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Process Journal: Evaluation

The group will be meeting on Wednesday to discuss how well we stuck to the team norms documentation that we put together at the beginning of the project as well as weigh the different methods by which we will be grading the projects of our peers as well. There were several different tools in the coursework that go over how to review the different steps that we took in the Creative Problem Solving process that we can use in order to rank our own performance as well as how effectively we addressed the problem. Individually, we may also go over our independent contributions by utilizing the critiques of the jury of peers method.

To start this process we will likely need to go through each step that we took as a team starting from Unit 8 with the Acceptance and analysis. The Pay as You Go Method will help tremendously in this effort as we can write out and return to the goal-fulfilling criteria. By asking ourselves “What was the goal of this part of the assignment?” And framing our responses subjectively “We accomplished X in order to meet Y needs, I contributed through Z” we can remove all emotional hang-ups from the process. In this manner I can appraise how well the team and I did in the project and we may also reflect as a larger team where we could have done better as a group. For the rest of the teams, our peers, when we review their projects we can use the same rubric with some modifications.

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Implementation Part 2

This week’s Implementation process was a bit stressful as we had to examine where our first version of the project, the customer journey map fell short. We also had to separate out the difference between the final prototype and the final deliverable. The difference between the two is important as the final prototype is a combination of a marketing campaign, website, and business plan while the final deliverable is that presentation combined with our team process documentation. Because of that we have several deliverables due for the next week in order to best present to both our class as well as to hypothetical investors and customers.

We have had several different failures with the business plan that can be chalked up to a breakdown in communication. This occurred when one team member presented a planned rollout without the consideration for where we may be sourcing the adobe from, and so we will need to scrap that timeline as it is no longer aligns with our goals. Additionally the team took the time to painstakingly outline the look and feel of the home and collect imagery to be used in both the marketing campaign as well as the website. The plan was to use this to help model the home before as a drawing I made first before handing off the design to Lauren to model in 3D. As I spent the time to begin to draw a different team member who was not able to attend the meeting presented a separate model that I will now need to integrate with our design or request they re-model it with the aspects of the design that were approved by the group for our next prototype presentation. 

The timing of these models are important to get done this week and early next week as the imagery and copy for the website and marketing campaign are dependent on these deliverables. If this cannot be finished this week it will cause a bottle neck in the project plan and cause us to rush over the course of the next two weeks which should be avoided if at all possible. What we can plan for next week is a Design Style guide to be implemented on the marketing campaign which includes fonts, colors, and other aspects to keep the brand language succinct.

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Process Journal Implementation

In our Implementation within the time constraints of the project we decided to scale back on our consumer group to early adaptors for the sake of simplicity. The next step was to begin story boarding a potential set of circumstance that would lead to a use case scenario. This allowed us to develop a persona, a prototype user journey map, and key drivers of success. Another team member, Lara Dean, is already prototyping a display webpage to use in the assignment but with this iteration of a user empathy story, we can use the narrative that it creates as the structure for the following deliverables.

With the key drivers and steps to creating a pitch outlined this week, we will be able to begin pitching a Marketing campaign with an attached business presentation. In this manner, we can demonstrate our value proposition to our target market while simultaneously demonstrating how business to consumer interaction would take place. With the addition of a cost and margin breakdown, we could also pitch the same product to potential investors and contractors looking to work with the team. For the next step of the process, we will likely need to follow up and start building out renderings and models of a standard home model. As Roberto Doumet Eljuri has stated, there will need to be different modular designs that could work within the same floor plan and so I will need to begin drafting renderings and sketches of each to use for both our website mockup and advertising.

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Ideation Process

My ideal process for pursuing rapid idea creation is work independently before converging and reviewing all ideas before engaging in “What if..?” questioning and reframing our current solution state. This allows us to stretch what is possible and pursue speculative futures. To this end my team started by utilizing a group brainstorming activity where we started by independently coming up with at least three ideas each under a time limit. The goal was to come up with a fleshed out idea that can either be added or left behind in what I call the ‘Road-Trip’ model. The road trip model explains that while all ideas have some value, not all of them will be useful for the problem solving journey and should be left behind.

After we all fleshed out our ideas we returned together as a group to review the subjects and sort them into one of three categories that we identified as primary components to affordable housing: Finance, Technology, and Community. From there we began to review which ideas caused us to pause and reflect and which ones didn’t quite fit our goals or our problem statement. To this end, we defined our three components by outlining what each needed to succeed and which of our speculative ideas developed during out brainstorming sessions would help us accomplish this. 

Our results lead us to some conclusions that were unexpected like enabling land and home ownership either through neighborhood CO-OP or through investment by businesses and industries interested in developing their own municipality. Additionally to keep the material the homes were printed out of sustainable and low cost, we looked at the opportunities developed recently by the team at Emerging Objects who created huts made out of locally sourced adobe. These are concepts that have been attempted in the past but not widely adapted due to either emerging technology and or a combination of a lack of infrastructure. With that in mind, part of our approach in asking “what if..?” was to speculate whether a business could implement those processes successfully. 

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Problem Definition

There are several new technologies that allow for quicker, more affordable building techniques to make home prices more attainable to first time home buyers. However none of these techniques have gained a proper foothold in the market due to zoning and building requirements. Which of these techniques can be the most effective and in what manner?

Based on my technology and process oriented research I decided to define the problem under the lens of technological adoption in a consumer market. With the emergence of 3D printing and modular home building practices, there are many early adaptors, but none widely successful enough to dramatically change market buying patterns. As a result, certain cost effective technology that may replace antiquated styles of home building cannot be implemented without proper infrastructure. These take the form of support systems and processes that get created in the early adoption phase in zoning and construction in order to compensate for the change. The problem therefor is to create a product that has a value add worth the investment in changing these patterns.  

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Analysis

In this prefabricated home project, I have sought out research from a variety of sources in order to inform how I would analyze the data. For information on materials, I looked at Architecture’s digest, Design and Material Science schools, and design blogs. For general information about cheaper building procedures and building types I took a look at non affiliate enthusiast sites and state and local data from non for profits and firms. Whenever I am in my research phase I try to vary the data that I receive from non-profit data, to federal data, to literary information from publications in order to get a holistic view of the problem space. This helps me inform which part of the problem to address and what resources are around to design a solution.

During this stage I usually have what I like to call “runaway train brain” where my excitement over new materials and tools in the area of research lead me on thought tangents. This lends itself well to the methods of force-fitting these techniques into a possible solution through writing and journaling. In this project, this technique resulted in me writing about new techniques of wool felting and shaping developed by the university of Michigan and how that can be used to revolutionize the development of quick-install insulation. For the remainder of the data that I have analyzed this week I used a morphological analysis to make logical and data based comparisons between the existing solutions widely available on the market today. This helps me find out where the gaps in the market are and where is prime for differentiation.

In this manner, I have identified Industry trends in the development of container homes and prefab homes that make them cheaper and easier to build. These advances leaves room to improve the sustainability and accessibility of home ownership while navigating the demands of zoning laws within the united states. With this in mind, it may help the program to combine several manufacturing methods to create an at least 800 square foot home.

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Accepting the Task

The project that my team is currently working on is prefabricated houses and how they can be made more accessible using new fabrication methods. In theory, if we succeed in this endeavor, we can improve affordable housing and create a larger demand for new technology. This larger demand will eventually incentivize the creation of cheaper, higher output, machines and fabrication methods thereby making the homes even more affordable. 

With more affordable homes available, more homes can be built and bought and the economy behind it creates more construction jobs and demand for 3D fabrication specialists. With better building standards and timeless design aesthetics these homes can accrue value unlike manufactured homes and be more energy efficient in the longer term. Of course this requires careful research and planning as well as understanding of supply chain basics. However, by carefully planning bespoke features and limitations we can ensure sustained growth and supply without overcomplicating the supply chain.

As the project has an emphasis on 3D printing, laser cutting, and new fabrication methods, for my personal development this is going to give me a lot of practical experience. Thanks to the nature of how these fabrication techniques scale, I can also put together prototypes and practice my craft. This is important because the same practices I would use to put together a model, say in CAD, to be 3D printed or laser cut to scale I can easily use for both the prototype and a potential final projects if the project is widely successful. This reinforces the idea that these fabrication methods can be used for personalization and testing of the product down the road.

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Problem Solving with The Quincil

This past week I had the good fortune to Interview The Quincil, author and artist of The Secrets of Soulford on Webtoon. You can catch updates on her webcomic every Friday, or get a sneak peak on Patreon

How do you generate ideas? (How, when, and where are you inspired? What inspires you? What obstacles do you face in coming up with a new idea and how do you overcome those obstacles?)

For me, new ideas usually come from stories I really like and want to make a version of my own, or ideas that would make the kind of story I myself would want to read! The Secrets of Soulford is actually a combination of these two! Oftentimes I’ll find myself watching a movie or reading a book and thinking “wouldn’t it be cool if…” and thus an idea is born! For me, the biggest obstacles to having new ideas are usually the technicalities and research involved to make them believable. There’s no easy way around this, all one can really do is bite the bullet and put in the work, haha!

What process(es) do you use to solve problems? (Describe the steps of your problem-solving process. Explain your journey from inspiration to implementation.)

When it comes to getting past roadblocks while writing, my first go-to is usually to approach the issue from a different angle. That technique mostly takes the form of looking at the current situation from a different character’s perspective! I also find that a lot of the time, I’ll be having issues with the story because I’m not looking deep enough into how a particular character would truly feel about the given circumstance. If the two aforementioned attempts don’t work, I’ll start spitballing and theorizing; I’ll come up with ridiculous ideas or try and cut something that I consider to be really important so I can find out if it actually is or not!

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On Creativity as a Process

What Does Creativity Mean to You?

The universal experience of reaching epiphany in the shower is one that I believe is more common than believed. Where, after shutting down your laptop and transitioning home, you suddenly have the answer to a problem you were encountering at work or a retort to that off handed comment your coworker made while standing under running water. In that moment of mindfulness you have allowed your mental state to shift and for the influences and stray thoughts wash through you when all of a sudden, an answer to a question you had not asked appears to you. It is unannounced though not unwelcome. 

Creativity isn’t just the Eureka Moment that strikes you as you stand in your bathroom toweling off. It is only the illumination stage of problem solving process that you may or may not knowingly be working through. In this example your workday was the preparation and disciplined research, your commute and relaxation at home an incubation stage, before reaching this illumination wherein the answer to your question seems so clear. However, to assume that this is the extent of creativity is a fallacy. If ingenuity is the trait used reach your answer in the third stage of problem solving then creativity is the process by which you arrived there as well as the final step of verifying your ideas. This is because if you cannot execute your idea into something tangible you have no evidence of your creativity. Without such evidence you cannot be verified by a jury of peers as a creative.

In this manner of thinking, creativity is an endeavor that must be seen through to the end. It requires action to match the thought and a knowledge base suitable enough to give yourself the tools needed to fuel your innovation engine, a model of creativity created by Tina Seelig of Stanford University. From my own experience, this is part of the verification step in the process where I usually make the most mistakes. My knee jerk reaction in the past has been to doubt whether or not I am qualified enough to take this idea from the concept phase to the tangible through imposter syndrome. However, the desire of bringing an idea to term, whether or not it resolves the problem I started with, incentives me to cross the finish line. From this perspective, creativity as a process can be a powerful motivator as well.

Where the finish line is for the process is a matter of perspective and fulfillment. In some circumstances this can be upon the completion of a minimum viable project or in others a product that is ready to be stocked in shelves or launched online. This does not mean that there is nothing else to be improved upon once a deliverable is presented. The virtue of the problem solving process is that it is cyclical and the product may be improved as it matures with its audience. Through use, the solution you arrived at may be studied and prepared for the creative process to begin anew and a product, despite its rocky start, may be improved with new, innovative solutions.

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My approach to problem solving