The Deep Dive Questions

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 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? Think/design/research phase






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

a. had a group meeting where everyone came up with ideas


b. went to a local store to see what the people who used the carts regularly thought about them





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

a. crazy ideas are just as acceptable as normal ideas


b. if you speak down about other people's ideas, you get the bell.


c. defer judgement


d. make a list of questions you want to ask consumers


e. share information to make sure everyone is on the same page.





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

Because although the original idea may be crazy, it can branch off into workable solutions to otherwise seemingly unsolvable problems.







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 realistically workable in a short period of time. What phase of the design process is this called?

Narrowing focus.



8. IDEO believes that the ideas and efforts of a enlightened trial and error 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?
focus on optimization of 4 points (safety, security, usability, utility)


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 permission/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?
feedback/reiteration




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?
one night, working in shifts (approximately 10% of the time)




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?
reduce it to an efficient version of it, and combine it with the other people's designs.




16. Of all the things that we are surrounded by every day, what has not been placed through the design process?
nature, although evolution can technically be considered a design process.






Conclusion

1. What did you find to be the most impressive part of the team’s effort?
Their ability to work together and share ideas, but not override other people's ideas.








2. What advantages are there to having a design team with members that have non-engineering backgrounds?
They are not filled with pre-conceived notions, or inhibited by ideas of what is and what is not possible.








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?
Because they had to end the first process and start the second, and if nobody took charge the first process would continue indefinitely.








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?

no