PROTOTYPE AND

TEST ASSIGNMENTDesign Thinking Action Lab, Stanford

University

Problem Statement

¨A

enthusiastic, intelligent, creative, analytically

strong MBA graduate who has recently joined

the Logistics Industry needs a way to balance

his life because that will lead to greater

satisfaction and joy.¨

Let us refer to the Stakeholder as X.

Idea 1:

X could list down his priorities after a lot of

thought and consideration.

These priorities are what he needs to take

care of in order to lead a balanced and fulfilled

life in the long term.

In recognizing the same and given them due

respect with his time and energy, X will be able

to take his concrete steps towards fulfilling his

long term goals.

Prototype 1:

Set some indefinite time aside and firstly figure

out what X wants according to his life situation

now.

Take some days to finalize the list

Prioritize the list

Maybe, X can make a picture board to regularly

visualize all the things that he wants.

Spend time to figure out how X will go about

fulfilling the priorities on his list.

Revisit list regularly and make changes as

necessary.

Feedback

It is very fundamental and the basic essence

for the solution of the problem statement.

However it is time-consuming and will require

a lot of thought and detailed analysis.

Idea 2:

Since X can be overconfident about time

utilization and plan poorly, he should try to

make small plans first and keep monitoring his

plan regularly, and increase the scope of his

plan once he is successfully managing the

current one.

This should be done on a daily basis, so that

good planning becomes a part of his habit.

Prototype 2:

X can start of with planning his days in advance, one day at a time.

His plans could include the various things that he needs to do, and the time that each thing would take.

He should ensure that he sticks to his schedule except in case of any emergency.

He can maintain a journal about his days, and the extent of success of his plans that would give him further motivation.

Feedback:

Again, this strikes at the core of X’s problem.

But actual results might take time as it is a

HABIT that needs to be modified.

Lack of motivation might lead to

discontinuation of the planning process.

However, if X is able to pull this off it will make

a huge difference to his life as a whole.

Reflection:

My learnings from the prototypes:

Putting a theory into practice is a lot more

hardwork than it actually seems.

What might seem like a very good and plausible

idea to one person may not work out for the other

person.

Perhaps involving the stakeholder in the creation

of the prototype can lead to a better model than

can work best for the stakeholder.

Prototype formation is a long process and adding

details to it takes time.

Reflection

What would I do next if I were to continue

working on the project:

I would create more detailed versions of the

prototypes.

I would try it out with the concerned individual and

also with others who might share similar problems

and incorporate changes post the trials.

I would revise the list of Ideas that I hold and look

if there is something better than the currently

chosen ideas to suit the needs.