Learning Reflection on Design Thinking and Entrepreneurial Activity

This essay provides a critical self-analysis of a student's learning experience in design thinking and entrepreneurial activity. The student reflects on their personal and knowledge development throughout the course, including their personal strengths and weaknesses. The essay details the student's action plan for future development, outlining key activities within the next six months. The student discusses the importance of design thinking in solving entrepreneurial problems, emphasizing the need for proper research, compatibility, and sustainability. The learning experience involved group activities, prototyping, and various class sessions that fostered skills like teamwork, creativity, and tolerance. The student also explores the importance of knowledge development in entrepreneurship, including the need for flexibility, adapting to changes, and learning from experiences. The essay concludes by highlighting the significance of client feedback and persona creation in business development.

Running head: LEARNING EXPERIENCE 1
Learning Experience
(Author’s name)
(Institutional Affiliation)

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 2
Table of Contents
1 Critical self-analysis of Design thinking and Entrepreneurial activity....................................3
1.1 Personal Development...............................................................................................................4
1.2 Knowledge Development..........................................................................................................5
2 My learning reflection from the Design thinking and Entrepreneurial activity.......................8
2.1 Personal Strengths....................................................................................................................9
2.2 Personal Weakness....................................................................................................................9
2.4 Areas That Need Development................................................................................................10
3 Action Plan Of Key Developments And Activities Within The Next 6 Months...................10
4 References..............................................................................................................................12

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1 Critical self-analysis of Design thinking and Entrepreneurial activity
From a young age, I had always dreamt of developing an innovative idea that would help
me venture into business and create employment opportunities for people in my country
especially the youths. When I joined college, I knew I had a more exceptional opportunity to
develop my dreams of being an innovative entrepreneur. In contrary to the first semester of the
school all student were required during the second semester to focus on their central subject
matters ( see the blog (1).July 2017). One of my chosen subject matter was on design thinking. I
chose design thinking because I wanted to explore complex methods that I can use in solving
entrepreneurial problems. Secondly, I also picked design thinking because I tried to find
techniques for developing logic imaginations, systematic reasoning and intuitive imaginations
that would enable me to build upon results not only to benefit my customers but also to satisfy
their demands (Van et al. 2016). The increase developments in technology, have enabled me to
understand that design thinking is far much beyond innovation and what an entrepreneur can
offer people. Instead, design thinking primary focus is on technology and the effectiveness of the
implemented innovation to impact on peoples life. One Of the primary reasons why most
innovations fails is attributed to lack of proper research in developing an innovation. Design
enterpreneurs should also not neglect the compatibility and sustainability fate of a design
flexibility in the market (Dalsgaard, 2014).
Design thinking process is not a one time process but rather a gradual process that
expose individuals to different methods that in turn create learning opportunities for areas to be
covered. At the start of our design thinking lesson, we were categorized into groups; In our
groups, we were required to develop a design topic which we would later pass to other groups
to draw pictures related to our topic choice ( See blog (1). July 2017). This would act as a

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genesis sample of ideology that our group intended to communicate. Design thinking requires
innovators to develop a design protype that would help them monitor an innovative process. A
protype is defined as model that is created with an intent of acting as a sample for the
inniovative process (Reymen et al 2017). For instance, our group had developed a topic on
home design which we again passed on another group to draw a picture on and again passed it
to another group to do the same. The purpose of passing our design topic to other group was
for evaluation purposes and analysis purposes of our chosen topic. Likewise, protyping is
geared towards improving a design evaluation and sharpening designers knowledge and skills of
the developed ideology. Protyping generally serves the purpose of providing information of the
set expectations to the real working systems rather than providing a theoriticaal concept of the
expectations. Prototyping also increases curiosity and individual interest in learning or working
towards a target they desire to achieve. The “design it” learning session presented an element of
proof of principle protype as it was draft of what was expected through out the learning session
but not the actual content of the design that would be covered in future classes. The proof of
principle prototype in design thinking, serves the role of substantianting main purposeful
feature of the proposed design but does not contain final product functionality (Sandberg et al
Holmström, 2015)
1.1 Personal Development
All the same, learning opportunity of the design period granted me the chance to
discover that developing innovative designs requires individuals full concentration and
awareness of what they inted to achieve. As an individual, I learnt that working in groups was
paramount for any person that desired to succed. I develop team work skills that enabled me to
easily collaborate with my group members and we were thus able to connect easily with other

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groups. Besides working with my group, my personal experience at the design experience
classes enabled me develop a personal tolerance personality as I was required to work closely
with members from other groups to ensure the stability of our design project. I discovered that
design process had different methodologies that had to be followed in developing an innovative
process (Norman & Verganti, 2014). Brainstorming of the topic to base our design sharpened my
creativity skills as I had to brainstorm of a topic over and over again; this enabled me to gain
extensive knowledge of the basic concept of the design that I would later develop before
commencing to settle for the concept. Individual development within a group is determined by
an individual ability to collaboratively work with team members in fulfilling a group goals.
Before beginning to work with a group the members should have better knowledge of what is
expected of them; members can gain knowledge of the group expectation by brainstorming and
developing a framework that would guide them through. Members should never settle for a
certain project unless they are certain, sure and ready to withstand the consequences of the
chosen design. For example at the first stage of the design thinking we brainstormed the topics
over and over again with the help of other groups until our group was able to generate a topic
picture. I felt that perspective of the group had been fulfilled and developed more interest to
continually participate In the future projects.
1.2 Knowledge Development
Knowledge development is the process of acquiring external knowledge different from the
internal experience that an individual already poses. Knowledge development process exposes an
individual to crucial information that they may not obtain when restricted to one area. It
promotes individual intellectual development as it involves cooperation and newer networks

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creations (Bellmann & Melendez-Ortiz, 2013). Knowledge development encourages tolerance
personality development and restricts dependence on an individual. Through knowledge
development, individuals can attain vast knowledge and experience in their fields of concern thus
promoting substantial development of individuals, organization or project agenda. Knowledge
development requires an individual to be flexible to changes that come along with
implementation process of an innovation and adapt to the changes whenever necessary.
Knowledge development does not, however, imply inventing new ideas while ignoring the
previous ones but it to a certain extent implies the adoption of new ideas while still putting into
consideration and absorbing past ideologies that may be of help. Knowledge development
discourages rigidity and widens an individual view of other undertaking perspectives that
promote innovation and entrepreneurship development (Agyei & Keengwe, 2014). For example,
when I joined the design it class, my expectation after the course was to meet the lecturer the
next lesson and exploit my learning interest (see the blog (1) July 2017). To my surprise, my
previous class lecturer was not there in the "think new" class, and I had to see another lecturer to
guide me through the course ( see the blog (2), August 2017), to my surprise, I found that
lecturer to more exciting and friendly. I later realized that I had readily adapted to the changes
due to my tolerance personality attitude, flexibility and desire to learn.
In business and entrepreneurship trade, knowledge development serves the purpose of
exposing an individual to newer opportunities while at the same time allowing people to learn
from their experiences and that of other without necessarily having to design (Ingersoll et
al.,2014). During my second class, we discovered on experimenting somethings to experience
newer ideas (see the blog (2), August 2017). While in our third class we were exposed to a mind
setting scenario where we shared our past experiences and developed and learned different

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problem-solving approaches from the solution (see the blog (3), August 2017). Adventures in
the two classes enabled me to discover that knowledge development involved exploring newer
opportunities, learning from your failures and that of others and developing a positive attitude.
During three categories, I also discovered that the bottom-up design and structured design were
paramount design methodologies for developing knowledge especially for enterperneurs who
desire to attract newer clients and retain their previous customers (Banfield, 2015). This is
because the design class allowed us an opportunity to develop our topic thus helped in creating
the work foundation which is a basis for bottom-up design. The think new, and the mindset up
classes enabled me to identify outputs and inputs such as learning from others and developing
problem-solving solutions which are structured design elements of design methodologies. From
lessons drawn from first to third class, I learn that knowledge development in the business world
has to be structured by entrepreneurs acknowledgement of what they want and entrepreneurs
flexibility in creating newer opportunities for customers through learning and adapting different
problem-solving techniques (Lee,2016).
Our fourth class involved brainstorming and activities visualization which entailed finding a
problem and using design thinking technique to solve the problem (see the blog (4), August
2017.). In our fifth class we carried out a journey mapping of our previous activities, compared
it to our future plans and learnt on how to utilize our start and ending decisions (see blog (5),
August 2017), while our sixth class was a reflection of our daily activities (see blog (6),
September 2017). From which we were guided onto working with teams in the seventh class
where we were given a dessert to prepare as a team ( see the blog (7), September 2017). From
the fourth to the seventh class, I learnt tthat knowledge development is a process that required
individuals to identify the different challenges to innovation, seek solution to such problems

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through reflecting on their past experiences and by weighing on the future implications of their
solutions to the project design. From the fourth to the seventh class, I learned that knowledge
development is a process that required individuals to identify the different challenges to
innovation, seek the solution to such problems through reflecting on their past experiences and
by weighing on the future implications of their solutions to the project design (Schein,2017).
The eighth class involved getting feedback of our work process whereby we fetch input
from our friends who are considered as customers. Each team discussed other group members
work and developed possibly strategies for improving our products and customer service to
clients (see the blog (8),13th September 2017), While the ninth class was based on personal
development based on our derivatives from the last level. We later learned on developing a plan
in our tenth class where we were introduced to market product presentation techniques (see the
blog (10),22nd September 2017). From the experiences earned in these courses, I learned that
gaining knowledge on clients feedback was essential as it helps entrepreneurs to research on
better techniques for improving their businesses and to increase idea on persona creation.
Persona creation boosts a product brand and thus prompting the need for better and improved
product presentation technique which is an essential aspect of business development.
2 My learning reflection from the Design thinking and Entrepreneurial activity
2.1 Personal Strengths
From the design thinking and entrepreneurial activity I have learned on the significance of
participation in enhancing and promoting better design thinking and entrepreneurial

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developments. As an entrepreneur, I have determined to be dependent, reliable and accountable.
A good entrepreneur is one who has been able to overcome all the odds of business challenges
by believing in themselves despite the situation and working towards fulfilling their desired
business goals (Ayala & Manzano, 2014). During the second class, as an entrepreneur, I
practiced dependence by consulting with another lecturer after I had missed my lecturer. As an
entrepreneur and design thinker, I enhanced my teamwork ability by working and collaborating
with other people to ensure the achievement of the organizations goals. My most significant
milestone from the entrepreneurial activity was the ability to discuss our experiences with my
group members and design solutions to solve the problems by developing problem-solving
techniques and designs.
2.2 Personal Weakness
Nevertheless, the interactions during the learning activity ignored focusing on significant
aspect of design thinking and entrepreneurship development such as looking for markets and
expanding on customer niche after getting feedback from customers. More often than not,
customers do exit from an organization either due to poor quality or due to better quality at a
cheap or a more improved price (Sheu, 2014). Entrepreneurs can therefore not ignore the aspect
of devising new products and customer service techniques after getting feedback from
customers, creating persona alone is not enough to attract customers into a marketing niche.
Secondly, the design thinking has ignored the marketing mix techniques in the design molding
activity. Design thinking by entrepreneurship should be all rounded and focus on all aspects of
business development. The entrepreneur activity has ignored the technological element in
designing the business development plans which dramatically influences the intensity of a b
business development process. Another thing that the entrepreneurship has overlooked in design

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thinking is knowledge acquisition by involving external and more experienced professionals to
guide and train people through advanced design thinking processes that will promote a
globalized developed business. Another personal weakness portrayed form the entrepreneurship
and design thinking activity is that people are not allowed chance to work alone as they are
working in teams throughout the program. While teamwork is encouraged, people should also
be encouraged to work dependently to avoid social loafing and prevent and over-dependence on
other individuals.
2.4 Areas That Need Development
1. Training
2. Technology advancement
3. Independence
3 Action Plan Of Key Developments And Activities Within The Next 6 Months
Training
Entrepreneurs should attend more training o design thinking to equip themselves with
more knowledge and skills on significant design concepts development. Practice, exposes an
individual to newer opportunities, expand their understanding of the design cycles and gives
trainees a chance to learn from the failures of professionals (Millard & Richardson, 2015). I
will advocate for external training professionals in our college to assist to provide a better
understanding of the design approach. Secondly ,I will conduct further research on free online
training sites and encourage my friend to join such sessions. I will also advocate for training of
the various marketing mix as businesses entrepreneurs and innovators cannot prosper without

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considering the functionality of marketing mix principles in influencing business market and
competition (Haynes, 2015)
Technology Advancement
I would encourage the use of technologically advanced techniques in guiding people through
the design process. Some of the ways of applying technology are to teach people on how to make
good use of the internet in researching and establishing networks. The world has gone digital,
and we can't, therefore, ignore the benefits of globalization by being limited to specific fields.
Technology advancement in the mode of presentation and learning will foster better skills
atainance and improve an individual knowledge awareness of what is happening around the
world.
Encourage Independence
Teamwork and team collaboration are important determinants of the group and
organizational development. However, some members may take advantage of the team and
exploit other person efforts in the organization. Members should be encouraged to do other
functions solely rather than in a group ( Schippers, 2014).This will help people to think out of
the box and also develop a broad and sharp means of solving conflicts. I intend to disperse
group work, encourage students to work on some projects individually and share their
experiences with colleagues.

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4 References
Agyei, D. D., & Keengwe, J. (2014). Using technology pedagogical content knowledge
development to enhance learning outcomes. Education and Information Technologies,
19(1), 155-171.
Ayala, J. C., & Manzano, G. (2014). The resilience of the entrepreneur. Influence on the success
of the business. A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Economic Psychology, 42, 126-135.
Banfield, R. (2015). Design Leadership: How Top Design Leaders Build and Grow Successful
Organizations. " O'Reilly Media, Inc.".
Bellmann, C., & Melendez-Ortiz, R. (Eds.). (2013). Trading in Knowledge:" Development
Perspectives on TRIPS, Trade and Sustainability." Routledge.
Dalsgaard, P. (2014). Pragmatism and design thinking. International Journal of design, 8(1).
Haynes, S. W. (2015). Combat mindset: the importance of training.
Ingersoll, C., Jenkins, J. M., & Lux, K. (2014). Teacher knowledge development in early field
experiences. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 33(3), 363-382.
lee, J. (2016). Deloitte. Retrieved from
Deloitte.com: https://www2.deloitte.com/ca/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/
consumer-driven-innovation.html
Millard, K., & Richardson, M. (2015). On the importance of training data sample selection in
random forest image classification: A case study in peatland ecosystem mapping. Remote
sensing, 7(7), 8489-851
Norman, D. A., & Verganti, R. (2014). Incremental and radical innovation: Design research vs.
technology and meaning change. Design issues, 30(1), 78-96.