On October 30, the Chicago Connectory hosted Moonshot by Pactera for
part five of the Design Sprints workshop. This session was focused on the process
of prototyping.
Mike
Kim, Practice Lead of Digitalization at Moonshot, explained that a
prototype is an instrument which allows its creators to gain insights about a
specific assumption and is meant to answer a question. A prototype allows for
validation of an idea without the need to build a complete product.
Mike then presented participants with three "how might
we" statements. These included, how might we decide where to go to lunch
together, how might we better understand where bathrooms are when we enter a
new building, and how might we confidently know whether dishes in a dishwasher
have been cleaned. He then put participants in groups of three. Each group had to create a prototype that
directly answers their "how might we" statement. Mike also gave an
additional twist by asking participants to include an IoT component in their
prototype.
Mike reiterated that the prototype should answer what is
being tested. For example, does it actually make it easier to decide where to
go to lunch? If a design sprint participant finds that they're saying
"yes, but...", it's important to develop a prototype that gets rid of
the "but". He also mentioned that it’s important to understand that a
prototype isn't perfect and that it's simply the starting point of a solution.
We look forward to
hosting the next session of Moonshot's Design
Sprints workshop!