Persona Practice: SMC student

To try it out, I will fill out the persona of a "typical" Saint Mary's student. This should be interesting!!

2. Demographic attributes: 21, female, caucasian

3. User attributes: quick, easy, uncomplicated

a. Personality: outgoing, confident, positive, energetic

b. Lifestyle, self-image, social position:  middle class, generally well-liked and has high self-esteem, usually has friends or a few close friends and many acquaintences

c. Patterns of behavior, habits, daily routines, typical decisions: decisions are made on full details, habitual gym goer, daily routine includes breakfast, class, nap, lunch, class, gym, dinner, socializing

d. Living, working, and other important environments: SMC environment is very tight-knit and close, so all events are well attended and girls typically feel comforted by the number of friends around on campus

e. Beliefs, values, ideals, life goals, aspirations, important motivations: motivations to succeed, find a meaningful path in life, good career, marry a nice guy (usually ND grads), raise a Catholic family, have fun

f. Likes, interests, dreams, passions, hobbies: ND football, careers in nursing, communications and business are all very commmon at SMC, passion for major in college and hometown pride

g. Dislikes, needs, problems, concerns, worries, pet-peeves, pain-points: dislikes SMC's food, buildings do not stay open long enough, Women's Health Center has short hours, cliques, strict rules can be overwhelming

h. Influencers; sources of advice, counsel: friends offer a huge support network as well as influence, Counseling Center is well attended, many girls find they befriend professors and have more of a friendship with them

4. Summary user narrative

a. Quotes from real users: “I am thankful that I went to Saint Mary’s College because it has given me the confidence, positive attitude, and knowledge necessary to succeed in any field in communications.” 


“I love being part of a group that helps to preserve memories that will last a lifetime.”



“When I visited for the first time, I found it so empowering to be at a school of very smart, spiritual women educating themselves to make a difference in the world.”

Kid Stuff

In Tom Kelly's work entitled Prototyping is the Shorthand of Design he talks about innovation and how prototyping begins at a very early age.  He wrote about his very driven brother who, like most kids, loved to play in the snow and build things.  He explained that his brother would begin with a snowman and slowly improve his method and design until he was able to build complex forts.  It sounds like Kelly took a chunk out of my childhood experiences and placed them into his journal. As a child, I rejected TV and other forms of electronic entertainment (I still do not have a TV in my apartment). I found joy in the outdoors, collecting rocks and building with them or painting them. It was always so fascinating to me to go down to the lake in the middle of town and look for the smoothest rocks. When I gathered enough, I looked for ways to stack them to build things. Then, I thought about other ways to stack the rocks and decided that tape would be a great way. Well, I tried scotch tape and, as experience would have it, they did not stick. So, then I tried to string them together (a bit of a regression from the tape idea if you ask me, but I was just trying to improve it any way that I could). Tying them together also did not work. Then, I had the brilliant idea of gluing them. I successfully bound the rocks together (after a few attempts with different glues) and then I pained the structure. It still sits in my parent's dining room corner cabinet. Under the structure there is a thank you note to my parents for always letting me have fun.


As sentimental as it may sound, it really is an example much like Kelly's.  The end result of my rock project resembled some kind of a tower and I am sure that was my motive. It was the idea that I was building upon ideas within my own mind that makes that experience a small example of Kelly's idea that children are constantly innovating.  


I am a frequent babysitter and I love the time I spend with the kids doing creative projects. I would so much rather build and paint with them instead of watching tv. I am amazed by the things that they come up with and the ideas they have when they are given a sheet of paper, a marker and scissors. I am particularly inspired by the kids who come up with the wildest and craziest ideas and try to persuade me that what they are saying even makes sense. Those are the kids that I know will lead interesting lives. I hope that I will always be amazed by my own kid's creativity!

Design Doing

At this point in the semester, I decided to go back into our Art of Innovation book and see how my reaction to the book changed since I have been involved in innovation and design. I'll be honest, at first, this class really confused me! I felt like I was way behind the learning curve and lost. I feel completely different now. I think with innovation, you just have to have hands on learning to understand all of the elements, and that is exactly how we learned this semester; hands on experimentation. 

Design Doing : Here are some themes that highlight what Design Doing is and what it means to innovation:

• More value and less energy expended when possible

• Design thinking principles work because they are tested rigorously

• Design thinking key to more innovative ideas

• The business world is slower to develop learning strategic design thinking 

• Creativity is the ability to create something new 

• Design is the process of doing something new 

• Three best characteristics of a design mind: open-minded collaboration, 

courage, and conviction 

I bolded that last point because I think it is so well articulated and true.  In innovation, a closed off mind can be detrimental to development of ideas. Courage is needed because if you do not have courage, the ability to get your idea "out there" is nearly impossible. It also takes confidence. Conviction is necessary for you to believe in yourself and your product design. All of these elements were present in my group project experience. This hands on learning and experiencing innovation is what has helped me grasp these rather abstract concepts.

The Innovation Platform

The term "innovation" has sprung up more and more lately. In advertisements, on nightly news programs, in newspapers, the idea of innovation seems to be inescapable. But what does it all mean?  In the gloom and doom of the current recession, many public communicators are turning to promises of innovation as the hope for a brighter tomorrow (and their likelihood for election). Frankly, I think the term is abused by people. It is used casually and assumes that it is a given that people will be able to innovate and innovate well. After taking this class, I learned that there is a science behind innovation and in order to create as a result of innovative design, you will have to follow the steps of the innovation process:

Explore : secondary research

Observe : user observation

Ideate : brainstorm & create

Refine: prototype & test

Launch: implement

I do not mean to sound negative but I really wonder if these politicians preaching innovation really know what they are talking about. Innovation is a nice word, very promising. But, if you do not know how to go about innovating or have the minds needed to facilitate the innovation process, getting ideas into action seems almost impossible. If they do access the right people, I think that is wonderful!  I guess after this class, it is more difficult to listen to a politician speak about the need for innovation and I question their education on such a topic.  Innovation is not just willy nilly ideas, it is much more thoughtful and purposive than that. The cartoon below is just a light hearted example of my idea!

The Truth about Brainstorming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQvqkadg9JI

The Business Week article entitled "The Truth About Brainstorming" got me thinking...

Reflecting back on the brainstorming that we did in class within our project groups was difficult. At the beginning, we were all uncomfortable sharing ideas because innovation is new to all of us. No one wanted to seem stupid or over the top, so very few innovative ideas were shared.  When we got the big piece of paper and started to write down ideas and draw, things got a bit more creative but we were not stepping out of our boundaries.  In fact, at one point, there was a high level of criticism within the group. Some members would very quickly shoot down the ideas of others to the point where they just gave up.  It was really intimidating and bred little to no innovative ideas that we used.  Group brainstorming is kind of a vulnerable activity.  In a setting like Notre Dame, everyone seems to be competing to have the best and brightest idea.  There are nay-sayers everywhere and it is hard to feel like a member of the group.

That said, this article was right on the money.  So many times in rigid organizations, there is this artificial push to encourage creativity. That is kind of how I think we felt in our group. We were trying to step out of the box of solo work and enter a realm of group creative cohesion. Eventually, we did achieve group harmony and every member's ideas were used. It was not until we learned to lay back and let brainstorming happen that we let down our guards to be open to all ideas. Interestingly, I think that because we were not being watched closely by the Professor, we did not have such a need to come up with the best idea. We could work through a number of ideas to reach a final conclusion.

This takes me back to younger years in parochial school where we were forced to brainstorm in Language Arts class. I recall reading a story and immediately after, we would have some activity relating to the story. I cringed when it was a brainstorming activity. I could never think of ANYTHING important to say and never felt a creative energy in the activity. I felt like I was being forced to make my mind work over time and come up with great ideas on the spot. So many times I would just state the obvious and that would be that. I think that teachers could use a bit of schooling on brainstorming and maybe that article would be beneficial.

Mind Mapping

In the image above, I did a simple mind mapping exercise to help me decide what to get my Dad for Christmas. It has been a question that has been plaguing me for the past few months and this mind mapping exercise helped me come to a few conclusions!  I decided that the general concept is that my dad wants to stay connected and keep in touch with my sisters and I. He is proud of us and wants to keep his family close by figurartively. The bar/pub glasses are glasses from each of our respective colleges (he has expressed interest in this a number of times) so that he can have a piece of us with him when he throws back a frosty one (just kidding).
He has expressed wanting more pictures of family and friends to hang on the walls around his bar, so I think that ties in with the desire to keep family and friends close. He also loves organization and appreciates an organized work space. I think that updating and re-writing our family's address book would be another way to tie into the idea that he would like to keep in touch with family and friends.

My dad is a US postal carrier so he is outside in the biting cold 5 or 6 days a week. A good thermal shirt would be good to keep him warm out there!

My dad also really loves music and it is something that binds my family together. He is a very big Bob Dylan afficianado and though he does not like technology, I think he would eventually get used to an ipod. I thought of this because he travels to the ocean with my Mom alot and they listen to CDs on the way down to the beach. It might be nice for them to have an Ipod so they can just coast on down to the beach house and not have to constantly change the CDs.

This mind mapping tool was a nice way for me to organize my thoughts and come to the conclusion that I did. I found common themes among presents and that will help me to decide on the final gift!

Job Mapping

(from blog.weddingpaperdivas.com)

"Job Mapping" is an entirely new concept to me.  Job mapping allows companies to take objects, service, products etc. that are already being used in the world, study their flaws based on current usage and find ways to improve the product or service. This is kind of like a summary of what we have learned about the innovation process as it can be applied to product innovation. It is funny how far you can go "breaking down" the way a person uses, say, a tool. It seems basic; you use a hammer to hammer a nail for instance. Prior to this class, I would have left it at that. You use a hammer to hammer a nail, its basic. After reading this article in addition to what we have learned in class, I now know that you can get much deeper than that.

So, lets take an example and apply it to this. I will use a very basic example but one that I think will work for this methodology. The example:  Hosting a brunch.

(1) defining the objectives:  planning the menu appropriate for all guests, inviting guests, determining how much money is available for the food, determining type of brunch (formal or informal), reasoning behind inviting guests (build relationship, thank you etc), clear space in schedule

(2) locating the necessary inputs: locating place to purchase food, place settings, materials needed for cooking, decorations, babysitter if needed during brunch, locating specialty stores for obscure foods

(3) preparing the physical environment: setting table, organizing kitchen for cooking, cooking all of the food in a timely manner, decorating the home, cleaning, making sure every guest has a seat and utensils, decide on good music

 (4) confirming that everything is ready: making sure that the food is cooked well and is ready to be eaten, making sure there is enough of everything, confirming that the home is clean and welcoming, turn off oven to prevent major disaster


 (5) executing the task: host brunch guests, serve food, welcome guests, have meaningful conversations and help the guests to feel comfortable, ensure that all are fed and that everyone has what they need

 (6) monitoring its progress: key in to guest's needs, monitor food to ensure that there is enough and it is still edible, notice conversations, keep good music playing in background, keep dog out of dining room if necessary

 (7) making modifications as necessary: fix anything that needs to be fixed (make stronger coffee, put more bread in the oven etc) adjust heat in room if too hot/cold, change music if needed, offer low calorie options if requested

(8) concluding the job: see guests to the door, say goodbye, clean dining room, clean kitchen, wash dishes, preserve food, turn off electricity


While this example is undoubtedly basic, it does indeed follow the methodology of job mapping. If a person was to follow this when planning a brunch, the next time they plan one, they may be able to forsee issues and prevent them from occuring. It is a great way to improve a task and in the long run, save money, effort and energy.