When designing products, engineers will try to consider what the end user needs in order to solve the problem at hand. However, many times this guesswork leads to a product which only partially fixes the problems the end user experiences. To solve this issue, Design Thinking utilizes the power of Empathy. To effectively empathize, Design Thinkers utilize an Empathy Interview. Instead of asking a set of questions to the user, an Empathy Interview asks the user one overarching question, and the interviewer documents the emotions shown on a sheet called an empathy probe. Rather than documenting what the user says, an empathy probe is used to record what the user said, how it was said, how their body language reacted, and anything else that helps record the emotion felt during the interview. To better understand this process, I interviewed my classmate Alaina about how she reacted to the COVID pandemic. During the interview, I found that watching more than what she said gave a deeper insight into how her problems affected her. For example, when asked about what she did over the summer of 2020, Alaina talked about how she picked up a part-time job working for her dad. While she described her job, her eyes lit up and she sat up straighter while talking about it. These subtle cues typically left out with a normal interview helped me gain a better understanding of how much she enjoyed that summer job (For a full description of the interview, please refer to the attached empathy probe). Having this information when designing something for an end user takes the guesswork of what is wrong and quantifies it into something concrete the designer can work off of when creating a solution.
While working on my community action project with Tri-Faith, empathizing with the members of the organization helps us not only learn what the problem is, but also have a deeper intuition of how frustrating these problems can be to influence the design process. For example, while interviewing an agronomist who works with Tri-Faith, he described to us one of the frustrations he had with a problem in the garden. While he was describing, his body posture became more intentional, and his hand movements became more active. By seeing this through the lens of the Empathy Interview, I could feel how frustrating these problems are. Because of this emotional insight, we can now categorize this frustration with other frustrations to see if a bigger picture problem is at hand. While in these interviews, starting questions that are open ended help give the interviewee freedom to take the interview in any direction they like. Asking follow-up questions specific to what they are talking about allows us to gather precise data and stay focused on the topic at hand so the story does not wander. Moving forward, I hope to use these tactics and ideas from the Empathy interview to help me design products with the end user instead of for them.
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When working to solve a problem, one must consider two important aspects: what is causing the problem and who the problem affects. If an engineer designs a solution which only treats the symptoms of the problem, then the problem may create bigger issues in the future, as they did not fix the underlying cause to the problem. Similarly, the engineer could solve the cause of the problem, but do so in a way which harms the people the problem affected, causing more problems in the process. In order to accurately pinpoint the cause of the problem and design something for the people affected, the designers need to have empathy for their individuals. In this way, the designers can tailor their solution towards the affected individuals and satisfy those who the product is designed for. To improve their products, many designers will visit the environment where the problem originated to gain a better understanding of the problem and generate new product ideas. In some cases, a miscommunication may occur between the designer and those who will receive the product; in these instances, visiting the environment would allow the designer to learn what actually is wrong and design for that. For example, in Extreme by Design, one of the teams had a design in mind before traveling to the location their product would go. After seeing that the problem they designed for had no application to the actual problem, the team went back to the drawing board and fixed the solution to fit the problem. Had they not visited the place, then the team could have created a product with no reasonable use in the environment. I know whenever I start to work on a problem, I will use phrases and jargon that pertain to that area. For example, if I’m solving a calculus problem, I may refer to the integral of a certain function. For the people who don’t know calculus, they may feel confused and wonder what exactly I’m talking about. If someone not experienced aske, I then have to think about how I understand what they mean and replace the one word answer with the definition. In Design Thinking, many times people design products for individuals who have little to no experience in the methods they may use. If they approach the problem as someone without the knowledge and experience in the fields they do, then they would design a solution using conventional methods that the end-user understands. This leads to a product that the user not only can work, but also can understand how it works so they are not afraid of it. While working towards a solution in teams, we are all bound to run into conflicts. For example, let’s analyze this scene from the popular movie Waterboy: (see embedded video) Although many of us would love to address conflicts in a physical manner, this often leads to lawsuits and the problem still is not solved. Instead, teammates should work to understand where the other individual stands and compromise until they find a satisfactory solution. For me, I take a read of the room to see what the other teammates are doing. If someone steps up and has an idea, I step back and listen to it, providing feedback and extra ideas if any come to mind. However, if nobody steps in with something, I will put forth my idea and ask others for feedback. The whole process boils down to how to most effectively get the group to move forward; if that’s by me or someone else, it doesn’t matter. Once we have an idea, I try to make sure everyone is involved but if nobody else is taking the initiative, then I will step in and make sure things progress. After taking time and reflecting on what would represent my ideal self, I have decided to use the word ‘kind’. During my childhood, my parents taught me to treat others how I wanted to be treated. At first, I understood this as ‘don’t be mean.’ Growing up, I learned ‘don’t be mean’ only got me so far. I didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings, but I also felt lost and unheard. I didn’t give anyone special attention, and they didn’t give me any. One day in grade school, I was having a less than stellar day and a kid came up to me to ask how I was doing. Suddenly, I felt a world apart from where I was; someone came to check in on me and that made me feel better. After a few more kids showed me these acts of kindness, I finally realized what I should have known instead of ‘don’t be mean’: be kind. They gave me special attention and made me feel valuable to them. So, I started doing the same for others. When I am kind to someone, seeing their face light up when I remember their name or watching their eyes sparkle when I compliment them fills me with joy. So, the next time when I have a bad day, I look for the good in someone else’s. Eventually, good finds its way into mine.
Throughout the film “It Might Get Loud,” Jimmy Page, Edge, and Jack White each show leadership through both their ability to create their own unique playstyles and working together to play each other's songs at the end of the movie. Although he felt discouraged through his early career, Jimmy Page eventually realized his calling was to write and play his own music, not other peoples’ music. This realization came to him at a studio session, where he felt limited by having to record the first read of a part and not add his own creative ideas. Eventually, Page started writing and playing for his own groups, giving himself the freedom to explore new frontiers with the guitar. In stark contrast, Edge found his voice on the guitar through adding different effects and distortions. These new layers of sound helped define Edge’s play style, as he does not settle for stock effects and tries to replicate what’s in his head every time he hears it. In the movie, we see Edge’s setup: a huge custom effects board connected to an effect rack used for studio work. On the rack, Edge has a multitude of studio-grade rack effects he can alter however he wishes. Jack White, the ‘black sheep’ of the group being the youngest and newest player in the scene, achieves his style using broken or damaged instruments, and modifying existing instruments to create a one-of-a-kind sound and setup. White has played with toy guitars, used guitars, and instruments most musicians would classify as junkyard material to record and perform his pieces. When put together to play each other's songs, we see these three dynamics rebound off each other, stepping into roles of leadership for their songs while stepping back when the other two’s songs are being played by the group. Through their own careers and their time together, Page, Edge, and White all blaze their own path while keeping effective communication techniques to work well in a team setting. I have thought a lot about what it means to matter. Looking at various places where they define what ‘mattering’ looks like, I have found my own definition. People matter if they make an impact on the world around them. Given that every human leaves behind an impact of some kind wherever they go, this makes everyone inherently matter. In politics, every vote matters; in climate change, every greenhouse gas expelled from someone’s car matters; in business, every sale matters. The guitarists shown in the movie matter because of the impact of their songs. Each of them has played for sold out venues, filled with people who resonate with their music and message. To the audience, those players matter to them. Jimmy Page has written and performed someone’s favorite song; Edge has played a solo that knocked the socks off somebody in the nosebleeds at a concert thrilled to even see him perform live; Jack White has put together instruments and made sounds which have helped make people smile on their way to work. By creating positive impacts in their audiences’ lives, the guitarists have mattered and created a purpose for themselves. By extension from how the guitarists lived a life that matters, we too can live a life that matters by positively impacting others. Now, how one positively impacts others is left up to them. Some help others by raising money to donate to those in need. While that is very noble and helpful to those they donate to, not everyone has the time or resources to do so. Still, one can help others by being kind. In fact, I would say someone who is kind to others but cannot give money has a better consciousness than those who give money purely for personal gain. At the end of the day, living a mattering life just means being kind to your fellow human beings. Life is really hard, and if someone shares a warm smile and kind words, it can make all the difference for somebody having a rough day. I know it has helped me, and that’s why I try to share kindness with others every chance I get. When someone mentions the word ‘leader’, many imagine a bold, courageous hero who guides their group to success. Whether they find it in fiction or from examples in the real world, we are constantly surrounded by images of leaders. But what exactly does a leader accomplish? Some would argue leaders tell others what to do, while others claim leaders simply act as a counselor while the other team members do their jobs. Observing these diverse approaches, I have come to my own conclusion as to what a true leader is. Although many hold a leadership role, true leaders focus on supporting everyone involved because they understand humans both make up the team and use the solution. Through its many different qualities, leadership manifests itself in all roles of a team. When considering where to look for leadership, many only search the official leadership titles to find it. However, every role in a team requires leadership of some kind. Team members each have responsibilities, and in order to complete them they must have responsibility, efficiency, and an ability to receive feedback on what others have to say about their work. Looking towards the leadership role, the ideals of responsibility, efficiency, and proper communication all come to mind. The individual’s and the leader’s qualities match because they both describe the same thing. Every individual on a team is a leader, they just work behind the leader. Using this same logic, the leader also must work well as a team member. Because of this union of leader and team member, the best leaders work alongside their teammates instead of ordering them around to do as they see fit. Many times, I have found myself working in a group where the leader would ask a lot of the members, while at the same time having no capable way of doing the task by themselves. Because of this, many times leaders in this style do not produce quality results from their teams. Contrast this with a leader who asks for a reasonable amount of work from each team member, while also pulling their own weight. Through their approach to this, the team members respect the leader and will follow their direction a lot more closely, creating a higher quality project. Since both leader and team member have the same qualities, both lend themselves to present unique facets of leadership. By infusing passion and charisma into their leadership style, empathetic leaders fuel their members' desire for success in a project. During his TED talk, Benjamin Zander talked about his realization of what a conductor’s purpose is in an ensemble. “[The conductor] depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful.” (17:32) Without the orchestra, the conductor cannot create a beautiful symphony. Similarly, a leader cannot produce a solution on their own; they require the help of their team to build something bigger than all of them. To motivate them, I personally use tactics which focus on what the team members want to do. When focusing on what each team member wants, they all have something they want to work on, creating motivation to finish the project. In another part of the TED talk, once Zander figured out the distinction on conducting, he claimed he could tell if he was conducting right by looking into his players’ eyes and seeing if they were ‘shining.’ (17:56) While shining does not have a standard metric of measurement, I think we all intuitively understand what Zander looks for. People feel excited about something, and they can’t help their body sitting up straighter and their eyes ‘lighting up’. Effective leaders know when these non-verbal cues enter and how to bring them about: by inspiring passion. Having a team which already has a passion for the project allows for a smoother workflow, but sometimes, not all team members feel passionate about the project. In these scenarios, empathetic leaders level themselves with those who feel indifferent towards the project so they can understand why it does not spark joy in their lives. After meeting them where they are, these leaders walk them back towards having an enjoyable experience with their work so the team member can share the group’s passion for the project. Using this process of looking for the indifferent and reeling them back in, empathetic leaders work to feed their team’s drive for success. While anyone can lead, it takes a responsible leader to effectively work with a team to achieve goals in a timely fashion. Inspiring and motivating team members play a big part in an effective leader, but without responsibility, it holds none of the weight. Without responsibility, leaders lose their spot as a team member and turn into nothing but delegators. While this can help organize a workflow, not having a responsible leader causes them to lose respect from their team. This loss hurts them moving forward, as the team will not respond with the same attentiveness as they would with a responsible leader. On the contrary, a responsible leader must not only lead the group, but also work on their part of the project. They take responsibility for their part and the entire project as well (without dismissing credit from their hard-working team). By doing this, they earn the respect of their team because the leader holds themselves no higher than all their teammates. As such, the teammates do not see their leader as a ‘higher up’, but rather as a fellow team member they follow direction from. Since the leader acts as a team member, they all will take care of their work on time. The leader, as a respected figure in the team, now can make their team powerful, just like Zander does with his conducting. Through pulling their own weight, leaders can win over the respect of their team and motivate them to produce results because they respect what the leader has to say. While different leaders have their ways, ‘true’ leaders focus on supporting their team to finish projects faster and achieve greater results. I have always had a fascination with how leaders can lead in such diverse ways, yet still yield the same results. With those diverse styles comes diverse team experiences. Whenever I think back on projects, I rarely consider what the outcome was. Instead, I think of who I worked with, how we worked together, and the memories of the process. Some, I look back on with great fondness and chuckle because of how fun the process became. Other projects, I think about how much of a drag the leader put on the rest of the group and how I could not wait to finish it. I consider this a lot whenever I lead groups, and hopefully I create happy memories while we work. To you, the reader, I ask of you the same question Zander asks himself when he does not see the gleam in his players’ eyes: “Who am I being so that my players’ eyes are not shining?” |
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