Class 1—Make It Real

Welcome to Class 1 of Design Kit: Prototyping

We're excited to have you join us! Design Kit: Prototyping is a four-week curriculum. It will build on your knowledge of the human-centered design process and help you become a more effective, innovative problem solver by strengthening your prototyping skills.

If you've haven't read the Course Overview materials or taken the Pre-course Survey, please do so now. They will help you immensely in understanding how this course is structured, what to expect over the next few weeks, and how to effectively use the NovoEd platform so that you may have the best possible learning experience!

To-Do List

Step 1. Read About Prototyping
Step 2. Prepare for and Do the Workshop
Step 3. Complete the Assignments

Learning Objectives

By completing Class 1, you will be able to:

  • Understand the fundamentals of prototyping
  • Jump in and start building tangible products
  • Get feedback from teammates for iteration
  • Read About Prototyping
Prepare for Your Workshop

Now that you've finished the reading, you should take the following steps to prepare for Workshop 1 with your team:

  • Confirm that You've Chosen a Class Leader
    • This person is responsible for reviewing the Class 1 Readings and the Workshop Guide thoroughly before the workshop so that they can lead all discussion and activities.
  • Write Down Three Takeaways to Discuss With Your Team
    • It can be a quick summary of the Class 1 readings or some connections you've made based upon your prior knowledge or experience—surprises, excitement, confusion, curiosity, etc.
  • Bring Prototyping Materials
    • For this workshop you'll need pens, felt markers or Sharpies, Post-it notes (or their equivalent), and lots of prototyping supplies. See the Class 1 Readings for some inspiration of items to have in the room when you start building.
  • Print Class 1 Workshop Guide
    • Each team member should print and bring along a copy of the Workshop Guide so that everyone may complete the Activity sheets.
  • Watch the Video
Complete the Assignments

Submit the following two assignments:

  • Assignment 1. Form Your Design Team
    • Due on November 3rd at 11:59pm
  • Assignment 2: Share Your Product Prototype
    • Due on November 3rd at 11:59pm
  • And invite a friend to your Class 2 Workshop!

Next week, you should plan to get feedback on your service prototype from some trusted friends or colleagues. Ideally, these will be people who can offer quality, unbiased feedback to you and your team and can stretch your thinking. To prepare, you can invite these participants to attend the last 1 hour of your workshop session. They should not be present for the earlier parts of your prototyping so that they come in with fresh perspectives!

Participate in Course Discussions

What was the most surprising thing you learned about prototyping in Class 1?
What was the most surprising insight you gained about prototyping from the first workshop?

Additional Resources

Video Plate Thing

These resources are optional, but you might enjoy checking out the following articles and links:

Prototyping Mindsets
Review the following Mindsets on Design Kit: Learn From Failure, Make It, and Iterate, Iterate, Iterate

Rapid Prototyping Google Glass
Watch Google X Co-Founder Tom Chi talk about the use of prototyping while developing one of Google's innovation. bit.ly/PrototypingG

Why Designers Should Never Go to a Meeting Without a Prototype
Take a look at this article by Tom and David Kelley: bit.ly/ImportanceofPrototyping

You Can Prototype Anything
Check out this first in a series of IDEO zines: bit.ly/IDEO_zine

Prep for Class 2