How to manage my major project?
After a series of researches, now I decide to answer the question ‘ How might we help women in China to have a better performance during the process of opening business and make full use of their value?’ in my major project.
There are three main reasons supporting my choice. one of them is individual interest, and I want to amplify female founders’ voice and help them better start their own businesses by using service design, and I look forward to supporting them to move towards women’s economic independence and ideological independence. Another reason is that empowering female founders possibly can create huge social value, such as improving economic growth and stability, encouraging more and more women to require bravely equal rights in different areas, becoming more healthier for children, accelerating gender equality to achieve the global sustainable development goal etc. Final reason is that I decide to apply the service design skills and knowledge I have learned from UAL in China, which possibly can make some contribution to the field of service design in my country. At present, service design in China is in its infancy. So may be this project can create academic value.
in the past several months, I have learned many advanced methodologies, methods and tools to support the process of service design projects, such as user-centre, double diamond, speculative design, justice design, journey map, co-design, etc. During the process of doing my final major project, i will use the Design Council’s design methodology framed in a Double Diamond framework. During the usage of the methodology, designers need divergent thinking to explore issues more deeply and widely and convergent thinking to take focused action. There are 4 main principles, including put-people first, communicate visually and inclusively, collaborate and co-create, and continuously iteration (What is the framework for innovation? Design Council’s evolved Double Diamond, 2004) .
Discover: I will use qualitative research and quantitative research to find key insights. The methods include desk research, questionnaire, interview, case study and cultural probes and speculative design. Due to COVID, I think I will finish these jobs online.
Define: After getting some insights from the previous step, I will analyse systematically them by using journey map and define possible directions. And then persona and problem statement will be created.
Develop: During the stage, I will iterate the concept by testing and co-design workshops. And then I will analysis needs statement and opportunity statement to demonstrate the value of the final service concept.
Deliver: I will organize and use different methods to deliver my final service to my audiences — for example, service journey map, scenarios, service blueprint, system map, business model canvas.
Time flies, I almost finished all major courses in UAL. I hope that I can apply what I have learned in my major project to empower women and promote gender equality in the world.
