For our final year, we are required to complete a UX project, from initial discovery and idea generation to a prototype ready for development. The scope of this project is open to our own ideas, with the only limitations being that it is relevant to the course and it meets the hand-in deadline in early May.
This is an exciting as well as daunting project, with many moving parts and requirements. As with all projects, it will require generating ideas, research, and many rounds of iteration to achieve a final deliverable. This blog will cover the initial idea generation, discovery and research aspects of the project.
Here is my Miro Board, which contains research, ideation, and other miscellaneous tasks for this project.
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVJ2nllB4=/?share_link_id=655831993336
Coming into this year, I had an idea of the areas and problems I wanted to focus on for my major project. During my time at university, I have participated in several projects both within the university and beyond. This has provided me with the opportunity to uncover issues that cause difficulty for people that I would like to explore further.
To begin the process of generating ideas, I took a sheet of A3 paper and started listing out problems that I am aware of. I started with six topics, which I took in turn to expand into more detail.
Once I had several problems, I went through them, refining them to reveal those with the most opportunities. I then listed these on a second sheet of paper, this time listing potential solutions to each issue.
I had a list of problems and potential solutions, and I developed some early problem statements for each one. This allowed me to put myself in the place of the people who struggled with the problems I had identified and could benefit from my proposed solutions.
To refine the list to three ideas, I initially discarded any idea for which I had realised would be beyond the scope of what I could realistically achieve.
I initially ended up still having four ideas: