The Questions We Ask Influence the Answers We Get
January 22, 2020
REFLECTING ON: the start of a new human-centered design project… the How Might We question.
Developing a “How might we…” question seems simple when you’re in the brainstorming stage, but it is a really integral part of setting the tone for a human-centered research project. After honing in on the topic of helping international students integrate into the University of Arkansas campus more comfortably, I wrote a HMW question to reflect that. I then swapped questions with my peers so that these questions could be broken-down and diagrammed through a fresh set of eyes. Surprisingly, diagramming the questions of my peers gave me insight into the areas for improvement in my own question. I think this is due to the fact that analyzing a project that I am not too close to allowed me to adjust to the process of objectively picking apart all components of a problem without getting caught up in my biases. When I returned to my own project to diagram the question, I began to see my own assumptions and indecisiveness as it manifested in the question I had written.
This post exists within a series of reflections on my final degree project in the Graphic Design BFA program at the University of Arkansas. This project examines the experience of international students in America, and specifically at the University of Arkansas, in order to create a more comfortable and rich experience for them abroad.
January 22, 2020
REFLECTING ON: the start of a new human-centered design project… the How Might We question.
Developing a “How might we…” question seems simple when you’re in the brainstorming stage, but it is a really integral part of setting the tone for a human-centered research project. After honing in on the topic of helping international students integrate into the University of Arkansas campus more comfortably, I wrote a HMW question to reflect that. I then swapped questions with my peers so that these questions could be broken-down and diagrammed through a fresh set of eyes. Surprisingly, diagramming the questions of my peers gave me insight into the areas for improvement in my own question. I think this is due to the fact that analyzing a project that I am not too close to allowed me to adjust to the process of objectively picking apart all components of a problem without getting caught up in my biases. When I returned to my own project to diagram the question, I began to see my own assumptions and indecisiveness as it manifested in the question I had written.
This post exists within a series of reflections on my final degree project in the Graphic Design BFA program at the University of Arkansas. This project examines the experience of international students in America, and specifically at the University of Arkansas, in order to create a more comfortable and rich experience for them abroad.
