UCSC Prototype in Social Distancing Quarantine Time Reflective Essay Choose one of your previous week’s group exercises and reflect on one new thing you le

UCSC Prototype in Social Distancing Quarantine Time Reflective Essay Choose one of your previous week’s group exercises and reflect on one new thing you learned about prototyping. How will this inform your future design work?250 words Kevin Chu
Alexander Kuang
Daniel Rudman
Ahri Zheng
Problem Statement
With little to no research done beforehand, we decided on a general problem
statement with the goal of refining it once we collected more data.
How might we utilize digital mediums to promote social interaction
without meeting face-to-face?
Research Synthesis
User #1: ​Gloria​ (Interviewed by Ahri)
Q: How to stay connected with your friends when we are supposed to
stay home? Especially for those who live alone.
Gloria:​ We can interact with friends by playing online games
together. A voice call from friends can definitely lighten up our
lives!
Q: What’s your hobby?
Gloria:​ she likes listening to electronic music, reading books and
doing workout. She likes going to raves, libraries and gym.
Q: How do you do those things during quarantine?
Gloria:​ she watched the virtual rave-a-thon(a livestream hosted by
Insomniac), meanwhile she was facetiming with several friends. It
was super fun dancing with friends online. There are some APPs
connected with social media, you can write book reviews that all
your friends will see. Working out at home with no peer pressure
is not a good idea! So she uses “keep” to record her workout
moments, keeping up with her workout buddy daily.
Q: Since we cannot make the commencement this summer, do you
have any suggestions to celebrate?
Gloria:​ we can host a virtual commencement on switch! Like
making it in the game Animal-crossing! Invite some friends and
take a screenshot to save it as a good memory.
Q: How do you cheer each other up?
Gloria​: The biggest problem during quarantine is that she hasn’t
done any makeup for years! She made some tik tok videos, asking
some friends to do the make-up challenge. The goal of this
challenge is to spread the positivity. Always give your friend a call,
stay home, stay positive!
Q: How do we make the senior game showcase happen?
Gloria:​ We can do it either on youtube or twitch.
User #2: ​Kameron​ (Interviewed by Alexander)
Q: What are ways to keep in contact with family and friends?
Kameron:​ He said to make frequent phone calls and message
them often. Using social media might be beneficial as well.
Q: How would someone meet new people during this quarantine?
Kameron:​ He suggests joining already established communities
for hobbies someone is interested in. He also said to watch and
comment on streams and to use LinkedIn.
User #3: ​Evelyn​ (Interviewed by Kevin)
Q: Please describe activities you utilized before quarantine orders to
maintain social interaction
Evelyn: I​ would eat out a lot with friends, go to cafes, play
basketball, and participate in bible study.
Q: How do these activities help to promote healthy social interaction?
Evelyn: E
​ ating out with friends allows you to catch up with them
and converse about your lives to one another. Basketball was just
a fun activity to participate in with other people who had the
same interest. To summarize, all these activities included people
with shared interests striving for the same goals and objectives.
Q: Please describe activities you utilize to maintain social interaction
post-quarantine.
Evelyn: I​ use a lot of digital mediums to still maintain connections
with my friends. We also do a lot of online bonding activities like
Skribbl and other fun browser games.
Q: How do these activities help to promote healthy social interaction?
Evelyn: V
​ ideo calls allow for the replication of human presence
and just makes the quarantine feel a lot less lonely and boring.
Games also promote cordial competitiveness and collaboration.
Q: What about school life? How do you replicate social interaction from
a classroom to schooling from home?
Evelyn: I​ t’s actually really hard since collaboration from students
requires structure. A lot of students do go to classes with the
priority of meeting new people so teachers normally have to set it
up through random group forming. I think the biggest issue
would be structure.
Problem Statement Revision
After user interviews, we decided to focus on a relatable target audience of
young adults who had to balance school life, family life, and maintaining
connections with friends.
During this period where social distancing is promoted, how do we
empower individuals, families, students, and young adults to maintain
healthy levels of social interaction without in-person congregation.
Ideation (​ON​/O
​ FF​)
Ahri:
– Virtual Commencement 2020 in animal-crossing (​ON​)
– Virtual Rave-a-thon club: livestream video app, stay connected with
other ravers
– Find a game partner online app. Find your best match for playing
games.
Kevin:
– Mobile app linked to universities where students can form groups and
collaborate for specific classes (​ON​)
– Mobile app that gamifies building better habits with a community.
Groups of 4 friends can set goals like working out, reading, cooking and
can compete with each other to see who has met their goals or built
new habits
– Virtual replications of school services like office hours, lab meetups, etc.
(UC Berkeley has office hours for some classes on club penguin)
Alex:
– Expand LSS Services so that it is easier to form study groups and that is
easier to get help for classes.
– Expand UCSC’s (or any university’s) current pool of game servers. UCSC
currently has a Minecraft server, so expanding the games lineup or
even starting a place for people to virtually meet up and discuss the
games they like. (​ON​)
Daniel:
– MMORPG game that follows basic day to day experiences (eating,
walking, talking, shopping, etc.) outside but with a more entertaining
and exaggerated world. (​ON​)
– Penny, chip, and used napkin set available now! (But actually for this
lonely, sad, and creepy option: a website that allows you to design and
order action figures/dolls of your family and friends so you’re never all
alone!)
– Be Squidward. (Non-physical game where players pretend to be
reclusive famous characters like Squidward, Boo Radley, the Grinch, etc.
and they try to guess who each person is.)
Select Ideas
Idea #1​: Virtual Commencement 2020 in animal-crossing or other community
based games like Minecraft, Club Penguin, etc.
Idea #2​: Mobile app targeted towards students where they can form groups
and collaborate on specific subjects/classes.
Idea #3​: Expand UCSC’s (or any university’s) current pool of game servers.
UCSC currently has a Minecraft server, so expanding the games lineup or
even starting a place for people to virtually meet up and discuss the games
they like.
Idea #4​: MMORPG game that follows basic day to day experiences (eating,
walking, talking, shopping, etc.) outside but with a more entertaining and
exaggerated world.
Prototyping
Virtual Commencement in animal-crossing
Class of 2020
Artboards explain from left to right, top down:
Picture 1: Students gather for the ceremony and a university staff member or
chancellor gives a speech to all participating students/family.
Picture 2: Community engagement where students and family members can
both clap and cheer.
Picture 3: Commencement ceremony begins and students take turns going
up to receive their diploma along with a digital screenshot to commemorate
the memory.
Picture 4: A digital commencement allows for a lot of personalization in
regards to appearance, similar to decorating your own graduation cap.
Mobile Application for Group Forming and Collaboration
A quick low-fidelity prototype where students are able to see the available
classes that permit group work. Professors give out permission codes so only
students enrolled in the class may access the class forum where other
students are looking for potential partners. Once a student has successfully
accessed the desired class, a forum of listings posted by other students is
available to see. The listings are accompanied by a title and iconography
symbolizing how many students are currently in the group. The objective of
this product is to provide structure for the group forming process and allow
students to efficiently find compatible partners for maximum productivity.
Expansion of UCSC Game Servers/Variety
Images below.
Expansion of UCSC Game Servers/Variety cont.
Here is a mock up of what I think a page consisting of our UCSC supported
gaming communities would look like. This site, which should be integrated
with the main ucsc.edu site, would function ostensibly the same exact way
that all the other UCSC pages do. There would be a main landing page that
has a list of every other sub page linked within it. There would be several
different pages that someone can explore, like checking out what games are
being supported or which game currently has a UCSC community. There are
pages where one could become a mod or volunteer to try and get a game
they want supported. Another page would contain the actual list of currently
supported servers and link out to them.
MMORPG Game of Everyday Life
Artboards explain from left to right, top down:
Picture 1: Habitica is what inspired the idea of this game. This photo displays
its breakdown of your character’s traits and life quests. I think a game where
you picture your everyday activities more as quests might make it more
enjoyable. (Actually just download Habitica right now)
Picture 2: Another image of the habitica app showing the daily tasks you
choose for yourself and at the top of the screenshot you get experience, and
even level up from completing them. I would like my game to use as similar
stat system in game and maybe also encourage activity outside of the game
like exercise or drinking water.
Picture 3: This is from Sims which in this game it involves controlling one or
many characters in their everyday life and includes a lot of shopping and
building. I believe having the shopping and building aspects similar to this
game would give the player more to do.
Picture 4: This is Second Life which is where I’ve taken inspiration for most of
the socializing in the game. Simply walk around and chat with people in a
virtual game space and go to new places and create your own avatar.
WICKED PROBLEM EXERCISE
Video intro: ​https://youtu.be/IsulmYM0xKU
Related reading:
1 ) cross_1982_designerlywaysofknowing.pdf
2) Buchanan_wicked_problems.pdf
INTRODUCTION
Wicked problem: A problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete,
contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize.
(Wicked doesn’t mean evil, it means resistant to resolution). Wicked problems represent a
clash between the dominant paradigm in our culture of tackling problems with
scientific/engineering thinking, and the limits of this approach when dealing with complex
and ever-changing systems that include human beings and their interactions. With these
socio-technical systems, it can be difficult to define and locate the right problem to fix,
and to predict what will happen when we do. So, what can we do?!
Using Design Thinking on Wicked Problems
Design thinking works with indeterminacy (not fully knowing) by shaping particular
problems that can lead to particular solutions. Design thinking accepts and takes up
problem formulation and iteration as part of the work. These evolving working
hypotheses are a key part of the process. Designers then gather relevant information
based on these framings of the problem to inform their work. Designers also work with
stakeholders to build consensus about what success will be, along the way, for the final
design.
EXERCISE
Use ​design thinking​ to explore a​ wicked problem​:
How to keep social interaction in a world of quarantined people. Especially for those
who live alone.
You can pick any sub-aspect of this wicked problem. Some ideas for places to focus (but
you can choose others!):
–
Design ways for people to check in with each other
Changing how people create a sense of community
CMPM 177: WICKED PROBLEM
–
Designing online mechanics that promote synchronous interaction.
Enforcing positive behavior in creative ways.
PROCESS
Work on a shared google doc which you will submit to Canvas as a ​pdf file​ that includes:.
1) Draft problem statement​: Discuss the wicked problem of the limited social interaction
people have while needing to stay in quarantine. Settle upon a draft problem statement
about a specific aspect/piece of this wicked problem for which you’d like to brainstorm
and iterate solutions. As a team write up your problem statement.
2) Notes From Empathizing with your stakeholders:​ Find 3 people (outside of your
group) that you can communicate with online or in person (if they live with) and interview
them about this problem. Ask open questions and keep notes. Jot down your notes in
your shared file.
3) Define/Problem formulations:​ Meet again to discuss the notes from the interviews to
refine your understanding of the problem, identify your goals, measurement strategies,
criteria for success, and potential risk factors. Write in a couple sentences your defined
problem.
4) Ideate:​ Brainstorm and formulate several (3-5) design ideas for solving the problem.
How to brainstorm? We will adapt the Method 6351.
Each member of the group will write down 3 rough ideas directed at solving the
identified problem. Then their ideas will be passed on to the rest of the group members
who will read and expand it with their own takes. Pass the ideas around so that all
members of the group respond to all the ideas.
5) Select Ideas:​ Vote ON/OFF on each idea, to choose which ideas you want to activate
for the next stage. Pick the ideas with the most ON votes and move to the next stage. We
encourage wild, out-of-the-box solutions.
​From the book Thoughtful Interaction Design: “Method 635 Method 635 is a more structured version of
brainstorming, attributed to Rohrbach by Pahl and Beitz (1988). It starts with six group members who get
acquainted with the problem or question at hand. Then each person writes down three crude ideas on how to solve
it. The ideas are passed on to another group member, who reads them and adds any further ideas or modifications
that she can think of. The ideas are passed around until all group members have seen all the original ideas. Six
people, three ideas, five rounds of elaboration: 635. Pahl and Beitz claim that Method 635 has certain advantages
compared to regular brainstorming, such as the ability to develop ideas more systematically, the possibility of
avoiding group dynamic difficulties, and the possibility of determining the originator of a particularly powerful idea
(which may be important in terms of intellectual property rights).”
Thoughtful interaction design : a design perspective on information technology
Löwgren, Jonas Stolterman, Erik. 2004
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CMPM 177: WICKED PROBLEM
6) Prototype:​ Prepare at least three design sketches of your ON ideas. Make sure to
communicate and explain them clearly. These can be made as:
– written short stories (~ 250 words each) OR
– Drawn storyboards OR
– Short videos (up to 1 min each)
– Visual collage accompanied with captions/explanatory text.
SUBMIT
Uploading your file as a pdf to Canvas. If you recorded a video, upload it to your UCSC
google drive and share, link to it in the submitted file.
Please make sure that your group memeber’s names are on it.
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