The Deep Dive

1. “From the buildings in which we live and work, to the cars we drive, or the knives and forks with which we eat, everything we use was designed to create some sort of marriage between form and function."


2. The folks at IDEO state that they are not experts in any given area. But, they do claim to be experts on the design process, which they apply to the innovation of consumer products.



3. After the team of designers is brought together, told the problem, and informed they have five days to “pull it off,” what phase of the design process do they immediately engage in?
- They first define the problem they have at hand. So in their case, what is wrong with current shopping carts, such as child safety, security, and efficiency




4. Give two examples of what the team members did during this phase.

a. They visited the makers of current shopping carts and got their opinions on the faults of the product they're mass producing
b. They studied patrons of a local food store interact with their shopping carts and noted what seemed to limit them or cause concern.





5. List five rules-of-thumb that IDEO employees follow when they share ideas during the brainstorming phase:

a. One conversation at a time


b. Stay focused on a topic


c. Encourage wild ideas


d. Differ judgement


e. Build on others ideas





6. Why should wild (and sometimes crazy) ideas be entertained during the brainstorming phase?

Because wild ideas are the backbone of innovations







7. After the brainstorming phase was over, the team narrowed down the hundreds of ideas by voting for those ideas that were not only “cool” but also easy to build in a short period of time. What phase of the design process is this called?





8. IDEO believes that the ideas and efforts of a group will always be more successful than the planning of a lone genius.



9. Once the ideas were narrowed down and divided into categories, the group was split into four smaller teams. What phase(s) of the design process was each of these groups responsible for?

To create a prototype that actively solved the problem/idea that their group was given.

10. The leaders at IDEO believe that good behavior and a fun environment are two important reasons why their employees are able to think quickly and creatively to produce innovative results.



11. Sometimes, people come up with great solutions that work by trying their ideas first, and asking for forgiveness later.



12. Design is often a process of going too far and having to take a few steps back. What phase of the design process would the critique of the four mock-ups come under?

Evaluation and redesign



13. Upon critique of the four teams’ models, it was obvious that none of the teams had developed an optimum solution. However, the people at IDEO believe that it is important to fail often in order to succeed sooner.



14. What percentage of the entire week’s time did it take to fabricate the final prototype

About 40%



15. Instead of showering his design team with a tremendous amount of praise, what did the boss require his employees to do with their new design?

Go show it to employees at a local Whole Foods to get their feedback on it.



16. Of all the things that we are surrounded by every day, what has not been placed through the design process?


Nature




Conclusion

1. What did you find to be the most impressive part of the team’s effort?

What I thought was most impressive was the environment they created. Having a workplace where no single persons ideas are better than another. I hope I'll have an opportunity to work in such a workplace professionally






2. What advantages are there to having a design team with members that have non-engineering backgrounds?

It ensures that you're looking at a problem, solution, idea, or anything in various points of view.







3. There was a point in the process where a self-appointed group of adults stepped up, stopped the ideas, and redirected the group to break up into teams. Why was this done?

To create some type of order. Anarchy is never productive.







4. At the end of the video, Dave Kelly states, “Look around. The only things that are not designed are the things we find in nature.” Can you think of anything that would contradict this statement?

Yes, natural selection and evolution disprove this statement because over generations, organisms adapt and change their molecular or physical design to better survive.