My Methods & Processes

Writer:Perus Saranurak

The Report through MA Design Futures & Metadesign

Collecting feedbacks

Organizing communication

Synthesising or crystalizing

AnalysingExploring Groupingideas

Seekinginterests and curiosity

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My Methods and Processes The Report through MA Design Futures & Metadesign

Goldsmiths, University of London

MA Design Futures Research Through and For Design

Writers:

Perus Saranurak

MA Design Future Student

Printed on the 29th May 2014

1st edition

0

Content

 

How I Know.................................................................................................................................... 1 

My Working Process .................................................................................................................... 2 

My Tools ......................................................................................................................................... 7 

(1)Word Clouds......................................................................................................................... 7 

(4)Tracking Program ................................................................................................................ 9 

(4)User Journey Maps .......................................................................................................... 11 

(4)Questionnaire ................................................................................................................... 13 

Reflection .................................................................................................................................... 14 

Appendix - other method ....................................................................................................... 15 

1

How I Know This essay will introduce and review my process and methods that would relate to studying in “MA Design Futures” and “Metadesign”.

Epistemology → Process and Method Before introducing my working processes and my methods, it is good to understand epistemology because they are related.

First of all, epistemology’s definition from Oxford Dictionaries is: “The theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion.” In short, I would say it explain how information emerges in a person’s head. Further, this process could be different in different person – different brain construction.

The different way to construct information can lead to the different processes of working and methods chosen.

I am not a “1 – 2 – 3” person …but I prefer to start at 3 and try to understand it. If I cannot understand 3, I will step back to 2 or 1. Sometimes I learn like 3-2-1-2-3. Sometime only 3 and 2 is enough. The way I build my brain construction of information is not a linear process. My construction is more like a network. Many times it is difficult to find a link to a specific topic, and sometime one topic link with very different topic.

My creativity By self-observing, I realize that my creativity usually work as linking things together. This tends to make me curious in broad range and many areas more than digging one specific interest. This affects my working process. Most of the processes I have used to extend my knowledge and interests are about linking idea, mapping overview, reveal relation between each factor, and reflect on individual experiences or practices.

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FIGURE 2: REAL JOURNEY

In reality, through my working process these 8 steps are not arrayed smoothly in order (figure 2). Also, it is not necessary work follow this order. The process always jumps back and forth these steps because each step has a specific purpose, which can use in different situations.

To sum up, this part provides the overview of the whole process. This picture will remind future me to see the dynamic in process and a various aspect of purposes.

7

My Tools (1)Word Clouds What is it? It uses program for transform a massive text to a simple picture. The word that frequently uses in the text will be bigger in the picture

Where? For me, it is a kind of a navigator when I have to deal with a massive data:

records of twitter, interview transcripts some research from websites collective-data methods …

Why I use? It could be use like a map.

This helps me to early recognize the scope of the reading source quickly.

It guides me where should I start and where will I go; planning my journey.

I feel more confidence – I am afraid to deal with data.

Process: Copy the text to the Word Clouds program (http://www.wordle.net) and process it. The program will count the frequency of each word in the text and create a picture. The size of each word is depended on its frequency.

Output: It simplifies large data to be a nonlinear format. By illustrating the trend, this could help to generate the relation between the keywords, and group ideas. For me, it should be used as an exploratory guide to start research or grouping ideas.

Experience: **Carefully, the keywords showed by Word Clouds are only from the frequency. They do not directly relate with the meaning. By using only these keywords to interpret, it could easily mislead. Use it carefully.

In Universal Methods of Design (Martin & Hanington, 2012, p.206), Word Clouds could be qualified with: Refer to where the date was collected, and disclosure of there has been processed on data.

8

Further: In my dissertation, I think this tools can helps me to find an individual motivation if I use it with the #Tracking Program. My methodology is the word clicked by an internet user can refer to the user’s curiosity.

FIGURE 3: WORD CLOUDS FROM THIS ESSAY

Remark: http://www.wordle.net http://www-958.ibm.com

Reference: Martin, B., & Hanington, B. M. (2012). Universal methods of design: 100 ways to research complex problems, develop innovative ideas, and design effective solutions. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers.

9

(4)Tracking Program What is it? It can be platforms, systems, culture props, diary, internet cookies, and computer programs, which on the purpose of to continually report individual specific data: behaviours, money, activities, journeys or progresses.

Where? It can be anything which relate to person and activities

Application in mobile Computer program diary cup flush …

Why I use? Tracking data through the time

Can analyse the changes Can find unknown patterns and

motivation. By programing, it can access to

vast participants.

Process: Make a rule which the participants to report, or create a program or a system to detect specific data by a sensor

These systems have to report the time / date because it is required in comparison.

Output: Tracking program will report every activity. The output would be massive and need other tools for analyse this data further. After this it can use to plot activities and time which will help to visualize the changes of each person – it can recognize who have same or different motivations

Experience: Tracking program could be seen as invading the privacy of participants. So they should be informed or understood about how this tool work and what kind of data it detect.

Most of this method needs to involve in long period. It is quite difficult to find the volunteer participants.

On the other hand, I have done many tracking program with myself, such as a working diary, 24-hour circular graphic report, and the internet tracking activity. I found this like an action research, which helps the user to uncover something they missing.

Further: About privacy issue, it would be better if the system allow the participants to delete some data they feel uncomfortable to report.

FIGURE 4: USE PROGRAM TO TRACK MY ACTIVITY ON COMPUTER

FIGURE 5: TEST INTERFACE ON SELF-REPORT

(4)User Journey Maps What is it? It is a visualization of the user’s story while using product or service. This platform can create a discussion from different personas effectively, which leads to develop the system holistically.

Where? In my opinion, It would be useful to stimulate the complex and insightful system:

Costumer service Political impact Internal communication …

Why should I use? This method helps a participative user to communicate their experience easily and clearly.

The first attention Understand behaviours how the user change during

activity what can affect or influent user

Process: Each user will get different persona (task and goal) in the journey. And the users will do the workshop together and complete the whole map.

1. First, interviewing the experience users to create the journey maps, each which should represent to the user’s persona.

2. Let the users sharing the event along the journey with others 3. Writing down the individual feel, experience or thinking on the map honestly, both

positive and negative are ok. For examples, “I feel confuse at the start” or “I need a manual”.

4. Each map will show different experience form different persona, which can use for discussion later.

Output: This tool can illustrate the different behaviours, views and goals in the same whole system. This helps to re-organize the system.

My expectation from this method is detect a change by illustrating the user’s activities, feelings, perceptions and thinking through the time. Also it shows how they change.

Experience: For this method, I have never tried it before, but I have done the #Role-play Workshop, “Amoeba of Culture Change”, in Metadesign2 class. That is the great experience giving the view that different roles react differently in the same culture and the process of culture change.

Further: I would like to combine this method with the #Tracking Program, which draw each participant’s journey. Then I will use this method to be the platform of interview. So I could collect the course of change in their thinking and activities, which I have to analyse; which is from an intrinsic motivation; and how the motivation work.

Moreover, this could be an action research to encourage the participant to understand the effects from motivation in activities too.

Remark: It is a kind of role-play workshop, but by adding a map, it can improve the communication in team clearer.

Reference: Martin, B., & Hanington, B. M. (2012). Universal methods of design: 100 ways to research complex problems, develop innovative ideas, and design effective solutions. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers.

(4)Questionnaire What is it? This is the method for evaluating design by scoring.

Where? In the stage of evaluation

Need amount of data In person

Why should I use? If I have other choices, I won’t use this method.

Everyone can understand

Output: The Score (with the weight). However, Martin & Hanington (2012, p.202) suggest this tool can use in the early stage for creating a decision in team as an internal communication. - This is totally different with my usage.

Experience: About the project when I worked in a design company, I tried to understand clients’ needs by using this method. That project took very long time to finish, and one of many reasons could be I never get the clients’ real needs.

Personally, I think the process of scoring (such as 1-5) is hard to get an accurate result because respondent has to translate answers to linear polar scale, which different respondents could express differently. Thus the researcher has to interpret these results. There are two time of translation between a meaning and a number. And the number in polar scale and could be defined differently.

For an example, the questionnaire about classroom, if a student scores 1 of 5 in the row of homework, it is hard to know that it mean that student needs less homework or more, or it is too easy or too hard, or mean the deadline is too early.

Further: Even, scoring could be accurate on logicality, but the real answers are not presented. Following this method, I prefer to make a choice in the form of a sentence rather than number.

Moreover, I would like to try to use it for sharing opinions in the team.

Reflection Many tools we used in MA Design Futures consume a massive of papers, while we are learning about sustainability and overconsumption. This is a paradox between subjects and activities.

Beware to be lost in information 1. List question 2. List required data 3. Think about process to get it directly 4. Recheck

How to analyse qualitative data? I still don’t know the way to analyse qualitative data for researching. I always use it to understand and write the reflection. I don’t know how to referent this kind or data.

“In deductive content analysis, the codes or categories are derived prior to analysis, often based on a theoretical framework [, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.]”

Appendix - other method

FIGURE 6 MASSIVE MAPPING- INVOLVE WITH BODY

FIGURE 7: PROTOTYPE IN GOLDSMITHS – DREAM TOGETHER BOARD

FIGURE 8: PAPER PROTOTYPE

FIGURE 9: POSITIONING TOOLS (DEVELOP FOR PERSONS)

FIGURE 10 TETRAHEDRON

FIGURE 11: IDEA MAPPING

FIGURE 12 DIAGRAM