Reflective Report on Design Thinking Activities

This reflective report discusses personal and knowledge development through Design Thinking activities. It includes an analysis of strengths and weaknesses, and an action plan for further development. The report also reflects on the author's learning from each week of the activities and how it was useful for them.

Running head: DESIGN THINKING
Design Thinking
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
Discussion:.................................................................................................................................2
Personal Development:..........................................................................................................2
Strengths:............................................................................................................................3
Weaknesses:.......................................................................................................................5
Knowledge management:.......................................................................................................6
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................9
Action Plan:................................................................................................................................9
References:...............................................................................................................................11
Appendix 1: First Blog Post.....................................................................................................15
Appendix 2: Second Blog Post................................................................................................16
Appendix 3: Third Blog Post...................................................................................................17
Appendix 4: Fourth Blog Post..................................................................................................18
Appendix 5: Fifth Blog Post....................................................................................................19
Appendix 6: Sixth Blog Post....................................................................................................20
Appendix 7: Seventh Blog Post...............................................................................................21
Appendix 8: Eighth Blog Post..................................................................................................22
Appendix 9: Ninth Blog Post...................................................................................................24

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Introduction:
Reflective writing practice is an essential learning strategy that allows individuals to
learn from their own academic and professional experiences. Using this strategies, students
and professionals can reflect upon their observations and develop ideas by linking their
knowledge upon it and explore their own ideas regarding their experiences (Gould & Taylor,
2017). Studies by Taczak and Robertson (2017) showed that reflective writing helps to
develop meta-cognition among individuals, which can support their learning process and
professional development. Their studies also show that such practice also helps to develop
analytical skills of students and professionals as it allows them to reflect upon their own
thinking process and how they feel about specific experiences as well as why they think in
such a way. This practice helps to identify the key assumptions and preconceived ideas that
influence the thinking process of both oneself as well as others. Such conclusions have also
been supported by the studies of Beech et al. (2017) who pointed out those reflective
practices such as journal or blog writing can improve learning among students and
professionals and develop a better insight upon their learning experiences (Carey et al.,
2017).
The aim of this reflective report is to reflect upon my academic journey, presenting a
critical self-analysis and reflection on my learning experiences as a result of experiencing
Design Thinking activity within this unit with a consideration of my personal as well as
knowledge development through the unit of Design Thinking topics. Based on this an action
plan of key events and activities will also be developed which I can undertake in the next 6
months in order to acquire more knowledge, skills and behaviors for further development.
Discussion:
Personal Development:

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Through my engagement with this unit, I was able to identify some of my key
strengths and weaknesses which influenced how I was able to complete the unit to achieve
the learning outcomes. Working on the design thinking activities, I had the opportunity to
work within a group of students which allowed me the chance to utilize my knowledge in a
more effective manner. This also helped me to understand strategies to best use my strengths
and also how to overcome my weaknesses based on which I could develop an action plan for
further development and improvement (Cox, 2017). Discussed below is an analysis of my
strengths and weaknesses which I was able to identify as a result of experiencing the Design
Thinking activities.
Strengths:
Critical Thinking: This is the ability to analyze how and why an individual thinks in a certain
manner and how show evidence of the important ideas. This process helps to overcome
personal biases and helps an individual to evaluate their thinking process in a self directed,
self monitored, self corrective and self disciplined manner. According to Stupple et al.
(2017), critical thinking helps to achieve higher order of excellence and development of
effective communication for representation and outlining of ideas and concepts of an
individual. Through my engagement with Design Thinking activities, I was able to develop
amd implement critical thinking on the concepts that were learnt in the unit in order to
understand how to utilize them effectively in the activities (Kong¸2014; Jacob et al., 2017).
Willingness to learn new things: This is an important aspect for any learner as it makes them
more receptive to identify and learn new ideas and knowledge and thereby developing their
own understanding and knowledge base. This also allows students to improve themselves
through academic and professional development. I have shown my willingness to learn new
things by my ability to gain ideas from others while working in a group in the last class
assignment. This has helped me to understand different perspectives of other students and

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identify new information or insights which were different from my own. It is also opined by
Adnan et al. (2017) a willingness to learn can help professionals to develop learning, improve
interpersonal skills and interactions as well as improve personal attributes such as creativity,
problem solving skills, intellect and analytical skills (Coelho et al., 2015). Thus through my
willingness to learn I was able to promote development of my skills and knowledge.
Observation Skills: According to Larssen et al. (2018), effective learning is supported by
good observations through which individuals are able to identify important ideas and
concepts which promote learning among individuals and capture evidence of learning.
According to the authors, the process of observation can be used as a tool by learners to
promote effective learning (Gurwin et al., 2018). During the design thinking activities I was
able to use by keen observation skills to collect primary data in the form of participant and
non participant observations which helped me to develop strong insights on the learning
process.
Ability to work in a group: Different studies have shown that study groups can significantly
help in the development of learning during which individuals can share their knowledge and
learning in a form of a mutual learning or peer-to-peer learning approach which can include
the studies by Eriksson (2017), Zhang et al. (2017), Vilsmaier et al. (2015) and Boud et al.
(2014). Through effective group work, I was able to focus on the problems related to the café
and was able to define and identify the problem using 10 tools that were were able to identify
during week three and develop a plan for group work.
Communication Skills: Communication skills are of vital importance to work in a group
which helps in effective transmission of knowledge and ideas and thus helps in both personal
anf group performance (Vermylen et al., 2017). Throughout the design thinking activities, I

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was able to use my communication skills to work in a group and develop my understanding
of the main concepts of the activity.
Weaknesses:
Technical Skills: Technical skills are necessary to understand technical concepts related to the
the design thinking process and understanding the technologies which can ensure a quality
product development. During the week six of the activities were introduced to technologies
such as 3D printing and additive layer manufacturing with which I had a significant challenge
to completely master. Because of this I also had difficulties in the design process to
implement these technologies in the activities (Gordon et al., 2017).
Time Management: Studies by Grissom et al. (2015) have shown that effective time
management is essential for improving the productivity and effectiveness of individuals in
their job roles. This can help an individual to complete their work in a time bound manner
and help them to follow a controlled schedule and thus deliver a project in a timely manner
(Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). During the unit activities, I often struggled to manage my time,
as a result of which several activities ended up taking a lot of time to complete and affected
the productivity as also increased a sense of stress on me and my team members.
Problem Solving: According to Özsoy and Ataman (2017), effective problem solving is
necessary for the learning process, and helps in the internalization of knowledge, connecting
existing information with new situation to find solutions to various problems. In the design
thinking activities, me as well as my group faced difficulties overcoming several problems
we faced throughout the unit.
Data Analysis: This is an important ability that helps individuals to make sense of data
through effective analysis and visualization of the data to make a meaning out of it (Hazen et
al., 2014). During the unit activities, ineffective data analysis led to misleading information

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(during the 9th week), which significantly affected my performance as well as that of the
entire group. This also delayed the preparation of the prototype.
Knowledge management:
I was able to reflect upon my learning that I acquired on every week of the Design
Thinking activities through the weekly blog entries. These blog entries allowed me to identify
the key learning outcomes, how I was able to achieve them and the challenges I faced during
the activities (Fidalgo-Blanco et al., 2014). Based on these overview I was able to effectively
manage my own learning and knowledge and this helped me to develop my understanding of
my concepts and theoretical knowledge and how I was able to implement them in the
activities. Discussed below is the knowledge I gained from each week, as outlined by the
weekly blog entries and how it was useful for me.
Week 1: In this week I was able to reflect upon my mindset and understand how individual
mindsets can influence how an individual deals with the external factors. I also understood
how communication was vital to support sharing of the ideas and correlating mindsets
between the team members and reach a common understanding and direction for the
activities of the team. This helped me understand the role of individuals in the design phase
and how they can effectively design the project. On by first blog post, I mentioned
“individuals behave like a designer and try to solve the issues in creative, innovative and
distinctive manner” which shows how individuals can help the design phase of the activity
(see appendix 1). I also learnt the significance of active listening which enabled effective
sharing of knowledge and ideas within the group, identify the strengths and weaknesses of
the individual opinions and also improve involvement of all the members in a more effective
manner.

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Week 2: In this week, I learnt about the strategies of problem identification in organizational
management. This is an essential strategy because it helps individuals to identify issues faced
by the organizations and the causes of failures in an organization. i also was able to identify
different types of DT tools to identify organization challenges and solve them. I also used my
observation skills effectively I was able to identify effective strategies to overcome the
challenges and find solutions to them. This has been implied in my second post where I
mentioned “After observing thing minutely, I have learnt to point out all the possible
solutions of the issue” (see appendix 2).
Week 3: In this week I was able to learn about the fundamental steps to solve the problems
which we were able to identify on the previous week which we learnt during the workshop
sessions. I also learnt the five steps in the process of design thinking, namely, empathy,
definition, ideate, prototype and implementation and was able to understand how creativity
can be used to design effective solutions, which was outlined on my third post “Again on the
stage of Idea, the designer had to start generating the idea that was really a creative feeling
where we got an opportunity to think out of the box for reaching a possible idea.” (see
appendix 3).
Week 4: In this week, I was able to learn about value networks and how it can be mutually
beneficial to organizations by allowing effective sharing of information and knowledge. This
helped me to effectively gather primary and secondary data for effective design and
implementation. This was outlined in my fourth blog entry where I stated “Value networks
set up a connection between the individuals of an organization interacting to benefit one
another” (see appendix 4).
Week 5: In this week I was able to learn the significance of ethics in professional work, and
how it helped to ensure ethical practice in the collection and analysis of data, abiding the

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ethical guidelines. I understood how these guidelines prevent scientific misconducts and
supported reliability of the study which is important when one is working with confidential
data, which I mentioned on my fifth post “Ethical issues arise once you start the research with
people or trying to access confidential information of a company” (see appendix 5).
Week 6: In this week I was able to learn about technologies such as Computer Aided
Designing (CAD) and Additive Layer Manufacturing which helped to design the prototype
for the project through rapid prototyping process. I also learnt about the types of prototypes
and strategies to test prototypes and how it was important for the project, which I mentioned
on my sixth blog entry as “It can be said prototype testing for reduction of the risk that a
design may not perform as intended cannot always eliminate all the risks” (see appendix 6).
Week 7: In this week I was able to understand how prototypes helped to eliminate most risks
in a design and help in quality product development. I also faced significant challenges in
time management in order to meet the project milestones on time and how a time planner
could be helpful for effective management of time, which I mentioned on my seventh blog
entry as “In this process, we all learned the importance of time management where we ended
up building a time structure to help us effectively tackle the task” (see appendix 7).
Week 8: In this week, I was mostly engaged in data analysis work, and comparing the data
from different studies to find a definite pattern. I also learnt how effective data analysis could
help to better understand data; however I faced challenges in data analysis. This lead to stress
and nervousness among my group, which I mentioned on my eighth blog entry as “During the
process of presentation, I was a bit nervous and tensed and as I observed most of my group
members also felt more the same” (see appendix 8).
Week 9: In the final week, I understood that even though we faced some challenges during
the project, were still were able to successfully complete the design because of good team

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work and effective use of technology. Even though I tried my best to engage everyone, there
was a lack of complete engagement of the members and effective time management which
delayed the project, which I mentioned on my ninth blog entry as “At the end of the project,
time management issue was also bit of a problem in meeting the required deadline”.
Conclusion:
Reflective writing practice is an important strategy for learners which can help them
to enhance and support their learning process by reflecting upon their learning experiences,
and connecting them to their existing knowledge to develop the depth of their understanding.
In the given report, I reflected upon my learning experiences through the unit of design
thinking activity and how that has contributed to my personal as well as knowledge
development. By reflecting upon my learning experiences and weekly blog entries, I was able
to identify my strengths and weaknesses, based on which I could develop and action plan for
the next 6 months which has also been outlined next. Overall I feel that the project of design
thinking was very effective in the development of my knowledge and skills to manage and
design projects which I can use in my professional career.
Action Plan:
Developmental
Needs
How will I learn them Strategies
Developing
Technical skills
Through on job and off job
training
1. Enrolling for certification
programs
2. Working on internship
programs
Improving
Time
By learning to utilize time in a
more structured way and using
1. Attending workshops on time

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management
skills
time tables to manage work. management
2. Working on Internship
programs
Improving problem
solving skills
By learning the usage of problem
management tools to identify and
resolve problems
Working on Internship
programs
Using effective data
analysis skills
By learning various data analysis
methods.
1. Enrolling in data analysis
courses
2. Attending workshops on data
analysis
3. Researching academic literature
4. Reading books
Developing
communication
skills
By communicating more with a
diverse group.
1. Attending workshops and
seminars
2. Giving lectures and
presentations

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References:
Adnan, Y. M., Daud, M. N., Alias, A., & Razali, M. N. (2017). Importance of soft skills for
graduates in the real estate programmes in Malaysia. Journal of Surveying,
Construction and Property, 3(2).
Beech, N., McGill, I., & Brockbank, A. (2017). Reflective learning in practice. In Reflective
learning in practice (pp. 30-40). Routledge.
Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Sampson, J. (2014). Peer learning in higher education: Learning
from and with each other. Routledge.
Carey, G., Harrison, S., & Dwyer, R. (2017). Encouraging reflective practice in conservatoire
students: a pathway to autonomous learning?. Music Education Research, 19(1), 99-
110.
Coelho, V. A., Marchante, M., & Sousa, V. (2015). “Positive Attitude”: A multilevel model
analysis of the effectiveness of a Social and Emotional Learning Program for
Portuguese middle school students. Journal of adolescence, 43, 29-38.
Cox, T. L. (2017). Understanding Intermediate‐Level Speakers’ Strengths and Weaknesses:
An Examination of OPIc Tests From Korean Learners of English. Foreign Language
Annals, 50(1), 84-113.
Eriksson, M. (2017). Research Supervision as a Mutual Learning Process:: Introducing
Salutogenesis into supervision using" The Collegial Model". Health Promotion
International.

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Fidalgo-Blanco, Á., Sein-Echaluce, M. L., & García-Peñalvo, F. J. (2014). Knowledge spirals
in higher education teaching innovation. International Journal of Knowledge
Management (IJKM), 10(4), 16-37.
Gordon, M., Fell, C. W., Box, H., Farrell, M., & Stewart, A. (2017). Learning health
‘safety’within non-technical skills interprofessional simulation education: a
qualitative study. Medical education online, 22(1), 1272838.
Gould, N., & Taylor, I. (2017). Reflective learning for social work: research, theory and
practice. Routledge.
Grissom, J. A., Loeb, S., & Mitani, H. (2015). Principal time management skills: Explaining
patterns in principals’ time use, job stress, and perceived effectiveness. Journal of
Educational Administration, 53(6), 773-793.
Gurwin, J., Revere, K. E., Niepold, S., Bassett, B., Mitchell, R., Davidson, S., ... &
Binenbaum, G. (2018). A randomized controlled study of art observation training to
improve medical student ophthalmology skills. Ophthalmology, 125(1), 8-14.
Hazen, B. T., Boone, C. A., Ezell, J. D., & Jones-Farmer, L. A. (2014). Data quality for data
science, predictive analytics, and big data in supply chain management: An
introduction to the problem and suggestions for research and applications.
International Journal of Production Economics, 154, 72-80.
Jacob, E., Duffield, C., & Jacob, D. (2017). A protocol for the development of a critical
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nursing, 73(8), 1982-1988.
Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning,
scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & So

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Kong, S. C. (2014). Developing information literacy and critical thinking skills through
domain knowledge learning in digital classrooms: An experience of practicing flipped
classroom strategy. Computers & Education, 78, 160-173.
Larssen, D. L. S., Cajkler, W., Mosvold, R., Bjuland, R., Helgevold, N., Fauskanger, J., ... &
Næsheim-Bjørkvik, G. (2018). A literature review of lesson study in initial teacher
education: Perspectives about learning and observation. International Journal for
Lesson and Learning Studies, 7(1), 8-22.
Özsoy, G., & Ataman, A. (2017). The effect of metacognitive strategy training on
mathematical problem solving achievement. International Electronic Journal of
Elementary Education, 1(2), 67-82.
Stupple, E. J., Maratos, F. A., Elander, J., Hunt, T. E., Cheung, K. Y., & Aubeeluck, A. V.
(2017). Development of the Critical Thinking Toolkit (CriTT): A measure of student
attitudes and beliefs about critical thinking. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 23, 91-
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mastery learning approach to communication skills training. Journal of Pain and
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and transfer in transdisciplinary processes. Sustainability science, 10(4), 563-580.

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Zhang, Y., Xiang, T., Hospedales, T. M., & Lu, H. (2017). Deep mutual learning. arXiv
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Appendix 1: First Blog Post
Saturday, 4 August 2018, 1:45 PM
The mind set refers to the particular approach that an individual carry in dealing with
the external factors. However, factors such as trying out any concept without discussing
about it or without having any understanding about it is not a point for design set. This is due
to the reason that in the case of the design set, individuals behave like a designer and try to
solve the issues in creative, innovative and distinctive manner.
Thus, with having design mind set, they will not try anything blindly without
questioning them. In addition, they will less likely to go for the traditional way without
questioning them, rather they will opt for creative and distinctive approach. Though there are
few points that are applicable for me such as accepting other’s views and willingness to learn
new things. According to my mind set, I always believe in giving space to others in order to
gain ideas from them. In our last class assignment, we were given a group task where all the
group members came up with different ideas sometimes that is conflicting in nature.
Thus, providing the space for listening to others enabled me to identify the strengths
and weaknesses of their opinions and make them aware about that. In addition, this also
creates a positive impression among other and they feel a sense of involvement in the entire
process. My willingness to learn new things is also complimented with this point. The more
ideas I gathered from others, the newer things being learned by me.

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Appendix 2: Second Blog Post
Saturday, 11 August 2018, 1:28 PM
In this week I have learnt about managing organization is problem identification. I
think this is very important step for the managers to know how to identify the issues in an
organization because most of the time the results remain implicit before our eyes but we
cannot understand the reason of that failure. Though this week I have come to know that
through design thinking process, the leaders of the successful companies actually identify any
type of problems associated with their products or processes. This module has assisted me to
identify different types of DT tools for finding organizational issues and solve them in
multiple ways. In most of the cases, innovation is granted to be the method of solving various
types of problems for which the design thinking is actually originated.
In order to get the best result out of design thinking, it is mandatory to observe
differently from the traditional learning has taught me to observe. After observing thing
minutely, I have learnt to point out all the possible solutions of the issue. Despite the fact that
thinking outside the box and my comfort zone is quite difficult to be but by following these
steps, I am trying to see obvious aspect of a matter and then search for solution. Though this
method, I shall be able to focus on the demands of the customers by identifying their
personal. By applying design mindset in the innovation, finding solution becomes easy and
the leaders get competitive advantage for their products in the competitive market.

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Appendix 3: Third Blog Post
Friday, 24 August 2018, 7:28 PM
In this week, I learnt the importance of design thinking. Specifically learned about
the fundamental steps to resolve the problem. It was an interesting module as is started to
take part in the workshop sessions. However, in the second week, the lecture began with the
difference between design and business activities that are underlying the method of decision
making, process, values and the level of focus. Similar to this the first week of the round was
extremely communicate and exciting. The process of design thinking was classified into five
major steps: empathy, definition, ideate and prototype (Savery, 2015).
While progressing through this step I noticed that many of us within the group used
identical 10 tools. However, I liked the group focusing on the problem related to the café,
where we all had to define and identify the problem using different tools. In each of step, the
designer was needed to think so that the designer could develop the product in a way to solve
the problem (Mintrom & Luetjens, 2016). Therefore, the tool of empathy is a common tool
for all the designer. Again on the stage of Idea, the designer had to start generating the idea
that was really a creative feeling where we got an opportunity to think out of the box for
reaching a possible idea. The entire learning session using tools was exciting where I got the
chance to prepare to launch a plan for group work.

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Appendix 4: Fourth Blog Post
Monday, 3 September 2018, 6:57 PM
Value networks set up a connection between the individuals of an organization
interacting to benefit one another (Turki, 2012). It gives room for sharing information since
all the members are connected. This gives room for research to be undertaken with ease.
There are two design approaches which include qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Primary and secondary data are the two data types available. Primary data is the first-hand
data collected through questionnaire surveys, conducting interviews with structured
questions, and observations. However, there is the participant and nonparticipant observation.
Participant observer takes part in the research activity while nonparticipant researcher
observes the action with their identities concealed. There are several sources of secondary
data which includes; books and journals, newspapers, case files, television programs,
organization records, and internet (Yin, 2003).
In comparison, primary data is precise for your project hence data will be relevant
while secondary data may not be perfectly aligned with your plan. Again, primary data is
current and is time-consuming while secondary data might be outdated and consumes less
time. To get primary data, one requires the access to participants making it difficult but for
secondary data does not require any interaction with people making the process easy. Finally,
primary data collection carries ethical issues which need ethical clearance while secondary
data collection does not require any ethical consideration (Lowry, 2015)

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Appendix 5: Fifth Blog Post
Monday, 3 September 2018, 7:09 PM
Ethics refers to the uprightness of one’s behavior concerning others whose rights are
affected either directly or indirectly by your work. A typical research process involves
identification of the topic area to be researched and then develop a research plan on the
approaches to be used, how to data will be collected and analyzed (Humphreys, 2016). Also,
going to the field to collect data follows. The collected data is prepared for analysis and
concluding it. Finally, a report of the whole research is prepared, and any recommendations
and solutions to the problem outlined clearly.
Ethical issues arise once you start the research with people or trying to access
confidential information of a company. The privacy of the participants who offer to do the
interview privately and no significant others who participated is a concerned ethical issue.
Besides, there should be voluntary participation and no deception of participants to take part
in your research. Finally, getting informed consent from the organization and individual is
vital to get onto their premises to do research and also you should not disclose the names of
the participants if they request. Also, one should not leave any crucial information about the
research openly accessible, anything to be destroyed should be done immediately to prevent
malicious people from accessing the information.
Analysis of data involves the process of organizing information into meaningful
categories in tabular, graphical format so that the data collected makes sense. Concept
development is the process of combining similar ideas into groups and considering how
possible to connect ideas to create solutions work better is critical (Yin, 2003). Finally,
articulating the challenges involved and testing your assumption is essential to come up with
a clear, precise concept.

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Appendix 6: Sixth Blog Post
Saturday, 15 September 2018, 3:20 PM
The concept of prototype that refers to a model or a sample of a product, which is
utilized to value an innovative design to improve accuracy by organization predictors and
consumers. The focus of the study is on the Rapid prototyping that consists of an
accumulation of procedures that are utilized to speedily produce a model scale of a physical
part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data. The
Construction of the part which is also known as the 3D printing is generally used to do the
assembly or "additive layer manufacturing" technology. As per the today lectures, I learnt the
benefit of Rapid prototyping that helps in visualizing the thoughts and identification of the
flaws easier that would led to improvements. However, it may have some drawbacks that
include iterations that are time consuming and may lead to complexity.
There are three types of prototypes that may include sketching, storyboarding, wire
framing and paper prototyping. The prototype represents various compromises from the
ultimate design of production. Because of materials alterations, processes and fidelity in
design, there is also possibility that the final prototype may not perform really well even if
the design is really perfect and proper. The term prototype includes design, electronics,
semantics and software programming. A prototype is used generally for the development of a
new design to increase accuracy by users and system analysts. It can be said prototype testing
for reduction of the risk that a design may not perform as intended cannot always eliminate
all the risks.

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Appendix 7: Seventh Blog Post
Tuesday, 2 October 2018, 2:09 AM
Unlike in other parts of the design process, the use prototype was very helpful in
eliminating most of the risks which would affect the project in various different ways. In my
opinion, I have come to identify that technology has a significant impact on quality product
development. Through the shift of most customer perspective, the main priority of our design
process was to an emphasis on quality aspects which in turn consumed a lot of time (Allen,
2012). Due to this, time management proved to be a challenge to us in meeting the required
objectives in scheduled time. In this process, we all learned the importance of time
management where we ended up building a time structure to help us effectively tackle the
task. This also helped enlighten most of my day-to-day chores where with specific time plan
one can be able to achieve more than he or she ever anticipated. On the same note, this must
be one of the important considerations in the next design process in the approach of
enhancing the quality of the product (Koopman & Hakemulder, 2015).

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Appendix 8: Eighth Blog Post
Tuesday, 2 October 2018, 1:05 PM
Through the mindset of attaining the required outcome, the main focus of our group
was to re-evaluate some of the important objectives of the design process. This was mainly
achieved through the analysis and comparison of data collected with the continuous
development progress in different stages. In order to measure the success of our project, we
revised our understanding by testing with assumptions. Therefore, the launch preparation of
the prototype had a lot of anticipated reactions which was evidently witnessed in everyone
mostly by wondering if the chosen line will have the same reaction as we all expected. In the
approach of eliminating most of our doubts, we conducted some pre-presentation among
ourselves (Travers, Morisano, & Locke, 2015). The random presentation process helped us to
identify some of the weaknesses that we could have experienced during the design
presentation and how we could enhance our audience understanding (Gün, 2010). At this
stage, we also concentrated on identifying the major support materials in our research and
some of the main methodologies which led us to our final design presentation. Through the
proper preparation of the launch, I personally had significant improvement in my confidence
and majorly eliminating most of my doubtful thoughts.
During the process of presentation, I was a bit nervous and tensed and as I observed
most of my group members also felt more the same. It is at this moment, where everyone
contribution part in the development of the prototype significantly mattered on how the
solution of the problem would be received and most importantly create the required
sustainability in the organization. In my opinion, I believe the presentation of the design was
very successful by being able to eliminate most of the undesired outcome of the project. Our
approach to designing a customer-oriented product was one of the main successful objectives

23DESIGN THINKING
which also led to the good performance of the design. On the same note, I believe companies
and organizations should create more customer oriented approaches which should also be
enhanced by the utilization of interdisciplinary product development (Boud, Keogh, &
Walker, 2013). The interdisciplinary teamwork has been one major attributes the design
success where we have all learned effective ways of implementing our creative ideas into
tangible commodities. On the other hand, to complete the project there is a lot of other
features which must be considered, such as patience, budget, time, and others, thus to have
success in project outcome.

24DESIGN THINKING
Appendix 9: Ninth Blog Post
Wednesday, 3 October 2018, 1:25 AM
According to my opinion, I think the project design development was very successful.
Majorly, this was enhanced by the effective group coordination which made most of the tasks
we had to be effectively implemented. Through this, I also had great learning experiences
especially during the workshop practices where I learned CAD prototype simulation and
other important concepts such as the basic procedures of using Rapid Prototyping
(Kelchtermans, 2009). Despite this, during the design process, we also encountered some
challenges such as time management, insufficient and misleading data, budget allocation, and
generally some communication issues. The poor group engagement and communication was
mainly contributed by poor group understanding of one another. With this, we were unable to
fully comprehend one another perception and also the same reasons why we encountered
some challenges in problem-solving (Taylor, 2017). At the end of the project, time
management issue was also bit of a problem in meeting the required deadline. Emotional
management was also another challenging factor that I experienced in tackling various
objectives of the project such as field study and workshop practice. I also believe every one
of us had also an emotional challenge which he or she encountered during the design process.