring that the processes, firm
capabilities and strategy is well aligned with the goals of the project

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